Bottom Line
With a great weight and a great price, the Flash 55 is one of those great packs that undercuts the competition while not leaving much on the table. In spite of its price, it’s still made of quality materials with many features traditional backpackers expect, such as a floating top lid, internal frame, cushioned hip belt, and great compression options. In fact, the Flash goes beyond what most backpacks offer with an incredible customizable compression system called Pack Mod that allows you to relocate many straps and features with ease.
When testing the Flash on some local trails in the midwest during a chilly winter, we found the comfort acceptable but not luxurious. Even so, the foam padding does a good job most of the time, and we wouldn’t hesitate to take this on a week long trip.
Like many Flash packs before, this one excels at delivering an exceptional value for the performance you get. This is why it won our best Budget Buy in our guide to backpacking backpacks.
How We Tested
During our refresh of all backpacking backpack testing, we took the Flash on some walking trails in the Midwest during winter and will update this review when we have better three-season condition results.
REI Flash 55
Best Budget Backpack
CleverHiker Rating: 4.7/5.0
Price: $199
Weight: 2 lb. 13 oz.
Volume: 55 L
Max Weight Rec.: 30 lb.
Pros
- Great price and weight
- Supportive frame holds 30 lbs
- Can move strap location and features
Cons
- Lumbar support is average
- Bear Vault needs to be stored vertically
Comfort
With a nicely contoured hipbelt and soft but supportive foam padding, the Flash 55 delivers a comfortable experience. When we loaded up the frame to its maximum carry weight of 30 pounds, we were surprised that it felt like it could go a bit higher. Although this isn’t a heavy-hauling pack by any means, we think it should handle occasional long food and water carries well.
The hipbelt fits with a very secure feeling with the thick foam wrapping solidly around the hips. When tightened down, the entire pack felt supportive without any pressure points. However, the foam pattern for the back panel leaves large gaps to facilitate airflow. Like all packs with this style of back panel, these islands of foam can impact people differently and slowly concentrate pressure. We didn’t notice this during our testing, but it’s worth watching out for.
For this edition of the review we were unable to test back airflow sufficiently since it was winter. However, the Flash’ design attempts to help with sweat mitigation. The back panel has large islands of padding with mesh stretched across hundreds of holes. During our test walks, we didn’t get warm too quickly, but the design didn’t scare off sweat entirely. That supportive and thick hip belt will become a culprit in warmer weather. However, this is the case with all backpacks, so this average showing is just fine.
Features
The Flash 55 has nearly all the features you’d expect for a backpack of this class – plus adds a few interesting ones that we appreciated.
The biggest missing feature that some might lament is the lack of a dedicated sleeping bag compartment at the bottom of the pack. Instead, the Flash is one big compartment all the way down. We actually don’t think this is a bad thing. Part of the appeal of this pack is its relatively light weight, and removing the sleeping bag area is a smart design tradeoff for a lower weight. In our adventures it’s not a feature we miss from packs.
Otherwise, the Flash has a removable top lid, two well sized hipbelt pockets, a back storage pocket, trekking pole securement on the back, and an adjustable torso length. We really like seeing a roll-top design for the top closure mechanism. Although this is definitely a personal preference between a drawstring vs rolltop, our tester prefers the latter to compact the bag better and make the main compartment more weather resistant.
That rolltop does open wide enough to accept a bear can – even a BV500. Unfortunately, we don’t recommend storing the BV500 that way because the pack doesn’t taper enough. The top lid doesn’t cover it well, either. So, if you’re heading into bear country, storing a can vertically would make the most sense for this pack. That’s not a dealbreaker – it’s just not as easy as other packs.
The Flash also has some unique features. It’s not obvious at first, but there are actually two pockets on each side of the bag. The one closer to the hipbelt is entirely made of mesh and is designed for a water bottle. The other farther back has solid face fabric and is decently sized for holding tent poles – or even an entire tent if you’re carrying a more compact, ultralight shelter. In practice, we found this double pocket system nice to use. It enabled easy access to the water bottle while still providing a surprising amount of exterior storage that didn’t bulk up the pack too much. The REI Flash 55 also includes a shoulder pocket designed for holding phones, which is an accessory many backpackers will appreciate.
Durability
Made entirely of recycled ripstop nylon, the Flash feels durable in all the ways that count. Mesh is usually the first part of a pack that fails, and we’re glad to see limited and smart use of it here (mostly). Usually backpacks use mesh for the back pocket, but the Flash has the same nylon face fabric with only a bit of mesh to the sides. The bottom is reinforced to handle scrapes better, and the two mesh water bottle pockets are tucked away so as not to encounter damage as easily.
Our one complaint is the right hip belt pocket, which is mostly mesh. That’s the first place we’d expect the fabric to fail. However it’s worth noting that these pockets are easily replaceable, which we like to see from both a sustainability and customization perspective.
We’ve yet to take this pack on a thru hike personally. However, we did hike with someone who used this pack for close to 2,000 miles, and it survived the entire way without failure. We’ll reserve judgement for firsthand testing, but the fact that we’ve already seen it perform well is encouraging.
Ease of Use
This pack is straightforward and wonderfully easy to use. The large roll top opens up onto the single interior cavity, which uses lighter colored fabrics to make it easier to find things. The water bottle pockets are close to our hips and angled forward to make grabbing them easier. We didn’t have to contort our arms like with other backpacks to reach them.
We found the zipper pockets on the hipbelt easy to use as well, smoothly opening and closing them with one hand. We did struggle to zip it up completely one handed – leaving about half an inch open – but it’s good enough for most situations.
An interesting feature that makes this pack quite customizable is the compression system. Instead of fixing the compression cords into the pack, daisy chains run the height of the back on both sides. This lets us reposition the compression straps as needed. This is a wonderful feature that makes things much easier when you’ve got an awkwardly loaded pack. It also increases the versatility of this pack since all those attachment options make it easier to lash unusual items to the side, such as snowshoes in the winter.
Should You Buy The REI Flash 55 Backpack?
The Flash 55 nails all the fundamentals while adding a little bit on top to make trips easier. It’s priced well, designed well, and performs well, making it one of the easiest packs to recommend. If you’re a thru hiker who likes a more traditional aesthetic but still wants a lightweight pack, the Flash is a great choice. If you’re just getting into backpacking, this is a quality pack that can carry you from your first overnight shakedown trip through a long trail terminus years later.
What Other Backpacks Should You Consider?
The REI Flash 55 has some stiff competition from other backpacks – see our full Backpacking Backpack Gear Guide.
Osprey Exos 58 Review – Although the Exos is more expensive than the Flash, we think it’s an overall more comfortable price at a similar weight.
Gregory Paragon 58 Review – For a classic backpack with top-notch comfort, the Paragon is our favorite traditional backpack – worth a look if you’re not weight conscious.
Granite Gear Crown 3 Review – If you’re interested in exploring some ultralight concepts, the Crown is a great transition pack that sits between ultralight and traditional packs.
