What we liked about the Coulee 25.
- Incredibly comfortable for hauling light to moderate loads.
- Pack access is the best in the game, as the 3-Zip design should be properly labeled as the ‘eighth wonder of the world.’ You can access anything in the pack without playing a game of complicated pouch Tetris.
- The overall capacity is cavernous for 25L – it packs more like 27-28L daypack when fully loaded.
- It’s exceptionally durable for the weight and yes, it’s 100% worth the weight penalty.
What we disliked about the Coulee 25.
There’s not much that we dislike about the Coulee 25 but we’d like an updated version that:
- Scales down the amount of lumbar padding on the back panel would enhance ‘upright posture’ rather than ‘forward lean,’ when hauling heavy loads.
- Upgrades the current grab handle to the one found on the Rip Ruck 32 would make us not hate carrying the pack by hand.
- Transitions to a stowable hip belt (as found on the 3DAP) would increase the overall versatility of the pack.
- Adds a keyring hook to the zippered detail pocket.