Black Diamond Distance 22 Backpack Review 

my pleasure! adv skin 12 is a classic. cant go wrong with that. thanks for watching.

It's my pleasure. Im glad to hear that!

my pleasure, thanks for watching!

Thanks for sharing Sean! Was the failure due to the taped seams? Thin material? Both or something else?

Glad to have helped!

Thank you! im glad you found it helpful!

It's my pleasure. Glad you found it helpful! I feel like the adv skin 12 is a lot of people's first love haha. But yeah, i've also found it too small for overnights. I also skipped the XA 25/35 packs since it didnt have the continuous material from the chest straps to the bottom of the back. Also as you mentioned it's hard to get. In terms of the strap design and pockets the BD22 is similar. The BD22 doesnt have the lower back channel, which isnt a huge deal since it does still have side pockets as you saw. I'd say its worth a try, but make sure you can return it. Although the accessibility and design is similar to the adv 12, the fit/comfort is not (imo). Cant beat carrying poles in your hand. that's the most UL option!

YES! a fellow waist belt trekking pole user. It's become my favorite way of carrying as well. You should check out my review/comparison of the Aonijie c9111 vs the UD 30. The c9111 has a shoulder strap pocket that is perfect for the inreach and other PLBs. it's my favorite pack

@@OutdoorOtaku I’ll check it out. 🙏🏻

heartache?! im very glad to hear that ive helped! ❤

thanks!! no i have not. surprisingly ive never heard of it til now. Is it new? i like the roll top closure. wish they had a stretchy material for the exterior pocket like the adv 12. but thats not a deal breaker. bit pricey though... ill try to scoop it up if its ever on sale or when i sell some of my current packs. do you have experience with it?

thank you! black diamond z poles.

No i have not, but i am intrigued! yeah im not sure if my fastpacking gear can fit in that lol. but im sure it'll be great for day hikes/runs. i'll add it to the list. thanks for the suggestion!

thank you!

Thank you! Great question! I actually contacted BD to find out but forgot to include it in the video. here's what they said, "The major difference between the packs is in the fit around the shoulders and chest which is specifically designed in a streamline fit for female bodies." "A women’s specific fit accommodates shorter torso lengths with shoulder strap shaping that focuses on curvature and width at the neck to ensure all-day comfort." To me, the shoulder and chest feel the same as any other vest style running pack. Albeit, very thin and floppy. I have a suspicion that the M and F are the same. if you look at the site, specifically the yellow colorway, they use the same exact photos for both versions. The only different is the small tag that states if its M or F and the size. If you compare the size guide, the mens sizing is the same as the womens sizing +1 size. e.g. Mens S = womens M // Mens M = womens L Or im totally wrong! Maybe they are just too lazy to take new photos lol.

The adv skin 12 is a dream to wear/use. It fits so well and rides very comfortably. It's like getting a hug. I have used it a lot in the white mountains of NH. Only complaint is that it's not the easiest to take things in and out of. That would be my recommendation.

i wouldnt count on it. I mention in the video that the closure system at the top can let water in. even if a pack was advertised as waterproof, i'd always recommend a pack cover and dry bag on the inside. thanks for watching!

I agree, to compare one pack as a whole to the other is not fair due to the large capacity difference. However the point wasn't to say one was better than the other. I compared specific parts of the adv 12 to the distance 22 in order to highlight certain issues on the distance 22 and how the adv skin deals with it better.

@@OutdoorOtaku i get that. i just think that a fictional adv 22 would struggle with the same problems. maybe a 22 runningpack just doesnt work in general. certainly this one doesnt seem to

Well salomon does have 20l+ running packs (xa25, xa 35). However those have completely different designed straps. Rather than having the thick strap material continuous from top to bottom, the bottom of shoulder strap is attached to the bag via a thin adjustable strap. Ive never used it before, but i have heard good things. It is very possible that an adv 22 pack with the same shoulder strap system as the adv 12 would not work. Maybe thats why they didnt continue it in the larger XA series packs. If so, then thats good for them that they didnt just copy the straps on an existing smaller pack to a larger pack. The BD distance line seems to all have the same style straps (judging by pics, i only have the 22l). That feels kind of lazy to me. A 8l pack and a 22l paxk have much different weight limits and the shoulder straps should be tailored for that. When it comes to packs with shoulder straps that are continuously thick top to bottom, ive never had one that was comfortable and could carry ~25L. Ive only tried two. The distance 22l and the raidlight revolutiv 24l. The raidlight feels even worse than the distance 22l. The straps are even thinner. And there are many problems with the pack. The only other packs i know of that have this style shoulder straps are the Montane Gecko 20l and Grivel Mountain Runner 20l. Capacity is a bit less on these though. Heres my theory: all of the packs ive seen with the continous thick straps are always fairly thin and stretchy. I believe this is because there is a lot more contact area btween the material and your body with these straps. Manufacturers have to worry about chest sizes. Many bags with these straps are not adjustble on the bottom attachment beneath your armpit. Using a stretchy material allows for more tolerance to different sizes. If they used a thicker and static material it wouldnt fit as many body shapes. However the issue is when you put these thin straps on a 22l+ pack it is no longer comfortable due to the weights of larger capacity bags (IMO). Also, some manufacturers seem to be taking the strap system of smaller capacity bags and putting it on higher capacity bags. I wish there was a pack with continuous thick material that had thick straps around the shoulders and a static mesh around your chest/pits. There are many 22l+ fastpacks that are very comfortable. My favorite currently is the aonijie c9111. However the c9111 does not have continuous straps. I 100% agree with you. An adv 22l very well may not work. In fact i havent found any 22l+ fastpack with continuous straps that works for me. But that does not excuse BD. They should have designed new straps for this larger capacity bag. I understand if you think its its pointless or unfair to compare the adv 12 to the distance 22l, especially if i dont believe the benefits of the adv 12 can successfully scale up to a 22l pack. But the point of the comparison was to highlight the issues with the distance 22l rather than potential solutions. Of course, this is all my opinion.

