Technical Snow Backpacks F/W 2025/26 Retail Buyer’s Guide
The technical snowpacks segment has responded to the challenge of climate unpredictability with innovation. FW25/26 will bring us collections led by technical and lightweight snowpacks that are also ready for all seasons. By Rocio Enriquez.
Winters are different from what they used to be. This might sound like a very casual weather statement, but it is not for snow sports enthusiasts. The impact of climate change reaches far beyond the choice of what to wear for the day. Snowfall is unpredictable, making resort riding planning difficult. The safest way to secure some rides is to climb higher and venture into the backcountry. Those who need suitable equipment with essential technical features to keep them safe and comfortable. This means storage for safety tools to dig you out of potential trouble, and lightweight but robust materials to help you on climbs. Those who stick to resorts would rather invest in a backpack that they can use in their daily lives too when it doesn’t snow. Bestselling packs reflect these needs. Some bestselling mid-volume, light packs are Dakine’s Heli Pro series, Evoc’s Line Pack, and Jones’ Further 24L. Amplifi also got their best numbers from this category. Versatility drove the sales of Black Diamond’s Dawn Patrol 25L, Rossignol’s Escaper Unlimited 18L, and Herschel’s All Season 29L. Mid-sized, versatile and lightweight packs will keep driving growth and make the highlights of 2025/2026 collections.
FW2025/2026 Highlights
Ergonomic construction paired with lightweight materials to make it easier to carry a backpack for longer sessions on the mountain. Amplifi presents their new Wishbone strap. “The new shoulder strap construction keeps the pressure off the shoulders” explains their Head of Design, Tom Howells. Their hip belts and back panels feature moulded construction this season. Jones added this to their Deeper 18L, Further 24L, and Higher 32L styles last winter with great success. They also feature dedicated storage for helmet, goggles, and ice axe, plus a vertical snowboard carry system. Patagonia introduces a new style with a compartment for snow tools, easy access back panel, and body-hugging shoulder straps and hip belt. “The new PowSlayer pack is part of our upcoming Big Mountain Freeride kit” announces their Sports Communication Lead, Leonard Basse.
Herschel launches the new All Season range as part of their new outdoor equipment segment. The All Season 29L has removable gear straps to carry your snowboard or poles, making the hike much easier. It also features storage pockets, hydration compatibility, and removable waist strap and rescue whistle. All the removable parts make it easy to transform the pack into a casual day pack if needed. Herschel is particularly proud of their modular connection system. “All Season duffles can be connected to our Snow Rollers, freeing up your hands whilst travelling”, says VP International, Adam Mansell. Dakine introduces an advanced technical construction with ergonomic support systems that enable comfortable treks. Ortovox has updated their whole Freeride range to focus on essential features that satisfy needs without increasing bulk or weight.
Materials play an important role in the performance of the backpack, especially their weight. Black Diamond incorporates the Ultra body fabric from Challenge Sailcloth to their Cirque Pack. This fabric offered great results in their summer Beta Light Series. The new Cirque Ultra Pack has 400D on the back panel for added durability, and 200D on the main body to maintain a lightweight profile.
Dakine introduces reinforced lightweight composites and waterproof, breathable fabrics that enhance durability while keeping the weight down. Robustness is important, and other brands announce fabric implements in this direction. Amplifi announces a new coating for 2025. The matte FACE-PC coating on the exterior wall of the packs will make them more resistant to abrasion.
Rossignol uses mostly Ripstop nylon. Herschel’s All Season features a custom wind-resistant and water repellent recycled fabric. Patagonia’s new PowSlayer is made with a very rugged material, mostly recycled too. Sustainability is at the forefront when choosing materials. All Jones’ packs are made with ripstop polyester on the outside, ballistic nylon at the bottom, and polyester lining, all 100% recycled PVC-free. Ortovox uses mainly recycled fabrics too. Looks trend towards subtle, with predominance of solid, muted colours. Jones and Amplifi go for an all-black look. Dakine throws some grey and blue into the mix. Ortovox bets on earthy colours. Herschel introduces some brighter shades to the palette of solids with their Moonbeam, an off-white clean colour, and the feminine Ash Rose, both imported from their main line.
Black Diamond refreshes the colours of their Dawn Patrol series with shades like white oak, burnt sienna, foam green and purple. Their palette is designed to complement their apparel line and pair well with outfits from other brands. There are some graphics and patterns across the lines. Evoc has made in-house, developed graphics, their identity. “We are launching our new Multicolour theme, a blend of new fabrics, patterns and glitch artwork”, says Head of Sales, Tobias Baier. Black Diamond announces an update to their Helio Carbon pack with new bold patterns on gender-neutral colours. Dakine has developed a textured material pattern called “Mulled Basil”, and also offers special colours through collaborations. Next winter we will see special editions in partnership with the B4BC Association, Mayhem, and Natural Selection, alongside their signature collaboration with Jamie Anderson.
Sustainability
The impact of climate change is now so visible on the slopes that it would be impossible for brands not to have sustainability at the forefront of their minds when developing their products. We see efforts in three main areas: material selection, production processes, and social responsibility. It is rare to find a backpack these days that is not made with recycled fabrics and the demand for sustainability has driven the development of highly technical recycled materials that deliver the performance needed for the mountain. The choice of materials needs to be supported by eco-friendly production processes, it makes little sense to soak these materials in harmful chemicals. There is widespread use of eco-friendly water repellents with PFAs and PFCs being widely eliminated from production. It is also important to engage in a careful design that avoids a lot of cut-offs and waste. Dakine, Ortovox, Black Diamond, and Amplifi pay special attention to this. “The new Wishbone strap construction with main parts being moulded reduces significantly the cutoffs”, says Tom Howells. Another way to enhance the sustainability factor of a backpack is to enable repairs, prolonging its useful life. Black Diamond offers the ReRoute repair programme. Evoc designs with repairability in mind. The impact of production on people’s lives is also important. Ortovox and Jones monitor their factories for fair and safe working conditions.
Retailer Support
Most marketing efforts revolve around two messages: promotion of backcountry riding, and all-year round backpack use. Black Diamond will showcase aspirational content in their campaign “Designed for the Deep”, with the support of athlete stories. Jones focuses on the promotion of their pack line as the ultimate backcountry snowboarding packs. Rossignol will also communicate freeriding stories through athletes using their bags. Evoc pushes the snow travel and gear bags to get you to your snow destination with everything you need for the big mountain.
Dakine distributes their efforts between their daily use packs and their more technical backpacks, especially their athlete signature ones. Herschel partnered with Arthur Longo to develop their All Season range of technical backpacks, and will count on his legitimacy to push it. “Arthur Longo has been testing the product out before launching and will front our marketing campaign”, says Adam Mansell.
To carry these messages to the end consumer, brands use the synergy of simultaneous physical and online presence, investing equally in POS programmes and digital content. Ambassadors are a great asset for content creation. Their testimonials attach credibility to the sales arguments. Dakine and Herschel add staff training to the mix. For Amplifi, it is also important to keep B2B systems simple, to enable easy ordering, reordering and processing of warranties. The technical snowpacks category feels the impact of unpredictable winters as much as other snow products, but brands have adjusted to the emerging needs wisely. Their 25/26 collections offer solutions to keep the consumer appeal and a healthy footfall at specialty stores.
Brand Previews
