Raide was founded in Carbondale, Colorado by Kyle Siegel, who has a mechanical engineering background that he utilized at SpaceX and The North Face, among others. He started Raide “out of a frustration for the current gear market that leaves out those who care about uphill performance and downhill style equally.”

Raide launched with the LF 40L backpack (available in two colorways), and also a neat little accessory: a metal block that you can use to increase the forward lean of the Tecnica Zero G Tour by 3 degrees. Readers of Blister will know that, like Kyle, we’re big fans of that boot, but it does have a fairly upright stance that doesn’t work with everyone’s biomechanics / personal preferences.

Raide’s packs are manufactured in Vietnam at the same factory that produces packs for many of the bigger brands out there, including Mammut, BCA, and Osprey.

Stated Features:

• Main Fabric: Challenge Ultra 400X, 400d UHMWPE (Dyneema) woven that is 2x more tear resistant and 8x more abrasion resistant that similar ultralight fabrics. That is backed by a waterproof film and is 100% recycled.
• Removable Frame
• 2 quick access stash pockets for no-zip transitions
• Stashable roll top
• Quick avy tool access
• A-frame & Diagonal ski carry
• Vertical snowboard carry
• Integrated helmet carry
• Gloves stash strap on shoulder strap
• Removable foam back panel insert
• Ice tool carry that keeps picks enclosed
• Hip pad pocket that actually fits your phone
• 9 mm of foam in shoulder straps
• Radio / hydration pass through
• Drainage holes out of cinch top and avy tools pocket

Materials :

The Raide LF 40L’s primary body fabric is called Ultra 400X and is made by Challenge Outdoor (a popular fabric supplier for light + strong materials). Ultra 400X is primarily composed of woven UHMWPE fibers, otherwise known as Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene, which is also known to some by the brand names Dyneema and Spectra. Side note: many skis and snowboards use UHMWPE for their base materials, though the final product obviously looks quite different from fibers in fabrics.

Specs :

• Stated Volume: 40 liters / 2441 cubic inches

• Expandable to 50 liters / 3051 cubic inches

7 Stated Weight: 1090 g / 2 lbs, 6.4 oz (strippable to 900 g