Skinning up Cameron Pass, the cool crisp air blew through the trees, and snow floated above me. The new Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Pack fit seamlessly on my back as I cut a skin track up the mountain. The pack carried all my gear, clothes, and food — it was almost an extension of myself, moving freely with me as I climbed.
At the top of the run, I switched from uphill to downhill mode and sipped water from the insulated hose on my right shoulder. I removed my skins, stuck them easily into the pack’s interior, and then carved early-season turns down the slope.
The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol is a sleek yet technical pack designed for day trips in the backcountry, featuring a dedicated avalanche tool pocket, an insulated hydration sleeve, dedicated skin pockets, and a zippered back panel for easy interior access. While I’ve tested numerous ski touring backpacks throughout the years, I’ve always returned to the Dawn Patrol as my go-to tour pack.
With the updates Black Diamond made to the Dawn Patrol family this year, I wanted to test one of the new versions to see how it compared. I was not disappointed.
In short: The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 25 Pack ($200) is a lightweight ski pack ideal for short ski-mountaineering missions and side country sessions. The pack has a convenient front snow-safety pocket for avalanche gear and an oversized, insulated shoulder pocket to keep a hydration tube or radio dry and warm. Large hip-belt pockets can hold snacks or skins for downhill use. The pack can also carry skis, snowboards, a helmet, and ice axes.
Check out our guide to the Best Ski Backpacks.
-
Easy-access snow safety pocket -
Insulated hydration tube, or radio, shoulder pocket -
Comfortable -
Lightweight
-
Waist-strap pockets are difficult to access while wearing the pack.
Black Diamond Dawn Patrol 25 Pack Review
The Dawn Patrol 25 L is a lightweight, feature-rich pack that strikes the sweet spot for shorter backcountry tours. I tested the 25L version. I used this pack on 5- to 10-mile tours with one to three laps each.
The updated 2026 Dawn Patrol 25L is now made from 100% post-consumer recycled fabrics. The suspension has also been updated to keep the pack snug against your body while riding and to minimize drag while riding. The new hip belt pockets are also now big enough to hold skins.
By far, though, the biggest update to the pack is its back panel access. This is one of the most useful features of any ski pack, as it lets you swing it around, open it, and grab whatever you need without taking it off. Visually, this also makes it easier to see what’s inside.
Black Diamond’s Dawn Patrol Pack: On the Snow
On the snow, the Dawn Patrol fits like a little turtle shell and is quite comfortable. This is thanks to the form-fitting suspension and snow-shedding fabric used to make the pack. The pack features two zippered pockets, separated by a soft-lined goggle pocket on top.
The back panel unzips for easy access to your gear. You can swing it around on its hip belt and open it like a clamshell. This is a great feature for ski packs, as it makes it easier to see the pack’s contents and allows you to access them without removing the pack entirely.
It also accommodates a water bladder in the center of the pack. This helps maintain balance when the pack is zipped up, but it can pull the back away from you while you’re getting gear in and out. (A bit more on this later.)
The front snow safety pocket stores your avalanche safety kit. It’s marked by an orange zipper, which makes it easier to find if you need to get access to your shovel and probe in a hurry. The oversized insulated shoulder pocket is on the left side. I’d prefer it on the right shoulder, but it still holds a hydration tube or a radio as needed.
The hip-belt pockets are far back toward the pack, which helps with movement for skiing. However, it makes access a bit harder while wearing the pack. Black Diamond designed them to store skins for downhill use. My skins are too large to fit in them, so I stored snacks and sunscreen in them.
The pack features a diagonal carry for skis and a helmet. Diagonal carry is my preferred way to carry skis, so I appreciated that design element. It also offers an A-frame carry option and a strap for vertical snowboard carry as well.
Ideal for Short Tours
The Dawn Parol is available in 15L, 25L, and 32L sizes. All three are dialed for shorter, less-technical day tours. If you want a pack that can accommodate more climbing gear, overnight trips, or big days navigating complicated alpine terrain, you might opt for something larger. But for day missions and quick tours, these sizes are great.
The 25L is ideal for backcountry skiers who want room for avy gear, lunch, layers, and tools. It’s a daypack through and through. For longer, more remote tours, the larger 32L would be a good option.
For my day tours, I was able to fit all my gear into the pack, with room to spare. A midlayer, hat, food, water bladder, skins, and goggles all comfortably fit in the 25L volume. The Dawn Patrol can also accommodate diagonal ski and vertical snowboard carry, helmet carry, and ice axes.
Resort Use?
The Dawn Patrol 25 can easily double as a solid option for a resort ski day. While technically built for backcountry ski touring, the 25L capacity offers ample storage for a day in bounds. With its low profile, it doesn’t feel overly bulky on chairlifts or while riding in resort runs.
The helmet and goggle storage pockets are still helpful for a day in-bounds, and the waist belt straps offer snack and sunscreen options. The only pocket that is overkill is the avalanche gear, which you won’t need. However, straps that cinch down help keep the pack tight on your back and not overly bulky in bounds.
Materials & Weight
In the cold, snowy terrain of the Rocky Mountains, the Dawn Patrol performed well in the elements, including heavy-snow descents and uphill climbs. The pack’s main body is made from 100% recycled fabrics, including nylon and polyester. It isn’t waterproof or even listed as water-resistant, but snow and light precipitation seemed to bead off the fabric well.
Empty, the pack weighs just over 2 pounds, which is competitive with other packs with similar volume in our guide to the Best Ski Packs. Perhaps even more importantly, once fully loaded, it is still easy and comfortable to carry uphill and ski downhill. Unless you’re packing rocks, you can’t really stuff enough into the 25L version to throw you off balance.
Comparing the Dawn Patrol
When comparing the Dawn Patrol to similar packs, there are places where it has an edge, and others where it falls short. Take, for example, the Gregory Targhee FastTrack backpack. While both packs easily carry skis, helmets, avalanche gear, water, and snacks, the layout and designs differ significantly.
For example, the FastTrack pack features Gregory’s FastTrack (FT) ski-carry system. That lets you stow and remove skis without removing your pack.
Room for Improvement
The two-pocket system with a water bladder storage system in the center means that there are limited organization options. That limits quick access to gear in the pack. I often have to dig through the main compartment searching for extra gloves or a jacket.
When the water bladder is full, the weight can also pull the pack down. That makes it harder to zip up and maneuver.
While the hip belt pockets are advertised as being for your skins, dedicated skin pockets could make the pack even more versatile for mixed use. I found my skins too big for the waist belt pockets, which sit far back. That makes them challenging to open while wearing the pack.
Black Diamond’s Dawn Patrol Pack: Who’s It For?
The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol pack was initially designed for backcountry skiers who wanted to get a few laps in early before heading to work. While it’s smaller in size than many ski packs, it’s loaded with useful features designed to help skiers move more efficiently in the mountains. This pack allows you to transition faster thanks to its easy-to-access back panel, insulated reservoir hose sleeve, and skin-compatible hip pockets.
While you don’t have to beat the sunrise to sport the pack, it’s intended for short backcountry or sidecountry missions. Skiers or snowboarders looking to carry avalanche gear, some clothing, and a few snacks with ease will love this pack.
The Black Diamond Dawn Patrol is available in 15L, 25L, and 32L sizes, priced from $159 to $219. The 25L version I tested is still getting good use this winter.
Read the full article here
