Lowe Alpine Strike 18 Review
I bought the Lowe Alpine Strike 18 Backpack while traveling through New Zealand in 2015 and ended up using it on a daily basis. It was a perfect everyday backpack to wear to work or the shops but equally as good for day hiking or heading out on the mountain bike.
The bad news is that the Lowe Alpine Strike 18 has now been discontinued. The good news is that there are some very similar modern daypacks that are actually lighter, better ventilated, or just generally more useful, which I have covered further down.
If you already own a Strike 18, are thinking about buying one second hand, or just want to know how it actually performed after plenty of real-world use, keep reading.
Specifications
These are the specifications for the Lowe Alpine Strike 18 version I bought:
- VOLUME: 18 liters
- WEIGHT: 570 g / 20.1 oz
- DIMENSIONS: 46 x 28 x 25 cm
- CARRY SYSTEM: AdaptiveFit breathable back panel, adjustable breathable shoulder straps, chest strap, and hip belt
- MATERIAL: N6.6 210D mini ripstop
Features
- Large main opening for easy access
- Top pocket for small essential items
- Large front vertical pocket for medium-sized essentials
- Inner mesh pocket for toiletries
- Small fast access pocket on left shoulder strap for multi-tool, GPS or phone
- Stretch mesh side pockets
- Side compression straps
- LED light loop
- TipGrippers hiking pole straps
- Front lash loops
- Chest strap with whistle toggle
- Hip belt
- Lightweight and durable nylon 6.6 mini ripstop fabric
Why I Bought the Lowe Alpine Strike 18
I originally bought it as a daypack to accompany my main 65-liter backpack with larger loads while backpacking, for which it served its purpose very well. There were two important features that I was looking for and this daypack had both of them.
The first was that it needed to be easily rolled up and packed away in a bigger bag. The second was whether it would be comfortable to wear on my front whilst wearing my bigger backpack on my back.
I found that anything larger than 20 liters was too big to wear on my chest and I didn’t actually need more than that anyway. I could see myself using it in the future so I offered the shop owner 10% off the label price and he took it, deal done.
I also considered the smaller Mammut MTR 201 backpack but decided 18 liters was more practical than 12 liters for a daypack.
Comfort
The Strike 18 has a super comfortable Air-Contour foam back panel which reduces the contact area and allows air to flow and cool your back. The foam has lots of ventilation holes and raised contact points and is thick enough to provide plenty of padding without making the whole bag feel bulky.
The contact points are shaped like little bubbles to further reduce how much of the bag sits directly against your body, and therefore how sweaty your back gets. The combination of padding and ventilation makes the pack very comfortable to wear.
The straps are fully adjustable with soft foam padding in the shoulders, while the chest and waist straps are useful when trail running, mountain biking or hiking because they stop the bag bouncing around behind you. Unlike some backpacks which can feel awkward when they don’t have much in them, the Strike 18 is comfortable empty or full.
Size, Shape, and Weight
I really like the size of the Lowe Alpine Strike 18 as it fits everything you could possibly need for a day hike. I have no problem fitting in waterproofs, insulated jacket, wide-brimmed bushcraft hat, gloves, camera, food, and water as well as other basic essentials like a knife, head torch, first aid kit, phone, and maps etc…
The pockets are positioned in convenient places and the main compartment opens nice and wide. The design of the bag means it fits smoothly to the contours of your body without clinging to you or your clothing.
One of the main reasons I originally bought it was that there are no big rigid frames or stays inside it. You can easily fold, roll or stuff the whole bag away when you aren’t using it, which was perfect for carrying inside my larger backpack while traveling.
At just 570 grams, it manages to feel like a proper technical daypack without adding loads of unnecessary structure or weight.
Packing
One thing I really like about Lowe Alpine backpacks is the pockets and this Strike 18 review is no different. There is no lack of pockets to keep your valuables and essentials close to hand, but they all have a very low profile from the outside. On the inside, everything is organized and easy to access without turning the backpack into a maze of tiny compartments.
The zips on mine proved to be very good quality and showed no signs of stress even after repeated heavy use. The compression straps on the side do an excellent job of providing support to the zips when the bag is full and are also ideal for hanging things like wet socks.
I like to keep 500 ml water bottles in each side pocket for balance when the pack is full and use the shoulder strap pocket for a Leatherman multi-tool and Sawyer Mini water filter.
Ventilation
As mentioned earlier in this Lowe Alpine Strike 18 review, the ventilation on both the back and straps goes hand in hand with the padding and comfort. The ventilation holes, mesh lining, and low contact-point area all help increase airflow and in turn reduce sweating on your back and under the straps.
It isn’t one of those suspended mesh systems where the entire backpack is held away from your back, but considering how lightweight, flexible and packable the Strike is, I think Lowe Alpine got the balance about right.
Best Uses
This Lowe Alpine rucksack is ideal for day hiking, mountain biking, skateboarding, daily shopping, or even some trail running. It will fit everything you need for a full daypack on the hills while still being compact enough to pack away inside a bigger backpack when traveling.
