Ratings and Reviews

1. ★★★★★

   Julian L. · September 10, 2026

   Wonderful backpack, light, durable, I am very happy

2. ★★★★★

   Randy S. · August 13, 2026

   I don't know why this wasn't part of the pack's design, similar to the Pursuit 30 backpack; there is no internal clip and strap loop for suspending a typical bladder upright.

3. ★★★★★

   Mitch · July 17, 2026

   Did the Colorado Trail wearing this pack ranging from 17-32lbs and it performed flawlessly. Running vest style straps are super functional. Body and frame hold good structure to avoid the lumpy canon ball effect of some ultralight packs. Side pockets are spacious but hold stuff in well. Absolutely my go to pack now.

4. ★★★★★

   Brian H. · July 7, 2026

   Love this pack. Light, comfortable, just enough pockets and spaces to keep what you need handy.

5. ★★★★★

   Kimberly G. · July 5, 2026

   I've spent a lot of time moving through the mountains with nothing more than a running vest, often covering 20+ miles of ridges and peaks in a day, so I’ve been hesitant to purchase a new overnight pack. I seriously considered the Hyperlite, but after trying both, I found the Black Diamond Beta Light 45 to be significantly more comfortable. I recently used it on a quick overnight in the Cascades, and it exceeded my expectations. It's lightweight, moved naturally with my body, and never felt cumbersome, even on more technical terrain. The pack carried everything I needed for an efficient overnight without sacrificing mobility, which was exactly what I was looking for. If you're someone who likes to move fast in the mountains but occasionally stretches into overnight adventures, this pack strikes a great balance between weight, comfort, and capacity. So far, I'm really impressed.

6. ★★★★★

   Katrina H. · June 29, 2026

   I had a chance to do our first overnighter with this backpack. My pack with 2L Water weighed just 23 lbs. I notice that after a few minutes, the sensation of wearing the pack fades into the background and doesn't feel like a burden. I appreciate the mesh pockets on the strap for carrying items like my mobile phone, a monocular and multitool. One thing I struggle with is reaching the water bottles on the side—it seems like they're just a bit to far back to reach on my own. Other than that, great first impressions.

7. ★★★★★

   Jeff W. · April 30, 2026

   My first sojourn with the Beta Light 45 on a 3 day trip in Bears Ears was a success! The pack is superlight, yet, appears to be very durable. It didn't seem overloaded despite the fact that I filled it to capacity, and I had a few things attached to the outside (I'd recommend adding the BetaLite Satellite bag). The waist belt could be a little beefier but otherwise no complaints!

8. ★★★★★

   michael s. · December 25, 2025

   Purchased this because not many backpacks have vest style shoulder straps in ultralight fabrics. This pack is well made, and well seam sealed. Ultra is a game changer for its abrasion and water resistance. 5 foot 7 and a medium fits well. Only negative for me was that it has two vertical aluminum stays but no horizontal cross member . So overfilled it can be prone to barreling but for a very big load, I wouldn’t use an ultra light backpack anyway. Also wish the top buckles could be rolled and buckled to the sides instead of together on top. So as to make a more sleek profile for one bag travel without getting attention from the airline.

9. ★★★★★

   SP P. · October 11, 2025

   Overall like the pack and have used it for multiple 3-5 day trips. Rides well and as expected when you cut weight you loose some features. It cannot be overloaded or it will carry like a potato sack. The add on buckle on pocket is pretty much essential and is a great addition. Biggest issue for me is with the anti-sway straps at the shoulders. The narrow webbing slips through the buckles and does not hold, requiring constant adjustment. Also the amount of adjustment on the straps is not enough. I need to be able to pull the straps tighter and they are out of webbing. Guess I am going to have to pull out the sewing machine and get it the way I need it. Or maybe BD will come through. . . . . . . .

10. ★★★★★

    Bruce J. · September 29, 2025

    Purchase this for a recent hike on the Peaks of the Balkans trail. It was the perfect size for holding everything I needed to go from hut to hut. We did not need sleeping bags or tents, but the pack would’ve handled those easily. Very comfortable harness and supportive waist belt. Convenient pockets and the stuff pockets came in handy for water and snacks and rain gear for quick access.

