Tested: Ortlieb Atrack 35L Pack

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When you think Ortlieb, you probably jump to bike panniers, right? The German brand has long made some of the most waterproof, practical commuting accessories on the market. But, while I do have a review of some excellent Ortlieb panniers lined up, they also make packs. The Atrack 35L is a fully waterproof backpack that’s made in Germany, and is meant to carry like a backpack, but open for easy accessibility like a duffle. It’s my new favorite trail building and bike road trip pack. So let’s dive in to what makes this pack so unique:

Ortlieb Atrack 35L Pack in a Nutshell

• Weight: 1482 g
• 4 zippered inside pockets
• Continuously adjustable back panel to accommodate different height
• Sizes Available: 25, 35, and 45 L

The Ortlieb Atrack 35L is available now.

Ortlieb Atrack 35L Review

An argument for waterproof trail building packs

This review was, quite honestly, inspired by one day of digging, one really, really wet day. My friend group has a tendency to dig on days where the weather is bad enough that we don’t want to ride, and this day was no exception. It was raining hard enough that even under the thick canopy, we were soaked. We scraped in a few corners, figured out an off-camber section, and then retreated to the fire to regroup and eat tacos. It continued to dump. My Gore-Tex raincoat soaked through. The dog was so fed up with the weather that it bailed, and went to lay under the car, a mile down the trail. We slogged on, squelching in our wet shoes and saturated socks, swinging tools in the slop.

It was not a productive day, and the drive home was long, cold, and wet. All the dry clothes in my Dakine Trail Builder pack were completely saturated, all my food was wet… everything was so wet. And then I got home, and there was an email in my inbox from Ortlieb asking if I wanted to review a waterproof backpack, and something clicked. Why do so few builder packs take into account the rainy conditions they’re meant to be used in? Sure, Evoc’s Trail Builder pack has a sweet rain fly that doubles as a warning sign, but in truly wet conditions, rain flies don’t do much.

So my time with the Atrack 35 was as much an experiment as it was a review. Does a waterproof pack make sense for digging? And if so, how does the Atrack stack up?

Fit and adjustability

The Atrack 35 L is first and foremost a nice backpack. Ortlieb obviously put a lot of thought and effort into the back panel, adjustment system, and straps. The entire shoulder and sternum strap assembly is on a sliding rail system that allows you to adjust the torso length. And the pads are thick and comfortable, even when the pack is weighed down.

The Atrack’s unique center-zip opening means that there’s a great air channel right down the center of my back, and I was impressed by how well it kept knobby tools from poking into my back uncomfortably while riding. Too many builder packs (*cough* Dakine *cough*) have a tendency to focus on adding all sorts of snazzy features onto a somewhat mediocre pack chassis. This is a nice pack that carries well, first and foremost.

I was surprised at how comfortable I was riding steep trails and more technical moves with a day’s worth of tools and gear in this pack. It doesn’t swing around, and it feels stable and predictable. No, it’s not the pack for all-day rides into the backcountry to dig, but for anything shorter, where you need more gear, it’s great. The 35L capacity is perfect for all the tools and gear I’d bring on a usual dig day, and I never felt like sizing up to the 45L version, or down to 25L.

Features and pockets

This is not, explicitly, a trail building pack. Instead, Ortlieb positions it as a travel and commuter pack. So there’s no chainsaw carry, no fuel bottle pocket, or nail roll. Instead, the outside of the pack has four mesh pockets, two zippered ones on the waist strap that are big enough for snacks or a wallet, and two stuff pockets on the sides of the pack that. I found myself using to carry gloves or water bottles.

There are two horizontal compression straps on the back, along with a vertical one that pulls the tip ends of the pack back down to center. The slots to reposition the compression straps are the perfect size for Voile ski straps as well, so it’s easy to customize the outside of the pack to hold anything you’d like. I had no problem strapping a pickaxe securely to the outside of the pack and riding with it. Ortlieb also sells a helmet carry and gear attachment kit if you don’t want to DIY with ski straps.

