Lange Compact Boot Bag

The Lange Compact Boot Bag is a small, tough top-loader — 35 liters of rugged 600D polyester, backpack straps, and a zippered opening at the top. Lange's own description calls it a "World Cup circuit, heavy-duty starting gate warm-up bag," which points at the start area rather than a full gear haul.

Read the name carefully, and we would rather tell you this now than have you find out at home: the bag is called a Boot Bag, but Lange's published description does not specify an internal boot compartment. What Lange documents is the 600D body, the backpack straps and the zippered top load, and that is what we will stand behind. Both the Racer Bag and the Racer Bag Small are documented with zippered internal side boot compartments, a helmet pouch and a fleece-lined goggle pocket — the Small at 75 liters is the cheaper way to get them. If a boot compartment is the reason you are buying, buy that bag instead, or talk to us first.

The numbers, from Lange's 26/27 catalog: 35 liters, 290 x 140 x 610 mm, 1.41 kg. That is a tall, narrow shape, closer to a day pack than to a gear duffel.

Who it suits: racers and coaches who want a hard-wearing 35-liter pack for the start area, and skiers who want a simple, rugged top-loader to sling on their back. Who should skip it: anyone shopping for one bag to carry ski boots, helmet and a day's gear together. At 35 liters this is not that bag; the 80-liter Racer Bag is.