Aircontact Pro 65+10 SL

The Aircontact Pro 65+10 SL is Deuter's women's-fit expedition pack, built around organisation: multiple compartments, a separate bottom access, and a lid that detaches into a daypack. 65 litres plus a 10 litre extendable lid.

Who it's for

Serious loads on a women's fit. The Pro frame carries weight that makes lighter packs fold, and the lid comes off as a daypack for summit days.

Capacity, and what actually fits

The +10 is real litres, not a model number. The lid extends. A 65 carries 65 litres packed normally and 75 with the lid raised - which is the difference between a long weekend and a week, or between carrying your own food and carrying someone else's as well.

A week or more of serious walking, with the frame to carry it properly. The extra 10 litres and the detachable lid make it two packs in one.

How it carries

The Pro is the load-hauler. Same Aircontact back system - open-cell foam that pumps air through as you walk - on a stiffer, more heavily built frame designed for the weights that make lesser packs fold.

This is what you take when the trip is long enough that food and fuel are measured in kilos, or when you are carrying the tent and somebody else is carrying the stove.

Fitting it

SL is Deuter's women's fit, and it is a genuinely different pack rather than a colourway. Narrower shoulder straps set closer together, a shorter back length, and a hip belt angled for a different pelvis shape. If a standard pack has ever dug into your collarbones or sat wrong on your hips, this is why.

Back length decides the size, not your height. Measure from the bony bump at the base of your neck to the top of your hip bones, and load the pack properly before you judge it - an empty pack tells you nothing. Get 80% of the weight onto your hips and the shoulder straps just stop it tipping backwards.

Access and organisation

The lid detaches and becomes a daypack, which is the feature that earns its weight on any trip with a base camp - summit day, a water run, a walk into town without hauling 80 litres.

Front zip access to the main compartment, a separate bottom compartment with an unclippable divider, and a 200D recycled ripstop body under 500D textured nylon. Ripstop is the upgrade over the Core: a nick stays a nick instead of running.

Weight

2790 g empty, measuring 80 / 33 / 25 cm (L x W x D). For a pack that carries 75 litres loaded, that is a fair trade - the frame and the back system are where the weight goes, and they are what let you carry a heavy load comfortably.