Ortovox

Ascent 40 Avabag Kit

A shovel, probe, and beacon are essential whenever you're in avalanche terrain, but it's pretty easy to justify leaving an avalanche airbag at home to shed some weight for backcountry tours. Even easier is never leaving Ortovox's Ascent 40 Avabag Backpack behind because it weighs less than three pounds, even with with the avalanche airbag equipped. Best of all, you can remove the Avabag airbag to place in larger Ortovox backpacks for bigger tours.

Although it was designed with lightness in mind, the Ascent still boasts a plethora of features that make backcountry tours easier whether you're traveling by ski, splitboard, or snowshoe. There are attachments for all three, as well as loops for rappel ropes, ice axes, ski poles, and even a removable net to hold your helmet. Internal compartments separate your hydration reservoir and avalanche gear from layers and lunch, and the avy gear compartment has easy-to-read details showing where each piece should go.