11. ★★★★★

    Angus W. · August 23, 2025

    Lightweight yet durable. Favorite for hikes

12. ★★★★★

    Tom · August 18, 2025

    Context: 22 days of off-trail hiking and scrambling (low class 5 and steep snow) in the Sierra (lots of exposure to rough granite, minor exposure to brush). It carries up to 8 days of supplies/food for a solo trip without sticking anything in the mesh pockets other than rain gear, water, an ice axe, and sometimes my poles. Pros: Excellent fit and carry (tested up to 38lb with ice axe, 8d food, DSLR). Outstanding construction. Good weather resistance. Good weight and features without extraneous doodads. So far, very tough with no signs of wear. Misses: Hip pockets are poorly designed. It would benefit from more chest storage. Compression cord too thick for the line locks (easily fixable). Load lifters slip (can be mitigated). Ice axe loops are functional, but don't hold technical tools well. Fit: Extremely comfortable, but don't expect it to carry like a standard backpack. The load distribution splits the difference between a normal pack and a running vest. It's easy to shift load between shoulders and hips depending on terrain, but you won't be able to transfer a heavy load completely to your hips. 5'10", 180lb, 46" chest, 34" waist, 18. 5" torso length. Size medium fits great, but I almost max-out the chest/sternum straps. Comment: I have the same reservations other's have mentioned; however, on balance the upsides outweigh the downsides for me and I DO recommend this pack. The single biggest fault is the design of the hip pockets, which are too small and strangely shaped such that they stick out to the side. That said, they are functional, and if you're hiking with poles or using your hands for scrambling, they won't be in the way. BD should give serious thought to a redesign of these pockets. My other significant gripe is that I would like more functional chest storage with room for a hard sided bottle and a larger zippered chest pocket. As is, you can use a 500ml soft bottle on the left. Don't expect your phone to live comfortably in the right shoulder zippered pocket, but the pocket holds a small satellite beacon, sunscreen, and a small multitool or knife. The stretch pocket on the right strap could hold a phone, but I don't trust it when doing anything technical. Others have mentioned annoyance with the design of the large front mesh pocket and the top compression strap. I don't find these to be problems; I prefer BD's more streamlined approach for bushwhacking and scrambling through awkward terrain. No snags. Bottom line: While it would benefit from some thoughtful refinements, the outstanding construction and fit/carry of the pack place it above similar products I've used. For week-long trips scrambling in alpine terrain or fast movement on trail, this is the best pack I've found at this capacity.

13. ★★★★★

    Ellie · August 17, 2025

    Wow, what a pack! I love this pack, it is light, comfortable and durable. I’m 5ft2 and got a size small which fits great. The 45 litres is perfect for multi day trips even with a tent and the front pocket is amazing! I can fit so much stuff in there it’s insane and I’m really impressed with how well the mesh has held up. This pack has been around sharp rock, ice, scree and sharp vegetation and so far only the tiniest snags on the mesh but no holes! I love the big open space, it’s great for organising where my stuff goes in their various dry bags and my stove fits in nicely. The tent poles go great down the side of the pack, along with my hiking poles. I haven’t used the reservoir sleeve for that intention yet but it serves really well as a pocket for dehydrated meals, spork and snacks etc. The only thing that I don’t like about this pack is that I find the weight loading straps tend to slip so I have to check them and tighten; this may be because they are quite thin straps but otherwise this pack is great and I love it for it’s intended purpose. The vest style pockets are amazing and fit all the essentials and I really like that little rubber loop on the shoulders, I use it to clip my Garmin InReach mini and then wedge it in the pocket so it doesn’t bounce around- perfect spot for it! I also find the zips on the hip pockets are smooth and really easy to open and close. I love this pack so much it only took one conversation to convince my work colleague to buy one! I also love the colour and look of this pack!

14. ★★★★★

    Andy · June 29, 2025

    The pack is really thoughtfully designed, nice material, clearly a lot of thought went into it. I did send it back - new unused. The lack of any storage pockets (beyond places for snacks and narrow little water bottles) was a problem for me. I’m off to Europe again this summer and there is no place for my passport or other essentials. And the waist pockets big enough for minor trail conveniences - granola bar for example, stick straight out and I know my arms will be bumping into them every step. That will be super annoying. I like the material, and the weight is impressive. Good size for an extended trip, and I would feel fairly confident in a downpour that everything would stay dry. Give me a zippered secure pocket and do something with the elephant ear pockets on the waist and the pack is a keeper.

15. ★★★★★

    Cjg · June 27, 2024

    Just hiked Mt Kilimanjaro with the Beta Light 45 pack. Super light for a long trek. The harness is amazingly comfortable and with the pockets great for cameras, GoPro's, etc. . . It handled the rain well, 100% of my items remaining dry. Highly recommend this versatile pack.