@@OutdoorOtaku its not pointless. Just unfair depending on the verdict imo. Keep it up 👍

in hindsight i got a bit defensive there lol. you never said it was pointless, I shouldnt have said that. Thank you! @@Drzzlt

My pleasure. Wow, that's a hell of an ultra marathon! That's awesome! How do you like your UD Pack? Nothing against UD, but i've found the their fastpack 30l to be a bit uncomfortable. And Im definitely not pulling 250k runs. Here's a written review i did comparing the UD Fastpack 30 to the Aonijie C9111: www.reddit.com/r/fastpacking/comments/xjrexj/review_aonijie_30l_backpack_c9111_better_than/ I'm working on a video comparison right now. To summarize, the c9111 is very similar to the UD30 however has some improvements that help improve fit, comfort, and accessibility. It's also a lot cheaper. Definitely worth checking out.

@@OutdoorOtaku I liked the UD 40l hause it has a decent hipbelt. But in terms of padding the best is WAA 20l ultrabag or OMM 25l classic or NOMAD (by Marathon des Sables - but has material issues): so rubbing on shoulders is a thing

@@midwaybrumenbridge never heard of those brands. I'll have to check em out. thanks for letting me know!

@@OutdoorOtaku WAA ultrabag around 190 Euro a french company, OMM is a British one for ultrarunnint and since Brexit a bit pricy. The Instinct is purely for runners and fast hikers and more of a 24lvest for around 220 Euros. As for UD I am they know their stuff. They might have issues but so far I Ve never been let down by these packs

@@midwaybrumenbridge The WAA Ultrabag looks very intriguing. has great modularity and some features not seen on other packs (large zipper main compartment). It looks like it could also work great as an everyday / travel pack as well. This will be my priority for new bags to try. thanks for the recommendations!

My pleasure! thanks for watching. I agree with you. I never used the ice axe holder nor have i used the pack in any winter/snowy conditions. So I cant speak on how the bag will perform in that environment. I do mountain stuff. Nothing that requires an ice axe, however some decent elevation, weather, and terrain. I haven't done any with this pack. If the bag doesn't perform well when doing a simple trail run amd hike, then im definitely not going to bring it with me when fastpacking or peak bagging mountains. Maybe it will perform better in a snowy alpine condition since you will have more layers of clothing that will act as a cushion for the straps. Maybe i just have weak shoulders lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i can say objectively that this pack has thinner and stretchier straps than others that i have tested.

I opted for the female since it was cheaper at the time. Here's what BD said about the size/fit difference- "The major difference between the packs is in the fit around the shoulders and chest which is specifically designed in a streamline fit for female bodies." "A women’s specific fit accommodates shorter torso lengths with shoulder strap shaping that focuses on curvature and width at the neck to ensure all-day comfort." They didn't mention a difference. However ive never compared them side by side in person to confirm. That said, the bottom of the pack rides around the waist, not the hips. so i dont think it would make sense for either genders to have it broader on the bottom. If it rode on the hips, then i would understand. but not the waist.

@@OutdoorOtaku Thank you very much for your detailed answer! My comment refered only to the comparison of what I've seen online. Even if I was sure to be right, my thoughts were nonsense: It wouldn't make much sense to cut differently in this area of the pack.

my pleasure! no worries. it's a good question that others have also asked. @@samuelruckh9174

I agree, to compare one pack as a whole to the other is not fair due to the large capacity difference. However the point wasn't to say one was better than the other. I compared specific parts of the adv 12 to the distance 22 in order to highlight certain issues on the distance 22. Will the adv 12 replace the distance 22? No. Are there aspects of the adv 12 that the distance 22 can incorporate to be better? Yes. I should have made my intentions more clear. Here's what BD said about the size/fit difference- "The major difference between the packs is in the fit around the shoulders and chest which is specifically designed in a streamline fit for female bodies." "A women’s specific fit accommodates shorter torso lengths with shoulder strap shaping that focuses on curvature and width at the neck to ensure all-day comfort." They didn't mention any difference with the bottom construction of the pack. That said, the bottom of the pack rides around the waist/belly, not the hips. so i dont think it would make sense for either genders to have it broader on the bottom. In fact, according to wikipedia "females generally have relatively narrow waists and large buttocks, and this along with wide hips." So if anything the female version should be tighter at the bottom. If it rode on the hips, then i would understand a wider opening. but not the waist.

YUP! glad to hear your feedback and that it's not just me! thanks.