Black Diamond Speed 40 Backpack Review: A Modular Alpine Tool Built to Summit

The walk in calls for a big, supported pack carrying crampons, a rope and two ice tools. The climb calls for something slim that won’t swing or catch on rock. Most packs are built for one of those jobs, so the other half of the day ends up uncomfortable.

That’s not a packing failure on your part. Alpine days really do ask two different things of one bag, and plenty of climbers end up owning two packs because of it.

This Black Diamond Speed 40 backpack review looks at whether its strip-down design covers both halves of the day, and what you give up for it.

By the end you’ll know which size fits your torso, how it carries with and without its frame, and whether a different alpine pack would suit you better.

The Anatomy of an Alpine Pack: What Makes the Speed 40 Different

To see why this pack is built the way it is, start with what an alpine day asks of a bag. On the walk in, it carries crampons, a rope, ice tools, layers and food. On the route, you want as little bulk and swing behind you as possible.

A pack built for only one of those jobs is either too flimsy for the approach or dead weight on the climb. Black Diamond’s answer is what it calls a strippable design: the lid, the hip belt and the frame sheet all come off.

Leave them on and the hip belt can take part of the load off your shoulders. Black Diamond doesn’t publish a load range, but two owners on its site describe carrying 35 pounds or more comfortably.

Take them off and you’re left with a slim top-loader for the technical part of the day.

Picture the point where the walking ends and the climbing starts. A full-size pack that carried well on the approach now feels bulky behind you, and the hip belt sits right where your harness goes.

The usual answer is a second, smaller pack, which means carrying two. With the Speed 40, you leave the lid, the hip belt and the frame sheet at camp and climb with the same bag.

The Materials: X-Rip Nylon and UTS Coating

The body fabric is Black Diamond’s X-Rip, a 210-denier nylon with a UTS coating.

Denier measures how heavy the yarn is for its length, so a lower number usually means a finer, lighter fabric. 210 is a common choice for light alpine packs, and Black Diamond says this one is built to withstand season after season of mountain abuse.

Black Diamond doesn’t call the pack waterproof. It says the drawcord skirt under the lid keeps out spindrift (fine snow blown by the wind) and light precipitation, and it sells a raincover separately.

I read that as fine for snow and passing showers, not something to trust alone in long, steady rain.

If you expect a wet day, add a cover or line the inside with a dry bag. My roundup of the best backpack rain covers compares covers that stay put in wind.

On the front, a welded abrasion patch gives what Black Diamond calls improved protection against rock, ice and crampon spikes. It’s a sign the pack expects sharp metal strapped to the outside.

One thing to check before ordering: Black Diamond’s product page says the pack contains PFAS and can’t be shipped to California, New York or Colorado. PFAS are a family of long-lasting chemicals often used in water-repellent finishes.

If avoiding PFAS matters to you, or you live in one of those states, factor that in before you buy.

The Hardware: Dogbones, PickPockets, and Glove-Friendly Buckles

This is where the Speed 40 parts ways with a hiking pack. Each ice tool is held with what Black Diamond calls a custom metal dogbone attachment, which it says makes the tools more secure than before.

The dogbones work with Black Diamond’s micro ice-tool PickPockets, small pockets the picks sit in, so the sharp ends are covered rather than loose. Removable crampon straps hold crampons on the outside.

The main buckles on the lid are mounted on the surface and designed for gloved hands, Black Diamond says. Cold fingers and small buckles don’t mix, which is why that detail matters.

A tuck-away rope strap holds a rope on the outside for the approach and stows away when you don’t need it.

Suspension and Fit: Two Sizes, Dual-Density Foam

The Speed 40 comes in two sizes. Black Diamond’s size chart puts the S/M at torso lengths of 16 to 19 inches (41 to 48 cm) and the M/L at 18.5 to 21.5 inches (47 to 55 cm).

The same chart gives a waist range for each size: 26 to 40 inches (66 to 102 cm) for the S/M and 28 to 45 inches (71 to 114 cm) for the M/L.

If your torso lands in the 18.5 to 19 inch overlap, the waist range settles it only at the ends: under 28 inches points to the S/M, over 40 to the M/L.

If you haven’t measured yet, my guide on how to measure your torso for a backpack takes a few minutes with a soft tape and a helper. A torso under 16 inches is below both sizes.

Black Diamond lists the S/M at 2.37 pounds (1,077 g) and the M/L at 2.46 pounds (1,115 g). Backcountry lists the S/M at 38 liters and the M/L at 40.

The shoulder straps use dual-density foam, which Black Diamond says spreads the load better on the approach while staying streamlined on route. Two foam densities are meant to give the strap more support than a single soft foam, without adding bulk.

Black Diamond describes the back panel as moisture-wicking. It’s a padded panel that sits against your back, not a mesh panel held away from it, so it won’t breathe like a suspended mesh back on a hot approach.

Inside, the removable frame sheet doubles as a bivy pad, a thin pad to sit or lie on if you’re caught out overnight. When you take off the hip belt, a fixed webbing belt stays on the pack, so you still have something to keep the load from swinging.

How the Speed 40 Carries, Packs and Holds Your Tools

Comfort and Load Transfer

At about 2.5 pounds (1.1 kg) with everything attached, the Speed 40 is light for a 40-liter pack with this much climbing hardware.

Black Diamond’s 35 owner reviews mostly describe it as light and comfortable, and one owner describes hauling gear to basecamp with it, then using it for summit attempts.

