What is the Apex Guide 45?
The Apex Guide is a technical, tough pack designed for everything vertical, ranging from alpine mountaineering and ski touring to trekking and expedition use. Salewa's Dry Back system increases comfort and reduces sweat build-up on technical routes.
What is it made of?
As you'd expect, a pack of this calibre needs to be able to handle some abuse. The majority of the Apex is made using a tough, weather-resistant Robic 210D ripstop, while high-wear areas are reinforced with a Robic 420D nylon. These fabrics offer massive amounts of abrasion-resistance, yet weigh only a fraction of what old canvas bags used to weigh (the Apex is just 1.2kg in total). A durable water repellent coating allows light rain and snow to bead off the surface.
Which backsystem does it use?
It uses Salewa's Dry Back Contact, a largely foam-based system designed to allow your back to breathe while tacking technical terrain, all the while repelling moisture/snow. It achieves this by cutting out sections of foam in the backpanel and reducing the overall contact patch with your back, promoting airflow. It's a pretty simple system, but highly effective and brilliantly reliable.
The shoulder straps and hipbelt are super lightweight and follow the same theme of reducing the contact patch. The straps are wider than most alternatives with a cutout in the centre; this reduces weight, improves ventilation and has no negative effect on performance. The hipbelt also has a large cutout, this time it's where your hipbone sits, allowing the belt to curve around you more securely. The hipbelt features a good amount of padding to improve comfort when fully loaded, however, this foam can be removed for light and fast ascents with less weight, or if you're not using the hipbelt at all. If you want to reduce the weight even further, the ISB (internal stability board) behind this backsystem can be removed — this allows the bag to roll up when travelling as well.
What are its features?
Starting at the top, a traditional lid opening gives you access to the main compartment; this can be removed entirely to strip the weight back or raised to fit a rope/extra kit underneath. Underneath this lid, a roll-top opening provides extra weather-resistance. If this opening doesn't suit your fancy, a zipped side opening allows you to grab stuff from the bottom of the pack without unpacking the whole lot.
Storage-wise, you've got a sleeve for a hydration sleeve with an exit for the hose, a compartment for a snow shovel and avalanche probe, a rope-fixation point with a magnetic buckle, ski attachment points, an ice axe attachment point and a pole attachment point.
Other features include an emergency print section where you can write your contact details, address etc, side compression straps to cinch the load down, a safety whistle built into the chest strap and a key clip for safekeeping.
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Hydration compatible
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Ski attachment point
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Emergency printing
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Compartment for shovel & probe
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Side access
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Side compression straps
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Alarm whistle
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Removable lid
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Height adjustable lid
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Pole fastening points
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EVA pads with 3D ventilation
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Split shoulder strap
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Contact Flow fit
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Rope fixation point w/ magnetic buckle
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Removable hipbelt padding
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Roll-top opening
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Ice axe attachment point
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Removable ISB
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Key clip