Review: Burton Prism 30L - $120

Disclaimer:

I need to be upfront with you guys here.  I never bought this pack.  I went into the Burton store in Chicago and gave this thing a serious once over for 20 minutes, however.  I considered not including it since I spent so little time with this pack, but decided to just provide a disclaimer and let you decide the value of this review. I was able to take all of my stuff from my fully loaded Patagonia Refugio (I was in Chicago on business) and put it into the Prism to test it. 

The good stuff:

This is a really well built if not a bit fussy pack.  It has all six necessities, too.  The material (a ripstop nylon) is so heavy duty that the pack stands up on its own.  Even if it was made with thinner material, the back is stiff enough to serve as a frame-sheet of sorts.  It also has the best hardware of all the packs tested.  Instead of plastic clips, Burton chose to use metal hook-like connectors and awesome anchor-like zipper pulls (for use while wearing mittens).
The seams are stout and it feels like a piece of equipment that you can pass on to your children.  In some sense, I would predict that this pack would last longer than the Patagonia Blackhole because I would think that the PVC coating on the Blackhole would suffer from UV degradation over time.  The pack has a hood covering the top to enhance water resistance.  The laptop compartment has a fold over enclosure to even further protect it from water (it is under the hood). 

This is rated as a bigger pack than the others by a bit, but it didn't feel like it when I wore it.  In fact, I would not be surprised if Burton overrated the size a bit.  If not, and the size rating is accurate, then it compactness is likely due to the excellent suspension system. This was built to stick to you while snowboarding.  The waist belt is wider than most of the packs in this review (similar to the Gregory Sketch 28) and therefore it can serve to support weight not just stabilize the load.

The pack also has a separate pocket for a laptop (and even a separate sleeve for a tablet).  As I have stated previously, this is something that I value.  Read on, however, to see how its implementation was less than perfect.

The bad stuff:

This pack has the dreaded compression straps across the zipper "feature."  I should stop right there since I said before that I would eliminate packs with this issue.  Alas, I am weak and I decided to review it anyway since I am sure that some of you out there are looking at this pack if you are interested in CDPs.  It is such an attractive looking pack that even I (shudder) almost overlooked the compression strap issue.

However, this pack is WAY overbuilt.  In use it would be an enormous pain to get to your stuff.  As with many of these packs, the divided organizer pocket is inside of the main compartment.  That, to me, is a less than ideal place as I often need to get access to the stuff in that organizer pocket and I do not want to have to open up the main compartment to do so.  Consider, however, that it is an even nuttier production when it comes to this pack.  First you need to unclip the hood (which is an unconventional, metal hook that requires two hands) then you need to unzip the main compartment.  Most packs with hoods have a cinch closure which can be left "open" under a hood.  Not the Prism. It has a zippered opening. This extra step that one needs to get through is a pain.  I understand that the hood enhances the water resistance, so for some this may be invaluable.  However, in most conditions, having the hood here is overkill.

Similarly, having a roll-top closure for the laptop is overkill.  It should have been an easier to close zipper.  The roll-top is similar to those seen on waterproof bags that I use when kayaking (though not nearly as good actually).  You do not need this kind of closure under a hood.  Usually, you have either one or the other – not both.  I suppose that if they were to get rid of the hood, having the roll top closure would actually be a good thing.  Better yet, Burton should have had a normal hood and cinch system for the main compartment and a roll top compartment outside of this hood for the laptop.  That would make much more design sense.

Summary:

I can't ignore the compression straps across the zipper issue.  Even if I could this is how I would summarize my findings:  This pack was similar to the Gregory Sketch 28 in shape and feel.  However, if the Sketch was under-engineered then the Prism was over-engineered.  If I could mate these two packs, their offspring would have been ideal.  The Prism is one of those packs that look great on the stat sheet and even on the showroom floor, but in actual use, it turns into a great big headache to use.

Grade: B-