Outdoor Vitals Skyline Fastpack Construction & Features

At its core, the Skyline Fastpack chassis is a Robic Nylon roll-top with a foam back panel, Challenge UltraStretch pockets, and a running vest harness. What follows is a top-to-bottom deep dive on each feature with commentary, depending on how we like it.

Starting at the top, the pack features a Y-Strap for compression and bonus gear storage. Works great for something like a fleece, or a sit pad, and we love to see it added here. Below the Y-strap sits the closure buckle for the main compartment which is 23L in size S/M, and 28L in size L. A small Velcro patch secures the main compartment opening. We tend to prefer snaps over Velcro since they don’t grab hold of fabric or scrape you, but it’s an extremely minor detail. The main compartment also has a removable hydration bladder compartment (we recommend removing it and instead using the vest or side pockets for hydration), and a single zippered security pouch for credit cards, keys, wallet, etc.

Traversing the exterior outside of the main body are the Challenge UltraStretch pockets. When the pack is full, these have zero volume of their own; all volume is derived from stretching. So in practice, they’re smaller than they look. However, they deliver a very secure hold on the contents, ensuring that basically nothing will fall out, let alone bounce or get jumbled around inside. The side pockets too are very tight. They are each able to fit a 1L Smartwater bottle, and hold it securely. However, by most modern pack standards, these pockets are low volume and not great for holding anything less than the bottom half of a 1L Smartwater. Again, all good for running but bad for hiking as walkers would prefer more volume and care less about bouncing.

Static line side compression cords help to secure the top of tall water bottles, or the neck of a Sawyer squeeze filter add-on, and can of course be used to reduce volume.

A loose pass-through pocket of UltraStretch sits on the bottom of the pack for added gear storage. It is open ended on both sides, so make sure whatever you store in it gets a tight grip. We found it effective for storing sit pad or an Ursack.

The inside face of the pack is an H-shaped EVA foam panel with aerations carved out of the surface to help with breathability. A single layer of stretch mesh sits overtop of the foam to reduce sweaty foam-on-body contact, and create a more pleasant user experience. The foam helps to counteract the dreaded barrel-shape-effect caused by inevitably overstuffing the main compartment. The layout is actually quite comfortable, and we like this back panel design a lot. What’s more, it even adds a bit of structure to the pack to help keep it open and upright while loading.

Lastly, the shoulder straps. This is a true adjustable running vest harness that spans the wearer’s rib cage to decrease upward bouncing in a way that traditional pack straps do not. The pocket configuration on each shoulder strap is identical. Each strap has a bottom pocket (generally for snacks).

Above that pocket rests a 3-layered multi-pocket for soft bottle storage and more. The pockets are comprised of an outer compartment which is accessed by a zipper, a middle compartment, and an inner compartment, the latter two of which are both access by dropping items in from above. All three of these pockets share volume with one another, so if one pocket is full (like with a soft water bottle), then there is no volume left to store snacks or gear in the other two pockets. It begs the question of why stack three pockets all together?

The vest is adjustable via dual sternum straps and low double-back side straps, which when combined, create a very customizable, pleasant, and secure fit. The whole system is polished off with a removable nylon webbing hip belt strap, which definitely helps prevent bounce, though it doesn’t have padding, pockets, or store snacks. It’s a lean, mean, and very secure fit!