Lowe Alpine Cholatse 47 Review: A Feature-Packed All-Season Mountain Pack

Introduction

The Lowe Alpine Cholatse 47 is a 47-litre rucksack that the brand describes as a 42 plus 5 litre design, aimed at all-season use in the mountains. The extra five litres come from a floating top lid that can be raised or removed depending on how much you are carrying.

It weighs 1.77 kg in the small/medium frame size and retails at around £175. It is available in night blue and black, with adjustable torso sizing and different frame sizes for different body shapes. The design leans heavily towards customisation: the pack can be compressed down for a day hike or bulked out for an overnight trip, which is the core of its appeal.

This review covers how the pack is put together, where that complexity pays off, and what you are accepting in return.

Who the Lowe Alpine Cholatse 47 Is For

This pack makes the most sense for someone new to backpacking and hiking who wants a single rucksack to cover day hikes as well as multi-day adventures. Rather than buying two packs, you get one that adjusts across a wide range of loads.

It also suits walkers who like to keep gear in particular places. Between the top lid, the underlying zipped pocket, the front stretch pocket, the additional front pocket, and the hip belt pockets, there are plenty of dedicated homes for smaller items.

It is less suited to anyone chasing the lowest possible pack weight, or to climbers who want a streamlined profile with nothing to snag. The Cholatse 47 is a backpacking pack first.

If your trips mix bivvying on local hills, long-distance paths, and casual day walks with friends, that versatility is the whole point. If your trips are all one type, a more specialised pack may serve you better.

Main Strengths

The strengths here come from depth of design rather than any single headline feature. Lowe Alpine has added pockets, access points, and adjustment almost everywhere, and the frame has not been sacrificed to save grams.

Storage and Organization

Start at the top. The lid pocket is genuinely sizeable, large enough for a folded waterproof or a first aid kit. There is no keychain attachment inside it, but beneath the lid there is a second zipped pocket that holds a mountain distress signal information sheet, and a third zip with a keychain toggle for keys, a wallet, or a passport. The lid itself can be removed if you prefer to run without it.

The main compartment closes with a drawstring that has glove-friendly handles, and there is a hydration sleeve along the back for a water bladder. A zipped internal fabric divider splits the pack into a main compartment and a bottom compartment, roughly a 60/40 split, so a sleeping bag or tent can sit in the base away from everything else.

Access is available from the front as well as the top, and there is a stretchy front pocket in a thick woven denier fabric with mesh panels, adjustable via a side strap. A further front pocket adds even more space. Daisy chain webbing on the front takes extra attachments, and the hip belt includes built-in pockets.

For anyone who likes a place for everything, that layout is the pack’s strongest argument. It is also the main reason the rucksack weighs what it does.

Carry Comfort and Adjustment

The frame that runs from the shoulder straps down to the hips feels reinforced and moulded rather than flat, which is not always the case on packs built to a low weight. The shoulder straps use mesh webbing, the sternum straps can be moved higher or lower to suit your shape, and there are no pockets on the shoulder straps.

The hip belt is permanently attached and carries built-in pockets, with a large chunky buckle that is easy to operate with gloves on. The back length is adjustable using a velcro system, sliding up or down, and different frame sizes are available for different body sizes. Lowe Alpine calls the back system Air Contour: a thermo back pad with integrated mesh intended to disperse heat and moisture when the load is full, and to keep the fit tailored.

Weather Protection and All-Season Design

A rain cover is integrated into the base of the pack. It is labelled, attached by velcro, and removable if you prefer not to carry it. The design is a classic drawcord cover with a couple of loops so it can be secured to the rucksack and does not blow away, which is a genuine improvement over older covers that simply lift off in wind.

Throughout the pack the clips are robust and glove compatible, which supports the four-season claim. There are walking pole attachments on the side straps, though threading a pole through them is the fiddliest part of the whole pack. An ice axe loop sits alongside them. The side compression straps are stitched in and not removable.

Between the reinforced fabric, the covered base, and the glove-friendly hardware, the pack is clearly built for wet and cold days as much as warm ones.

Things to Consider Before Buying

The first trade-off is weight. At 1.77 kg in the small/medium size, this is not the lightest rucksack on the market, and that weight buys you the pockets, the frame, and the dividers described above.

The second is complexity. There are a lot of straps, toggles, and clips, and the sheer number of them can feel overwhelming if you are used to a simple day pack. They are what makes the pack adjustable, but they do ask for a learning curve.

The internal divider is a good example of a feature that will divide opinion. It is not removable, and it cannot be rolled neatly out of the way when you want one open compartment, so it simply stays in place.

The reinforced front pocket has a small drain hole at its base, but in rain it forms something of a bucket shape rather than pulling tight against the main body of the pack, which is worth knowing if you plan to leave kit loose in there.

Water bottle pockets sit fairly high. For shorter users, reaching a bottle while the pack is on can be a stretch, and slightly shallower pockets would have been easier to use.

Finally, this is a backpacking pack rather than a mountaineering one. There are several points that could catch or snag, and the front access zip, while useful to some, adds a panel that not everyone will want.

Buying Advice

At around £175, the Cholatse 47 sits in competitive territory for a pack with this much adjustability and this many features. If you are entering backpacking and want one rucksack that will cover day hikes, overnighters, and multi-day routes, the value case is straightforward.

The decision comes down to priorities. If organised storage and a supportive, adjustable frame matter more to you than the last few hundred grams, this pack delivers a lot. If you count grams obsessively or want a stripped-back profile for technical ground, look elsewhere.

As with any pack, try before you buy if you can, since torso fit and hip belt comfort vary so much between people. If you decide this is the right design for you, it is also worth checking the secondhand market and outdoor gear exchange communities, where well-kept packs come up regularly and give good equipment a second life.

One practical note for newcomers: a rucksack is only ever a container. A simple pack with the right food, water, and layers will get you up a hill. What you are buying here is comfort, organisation, and a design that can grow with you as your trips get longer.

Conclusion

The Lowe Alpine Cholatse 47 is a deeply featured all-season rucksack that covers an unusually wide range of trips with one purchase. Its pocketing, internal divider, front access, adjustable back system, and integrated rain cover give you plenty to experiment with, and the reinforced carry frame keeps it comfortable when the load is full.

The compromises are real but clear: 1.77 kg, a busy strap layout, a fixed internal divider, and bottle pockets that sit high. Weigh those against what you actually carry and where you walk, and this pack is easy to recommend to the right buyer.