One owner who uses it on long approaches says it’s comfortable with or without the hip belt. Packing matters more with this pack than most, and my guide on how to pack a hiking backpack covers where heavy gear should sit.

That advice becomes the whole story once the frame sheet comes out. With nothing stiff between your gear and your back, a stove, a helmet edge or a loose ice screw presses straight into you.

For a careful packer, that’s normal alpine practice. If you tend to throw things in, a frameless Speed 40 can shift and sag, so put soft layers against your back and hard gear in the middle.

Organization and Accessibility

The Speed 40 is a top-loader: you get in through a drawcord skirt under a removable lid, which is standard for alpine packs. Backcountry lists one zippered lid pocket and hydration compatibility. One owner finds the drawstring opening fussy.

The tradeoff is simple storage. There are no side bottle pockets, so on the move your options are a hydration reservoir inside or a bottle holder clipped to a shoulder strap.

One owner on Black Diamond’s site would like a hip pocket and a bottle he can reach from outside, while another likes that there are no extra pockets.

If you’ll want a snack or a map mid-route, decide where it goes before you start, because reaching anything in the main bag means stopping and opening the lid.

Ice Tool Carry and Crampon Management

Ice tools are awkward to carry, with sharp picks and adzes pointing in different directions. Owners on Black Diamond’s site use the Speed 40 for ice climbing, glacier routes and guiding, which is the kind of carrying the dogbones and PickPockets are built for.

Not everyone gets along with the carry system, though. A few owners on Black Diamond’s site found the tool and crampon attachments awkward.

The owner who found the drawstring fussy points out that the crampon straps have no buckles, so compression alone holds the crampons, and worries they could slip out.

Who Is This For? The Right Hiker and the Wrong One

The Ideal User

The Speed 40 is built for alpine climbers, mountaineers and scramblers who need one pack for a heavy walk-in and a technical objective. If your trips pair a long approach with a summit push where bulk matters, the strip-down design saves you carrying two bags.

It also suits experienced hikers heading into technical terrain on overnight trips, who know the difference between a hiking pack and an approach pack and want the second one.

Who Should Look Elsewhere

If you mostly hike maintained trails, the Speed 40 will feel like the wrong tool. Its features serve climbing, and there are no hip belt pockets or zippered panels to sort small things into. For weekend outings, my picks for the best daypacks for beginners are a better match.

Ultralight backpackers would be carrying climbing hardware they don’t need. And if you want one bag for commuting, travel and the trail, look at hybrid daypacks built for city and trail instead.

If you want an alpine pack with more frame, the Osprey Mutant 38 has a framesheet with two aluminum stays and a reverse-wrap hip belt.

Osprey rates it for loads of 10 to 30 pounds (5 to 13 kg), its lid and framesheet come off too, and Osprey says its water-repellent finish is PFAS-free.

If you want easier access, the Mammut Trion 38 has a roll-top with zippered side access to the main compartment, mesh pockets on the shoulder straps and a compartment for avalanche gear. It comes in one size, and Mammut lists it at 2.65 pounds (1,200 g).

At the brands’ own list prices, the Speed 40 costs a little more than either alternative, so you’re paying for the strip-down design and the ice tool carry.

Pros

Lid, hip belt and frame sheet all come off for the climb

Metal dogbone ice tool attachments with PickPockets for the picks

Welded front abrasion patch where crampons and rock rub

Covered by Black Diamond’s Practical Product Lifetime warranty

Cons

No side bottle pockets and little storage outside the main bag

Top-loading only, so reaching gear means stopping

Needs careful packing once the frame sheet is out

A handful of owners report seams or stitching wearing through early

Maintenance and Longevity

Cleaning and Storage

Black Diamond’s product page doesn’t give washing instructions for the Speed 40, so start with the care label inside the pack. For the general method, my guide on how to wash a backpack covers washing a pack by hand and drying it properly.

After a winter trip, empty the pack and let it dry completely before you store it, so melted snow isn’t sealed inside. While it dries, look over the stitching where the back panel meets the base of the pack.

Weather Protection and Care

If a seam or strap does fail, Black Diamond’s warranty page lists packs under its Practical Product Lifetime warranty, which covers defects in materials and construction.

It applies to packs bought new from Black Diamond or an authorized seller in North America, so if you buy elsewhere, check the terms where you live.

One owner on Black Diamond’s site says customer service replaced a pack that had problems in time for a planned climb. Keep your receipt with the pack’s paperwork, because you’ll need to show where you bought it.

Final Verdict: Is the Black Diamond Speed 40 Right for You?

I’d pick the Speed 40 if your climbs start with a long, loaded approach and you want one pack for both halves of the day. Black Diamond calls it its tried-and-true on-route alpine pack, and the owner reviews back up how well it carries and strips down.

What you give up is convenience and some certainty about durability. Storage is a lid pocket and one main bag, and a handful of owners report seams wearing through early.

If you mostly hike trails, or you want pockets you can reach on the move, look elsewhere: the Osprey Mutant 38 or Mammut Trion 38 above, or a daypack built for the trail.

Before you order, measure your torso and check it against the two size ranges. When the pack arrives, load it with your real approach kit, then strip off the frame, belt and lid and pack it the way you’d climb, while you can still return it.

Best for Alpine Climbs

Black Diamond Speed 40

An alpine pack that carries a loaded approach, then strips down for the climb: the lid, hip belt and frame sheet all come off. Worth it if you haul ropes and ice tools in, less so if you mostly hike trails and want easy pockets.

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