16. ★★★★★

    Jonph · May 31, 2024

    I was really excited to try this pack (purchased from, then returned to Backcountry. com) based on the design and fabric. Unfortunately the hip belt is so thin that it’s useless and may as well not be there. It may suffice if you’re only carrying 15-20lbs, but anything over that and the whole pack sags and draws on your shoulders. I’m a lightweight AT & PCT thruhiker so have tried my share of packs and miles. I really like the pack fabric, which drives the price up, but did seem very durable and extra bonus it’s waterproof. Pack design is the pretty standard two side pockets and one front, which held plenty of gear in the outside. I liked the wide roll top opening. The two stay suspension seemed like overkill given that the hipbelt is so flexible that it won’t support any weight transferred from them to it. BD might as well cut weight and have just one stay. Then add some high-quality foam and perhaps some rigid plastic to the outside of the belt to help it hold 20-25 lbs much better. Even if a couple ounces more due to the above, I would have kept the pack. The shoulder harness was fine, I like the vest style. The foam in the should straps did end pretty short, but was still comfortable. Some of the stitching (around the harness edging, top of front pocket) seemed lower stitch-count and quality than I usually expect from BD. I hope they’ll update these soon with a real hip belt and I’d consider it again.

17. ★★★★★

    Jiri. Z. · May 24, 2024

    I use to have osprey rook 65l, somehow i am able to fit more stuff in this backpack and still have room for other stuff. TOTALLY WORT IT FOR THIS MONEY.

18. ★★★★★

    Neal M. · May 12, 2024

    Bought two high end packs and carry them both. I will post results after a month or two.

19. ★★★★★

    Pct H. · May 8, 2024

    Here is my 140 mile review from Kennedy Meadows South . Cons: - Hip belt pockets stick out like a duck bill and chafe inside of arms. Had to remove waist belt pad with pockets, which is a tragedy because if you’re spending $400 on a pack, you expect hip belt pockets. I slid a Hyperlite Vice Versa fanny pack on the hip belt webbing as an alternative. - Waist belt webbing is only 1”, it probably should be wider for when the hip pad is removed. - Compression cords are static and the hooks fall off when not taught. I suggest BD add a second loop about 6” below the existing one to swing the cord down to hold shorter items in the side pocket (like poles). - There is no designed way to store trekking poles or an ice tool without taking the pack off. If you shove poles in the side pockets, the static compression cords are too high to hold the upper end of the poles. Some Salomon packs for example, have three ways to carry poles without taking off the pack. - I replaced the static cords under the bottom of the pack that were coming unhooked and dangling anyway with shock cords and a lock to temporarily store poles without taking the pack off. - If you loop an ice tool through one of the loops below the back pocket, it will tear the mesh. A Venom Piolet does not reach nor fit through (especially with a pommel) a webbing loop at the top corner of the back mesh pocket. I had to stick the end of my Venom in a disposable water bottle (with the top cut off) in the side pocket so the point won’t tear through. - Only one hydration flask pocket, really? BD does not sell a flask that fits the pocket. The large oval top of then W-MX 500ml softflask does not fit in the long narrow left-side pocket. You have to buy a 500ml flask from Patagonia. The right-side zip pocket is small-ish. A phone in it feels uncomfortable on your chest, sunglasses barely fit and have to be oriented correctly to not dig into your chest. Bottom line, the shoulder straps unfortunately are not the same as the Distance series packs; I wish they were. - Side pocket top elastic is tight and has no cord lock to loosen. It is difficult to put in or remove items from the side pockets. You have to take the pack off to reach and replace a water bottle. - Load lifter straps are too narrow 1/4”, come loose and need to be re-adjusted frequently. - Static fabric at the top of the large back pocket makes accessing the pocket difficult especially when the pack is full. - Roll closure, two rigid pieces of plastic - Zipper chest pocket doesn’t fit anything except the gel, a midsize phone fits, but doesn’t work because it’s uncomfortable because that advantage of the shoulder straps is it mesh phone is uncomfortable and pushes into your shoulder. Pros: - Carries more comfortably than most packs. The shoulder straps are wide, breathable, angled to match the slope of your shoulders. Bottom line, the Beta 45 may have been rushed to market and not thoroughly tested by experienced thru-hikers. There are too many flaws to justify the $400 price. If you want a comfortable pack at a fair price, look at the Pa’lante Desert pack, it’s comfortable, simple, elegant, and frameless. Honestly, if I were BD, it would pull the Beta from the market, fix the design, do a new production run and replace existing Beta sales to customers. I luv BD, am an experienced big wall and ice climber. I’ve been buying BDs great climbing packs and gear for 20 years. I can’t tell you how many sets of Camelot’s I’ve worn-out.

