Increase Backpack Ventilation and Comfort

The following review of the Vaucluse Cool-Dry Frame was done by YouTuber Gone Feral With Squidly.

Hey there, this is Squidly of Gone Feral With Squidly, the YouTube channel all about hiking, backpacking, kayaking and RV camping. I’m out of town visiting some of my wife's family, and it's early in the morning, and I thought I would get a couple hours of training in for the Alabama Triple Crown (three trails – Pin Chin Sky Loop, Oak Mountain State Park, The Sipsey Wilderness – averaging 20 miles a day in three days).

So that's what I'm doing but that's not what this video is about today.

I am testing out a new piece of gear. It's the Vaucluse Cool Dry Backpack Frame and when I first saw it, it caught my attention because I have a problem… Even in really cool temperatures, when my backpack is up against my back, I’m sweating pretty bad. Yeah. Sorry.

Transcript - Ventilated Backpack Solution

The Cool Dry Frame is designed to fit any backpack, and I did not have any trouble at all fitting it to my backpack just this morning. You do not have to take your backpack straps apart. There are clips here that snap off, run your straps through, and then just snap them back in place. It's really easy. Then, at the bottom, it attaches with Velcro straps. 

[The frame] is is really easy to assemble and stays in place, which was another concern when I put it on. I thought, there's no way this is going to stay in place. But I haven't had any trouble at all with it moving. It doesn't shift at all. 

On a recent day hike I did 21 miles in the city, and the high temperature that day only got into the low 40s. There was a point where I had to take my pack off to go filter water, and when I did, I got a rush of that cool air against my back and realized how much I'd been sweating. So even in those low temperatures, I will sweat and especially in the wintertime, sweat is your enemy. Getting wet in cool temperatures or windy conditions is a recipe for getting hypothermia or at least being uncomfortable. 

So when I saw this Vaucluse backpack frame, it caught my attention. 

It's made out of flexible rubber and, depending on how you wear your backpack, kind of flexes with you, which brings up the next point… 

I knew, based on the design, that it would help with sweat. My concern was, how comfortable is this going to be? How is it going to feel against my back? 

And when I first got it, I will be honest with you, I had my doubts. I thought, this is not going to feel good against my back, but it turns out that I was wrong. I'm wearing it now and I've had it on now for about, I don't know, an hour and a half and I really don't even feel it. 

I'll tell you what I do feel: I feel air moving against my back. That's awesome. Because even though it's a cool morning, I'm warm enough that, if I didn't have this frame, I would definitely be sweating by now. 

I'm not sure if training in a city park on concrete pathways is the best way to train, but the only way to get ready to walk for miles is to walk for miles and since this is the first time I've used this, I'm finding additional benefits to it as I go along…

There's one that I had not even considered and that is, that daypacks like this do not really hold their shape very well. They kind of slump and just don't hold a very good shape against your back. This frame helps it hold a better shape. You won't get that “slumping feeling” from your pack on your back. I'm liking this frame right now. 

My assessment is that the positives significantly outweigh any negatives and the only negative I can think of is that it adds just a little bit of weight to my daypack and that’s still okay because of the added comfort it's giving me.

I don't see why I wouldn't use it. I don't know specifically what it weighs (but I can look it up on the website or just weigh it at home) so I'll put it up for you. The Vaucluse Backpack Frame can be used not just with daypacks, which is how I'm using it, but also with bigger overnight packs. I'm not sure that I'm going to use it for that, just because I have a ZPak Arc Haul that provides some airflow on my back already (I guess that's just one of those things where time will tell, but I'm definitely going to be using this on my daypack). 

As I mentioned, I have the Alabama Triple Crown coming up and this Vaucluse frame will be going on my pack for the Alabama Triple Crown. I will know more then about exactly how it performs, because I'll be getting into warmer weather and significantly more distance. Totally looking forward to that. And I'm looking forward to using the Vaucluse Cool Dry Backpack Frame. 

Go into Comments and tell me what you think about this frame. Give me your thoughts on it. Let's have a conversation and, on the way out, don't forget to hit Like and Subscribe.

End of transcript.

Watch the video directly on YouTube by clicking here.

More about the Vaucluse Cool-Dry Backpack Ventilation Frame:

The Cool-Dry Frame is an attachable backpack ventilation frame that fits directly on your favorite backpack. Call it the no-sweat backpack frame. This backpack spacer attaches in seconds to your favorite backpack (framed or frameless) to upgrade airflow, reduce back heat, and increase comfort.

The ventilated gap between you and your backpack is a uniform 0.75" (19 mm).

Sweat less on your next backpacking experience and enjoy the adventure more.