The front of the pack features a huge, top to bottom zipper that provides access to the main pocket. This zipper is awesome! I’ve never liked using waterproof packs because I find roll tops to be clunky and frustrating - I don’t like digging for my gear and dealing with the flapping top. And even traditional builder packs, where all the pockets are accessible from the back of the pack, require you to dump the front, with the panel that contacts your back, into the dirt to get to them. With the Atrack, you just take it off, set it down, and open it up.

Inside, there are two big flaps, one on each side of the opening, with two pockets each. These pockets are great for a cell phone, multi-tool, or anything else you want to stay organized and dry. There’s a waterproof hydration hose pass through, along with internal compression straps to keep everything tight.

All-in, the Atrack has all the features I need, and they’re nicely laid out and easy to access.

System management with the Ortlieb Atrack

I want to have a plan when it comes to loading up my packs. I don’t like to just stuff everything in. And that’s even more important when you’ve got a bunch of tools that are going to get wet and dirty, that you want to keep separate from things like spare clothes and food.

Luckily, the Atrack makes that easy. I use a Dakine accessory bag to carry my Trail Boss and Silky Saw inside the Atrack. That way, everything that will get wet and dirty is separated from things I want to stay nice. I stick my phone and camera inside the little hanging interior pockets, my gloves and any bigger hand tools go on the outside, and then I stuff my big med kit, repair kit, food, and water in around the tool bag. Everything is easily accessible, and nicely separated.

It’s also easy enough to strap an empty five gallon bucket onto the back of the pack, along with bigger hand tools.

While chainsaws are often the easiest avatar of mountain bike trail building - they look sexy and cool - most of the projects we’ve been working on haven’t required one. Instead, Jack’s battery-powered reciprocating saw has been punching well above its weight. That’s great, because the Atrack is not a great pack for carrying a saw. Sharp chains and waterproof materials don’t mix, and I’ve never used a saw that didn’t ooze bar oil, which is not something I want happening inside this expensive pack.

So, if you need to carry a chainsaw, there are better packs out there. For everything else, the Atrack is wonderful.

Performance, durability, and price

I’ve used Dakine’s original 40L Trail Builder pack, as well as their new modular 25L one, and if you’re carrying a saw, either of those packs is a better choice. For everything else, I’ll take the Ortlieb every time. It carries so much more comfortably, I feel safer riding hard trails with it loaded down than I do with either Dakine option, and it does a better job of keeping my gear clean and accessible.

It’s hard to overstate how much I appreciate having a fully waterproof bag to stash all my gear in, even in the worst rainstorms. I’d become accustomed to the constantly musty and moist options in my garage, and it’s very nice to get away from that paradigm. I was also surprised at how much I was compensating with my riding for how poorly those other packs carried. Even with a full Trail Boss kit, with two heads, food, water, layers, a camera, and a pickaxe strapped to the back, I felt comfortable riding all the same trails I would usually. That’s a nice quality of life upgrade.

And the Atrack has held up well. Yes, it’s a little scuffed a little dirty, but there’s no worrisome wear, and everything still works well. The waterproof zipper still runs smooth, and none of the bladed tools I’ve carried have caused problematic wear.

So what’s the catch? Well, the Atrack ain't cheap. It retails for $310. You can buy both the 25 and 40L Dakine builder packs for $388 total. But the Evoc builder pack costs $350, and isn’t waterproof.

For me, the value proposition comes down to the Atrack’s versatility. It’s great for digging trails, sure, but it’s also a great option for a bunch of other applications where waterproofing is at a premium. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it as a photo backpack, confident that my bodies and lenses were protected from my elements. And I’ve been using it as a duffle bag on camping trips where it’s carried in the bed of a truck. I’m not worried about a rainy day soaking all my gear, and it’s nicely organized. Similarly, if I was regularly bike commuting in the rain, the Atrack would be a great option.

As I mentioned at the top, digging with the Atrack was definitely an experiment, but it’s not one I want to quit anytime soon. It’s been quite nice heading into the woods, confident that no matter what the weather does, everything that I want to stay dry, will.