There are separate pockets for most of your daily essentials, the side pockets are useful for water bottles, and the low-profile shape means it never really feels like you have a giant hiking backpack strapped to you.
That versatility was probably its biggest strength. It wasn’t the absolute lightest running pack, the biggest hiking daypack or the most ventilated backpack available, but it worked surprisingly well for all of them.
Best Lowe Alpine Strike 18 Alternatives
The biggest problem with recommending the Strike 18 today is simply that you can’t reliably buy one new anymore. Luckily, there are some very good modern alternatives that do almost exactly the same job and, in certain areas, are actually better.
If you liked the idea of the Strike 18 after reading this review, these are the three backpacks I would look at first.
Lowe Alpine Edge 18 – Best Direct Replacement
If you came here because you like the look of the Strike 18 but can’t actually find one anymore, the Lowe Alpine Edge 18 is the obvious place to start. It keeps the same useful 18-liter capacity and is actually slightly lighter at around 520 grams compared with the Strike’s 570 grams.
It still has the features that made the Strike useful in the first place, including a proper Air Contour back system, sternum strap, removable hip belt and walking-pole attachments. You also get a hydration-compatible internal sleeve that can double as a laptop compartment on current versions, which makes the Edge arguably more useful as an everyday work/travel bag than the Strike ever was.
In other words, it is very close to the same idea but brought up to date.
I haven’t personally tested the Edge 18 so I can’t tell you it is more comfortable or more durable than my Strike was, but based on the design and specifications this is easily the first backpack I would look at if I wanted the closest modern equivalent.
Deuter Speed Lite 17 – Best Lightweight Alternative
If my main reason for buying the Strike 18 today was still to stuff it inside a bigger backpack while traveling and then pull it out for day hikes, I would be seriously tempted by the Deuter Speed Lite 17.
It has almost exactly the same capacity at 17 liters but weighs around 410 grams, making it roughly 160 grams lighter than the Strike. That might not sound like much sitting at home, but when the whole idea is to carry your daypack inside another backpack, saving 160 grams without dropping half the useful features is actually pretty decent.
Deuter has still managed to give it proper ventilated shoulder straps, a sternum strap, detachable waist belt, side pockets and enough structure to use it as a genuine hiking pack instead of basically being a glorified drawstring bag.
For the way I originally used the Strike 18 while backpacking, I think this is probably the most interesting modern alternative.
Lowe Alpine AirZone Active 18 – Best for Ventilation
If the ventilation section of this review is what appeals to you most, then I would look at the Lowe Alpine AirZone Active 18.
It keeps the same 18-liter capacity but uses Lowe Alpine’s more advanced AirZone LT carry system, which creates a proper ventilated gap between the backpack and your back. The Strike’s foam panel is good for what it is, but the AirZone system is much more focused on keeping air moving when you are hiking in warm weather.
The downside is weight. At around 770 grams it is roughly 200 grams heavier than the Strike, so I wouldn’t choose it if my priority was packing it inside a bigger backpack and carrying it around the world.
For proper day hiking though, especially in hot weather, I would take the extra weight for the better ventilation.
Which Strike 18 Alternative Should You Buy?
If you basically want a modern Strike 18, get the Lowe Alpine Edge 18. Same capacity, slightly lighter, same kind of all-purpose hiking/travel design, and arguably more useful for everyday life thanks to the internal laptop/hydration sleeve.
If you specifically want something for backpacking and traveling, I would lean towards the Deuter Speed Lite 17 because it gives you almost the same space for substantially less weight.
And if sweaty backs are the bane of your life, spend the extra weight on the Lowe Alpine AirZone Active 18.
Three slightly different backpacks for three slightly different versions of the same job.
Verdict
I really like the Lowe Alpine Strike 18 daypack. It looks simple and low profile on the outside but has plenty of strategically placed pockets, comfortable straps, a useful compression system and a back panel that manages to provide decent padding without becoming ridiculously bulky.
More importantly, mine stood up to repeated heavy use. That matters far more to me than a manufacturer’s list of features, and it is one of the main reasons I still think the Strike 18 was such a good little backpack.
If you find one in excellent condition for sensible money, I certainly wouldn’t dismiss it just because Lowe Alpine no longer makes it. But I also wouldn’t pay silly collector’s prices for one when modern alternatives now exist that are lighter, better ventilated or simply easier to buy.
For most people today, I would start with the Lowe Alpine Edge 18.
Where to Buy the Lowe Alpine Strike 18
The Lowe Alpine Strike 18 is discontinued, so finding a brand-new one is increasingly unlikely. Amazon and eBay are still worth checking for old stock or used examples, but make sure you are actually looking at the Strike 18 rather than one of Lowe Alpine’s newer 18-liter packs.
Thanks for reading this Lowe Alpine Strike 18 Review. Even though the pack has now been discontinued, I have kept this review live because there are still plenty of them out there and the actual long-term experience is hopefully more useful than pretending an old backpack suddenly stopped being good just because a newer one came along.