20. ★★★★★

    Andy N. · April 29, 2024

    Buckle up, its going to be a big one! I am normally not a reviewer but as this is a new product without much info I thought I would give it a go. First some basic stats, I'm 6'3, 190lbs, have the size large, took the pack for an overnight over the weekend, wet weight was 17. 4lbs, we covered 36 miles on the AT/LT. I normally carry a HMG South West 55 First and foremost I am no stranger to ultralight packs. I commend BD on the fit and comfort of the pack while also acknowledging that my weight was well below the "max load". My guess is that it would carry another 8-10 pounds well but I doubt that I would want to cross the 30 lbs mark let alone 40. The running vest style shoulder straps kept the load close and seem to distribute weight nicely. I really liked the second sternum strap. The soft flask pouch held my 600ml hydrapac securely and comfortably and the hip belt pockets kept a a days worth of trail snacks at the ready. The 45L size was spacious enough for my kit but know that this is not a big pack. I can see it holding enough for 3 maybe 4 days worth of travel without having to strap stuff to the outside (which I hate). Now lets get into the details. BD heralds this pack as nearly water proof, able to take anything shy of throwing it into a river, which is how I feel about my HMG. BD made two errors, likely to save themselves a few dollars that unfortunately scream CHEAP. First they included a bladder pass through (fine I guess, not that I know anyone who still uses a bladder or passes a hose through a fast pack) and instead of making the section of the pack out of Ultra they made it out of ripstop. It has taped seams and is coated, but is still a total bummer to have a highly exposed section of the pack made our of nylon. Second the back panel is not ultra fabric either. I would have expected that the entire pack be made of ultra and then a back panel added to it. I suspect that this this pack will leak in a down pour. Part of the point of Ultra / dyneema fabric is its durability. The mesh pocket on the front of the pack has great capacity but is not Ultra mesh like others. I am very concerned about its durability. Furthermore because the back panel is a soft fabric as well there really isnt any good way to put the pack on the ground. I had no hesitation about sitting or leaning on my HMG but I dont feel the same with this pack. The Hip belt is comfortable at low weight but lacks the structure and width for heavier loads. Expect more weight on your shoulders than some of the other UL packs. While the pack claims to have load lifters and compression straps I found that both of these fell short. The load lifters are on such thin material that they do not stay tensioned. Perhaps this will improve as they wear in. The compression straps are the opposite. The tensioner grabs so fiercely that they are hard to adjust. I found the phone pocket on the shoulder strap to be great for blocks and gu but had to take my phone out almost immediately. There is no padding under the pocket and weight of the pack makes the phone very uncomfortable. Is the pack worth the price tag? Its hard to say at this point. It is super comfortable a low weight. If my durability and watertightness concerns prove false it could be great. If 3. 5 stars were an option thats where I would put it, a good, comfortable pack, but it missed a few crucial boxes that would put it at the top of the list given its price tag. Hope this is helpful.

21. ★★★★★

    Steve O. · April 15, 2024

    1. It feels as lightweight as the scales say it is. 2. Just finished packing it up and trying out a day hike with a weekend’s worth of gear. This bag felt great on the shoulders, and all the straps are in reach, tighten/loosen easily, and hook together very nicely. 3. I had no trouble one-shouldering it while reaching in to pull out some gear, even some stuff at the bottom. 4. I think the size chart helped me get the right bag. 5. I bought that silly little bag that clips onto the back of the back. It’s not silly at all, rides great atop the bag. And does indeed make for useful waist pack.

22. ★★★★★

    Angel M. · March 23, 2024

    I have’t had a chance to use it yet but incredible attention to detail and I put weight in it and it’s very comfortable. Very cool way they put the back pad in an outer pocket. I will do a full review on my channel AlpineEarth.

23. ★★★★★

    Dave H. · March 11, 2024

    The Large size Betalight45 fits me very well. The shoulder straps are comfortable with a loaded pack and the hip belt sits properly to take some weight. I'm 6'3",180lbs, my torso is 21. 5-22" according to BD instructions. I measured the actual volume of the main bag to be 46L and still able to roll closed. Side/back pockets will be additional capacity.