When I first picked up the new Arc’teryx Micon Litric 42 airbag pack at a trade show over the summer, I thought to myself, that’s kind of heavy for a ski touring backpack. Then I saw the “LiTRIC” label and airbag trigger and realized that there was a fully functioning airbag system in there. A relative featherweight.
Fast forward five months and I’ve taken the Arc’teryx Micon LiTRIC on about fifteen tours. Not enough for the final word on this pack, but plenty of hands-on time to share the good and bad for folks considering the substantial investment in this family of electronic airbag packs.
Why Pay $1650 for a Backpack?
There’s no getting around it. The Micon LiTRIC is downright expensive at $1,650. Electronic airbag packs are pricey in general, but it’s the highest of the high-end. You could buy a canister-style airbag pack and an entire quiver of non-airbag packs for that much. Or you could buy the excellent Scott Patrol E2 (equipped with the comparable Alpride E2 Supercapacitor) for $1,350 and a new pair of ski touring pants.
But if you have the budget, the Micon LiTRIC is exceptionally light for an airbag pack. Arc’teryx claims it’s the lightest airbag system on the market. My 42-Liter version, the most voluminous of the three options, weighs in at 2,138 g (4.71 lbs) My 30-liter Scott Patrol E2 clocks in at 2,786 g (6.14 lbs). Canister-based systems are bulkier and heavier. The popular Dakine RAS Poacher 36L pack equipped with Mammut’s Removable Airbag 3.0® system, for example, weighs 3,062 g (6.75 lbs.). The Arc’teryx Micon LiTRIC shaves about a third of the weight of the Dakine pack but also costs twice as much.
The LiTRIC system is also pretty small compared to other systems on the market, roughly the same size as the Alpride E2. Canister systems are notorious for chewing up internal volume in ski packs and electronic systems like the LiTRIC minimize footprint.
I was a slow convert to electronic airbag systems, but it’s tough to argue against the other obvious benefits . Electronic systems allow the user to practice deploying the airbag without needing to refill a canister. They’re also much easier to travel with since they don’t face any kind of travel restrictions like pressurized canisters do.
How the Micon LiTRIC 42 Fits in the LiTRIC Pack Universe
The Arc’teryx Micon LiTRIC packs are now available in the US after the system was recalled in 2023. Like I alluded to before, the Micon LiTRIC 42 is the largest of the three-pack lineup that also includes 32L ($1,600) and 16L ($1,500) options. Arc’teryx sells the non-airbag equipped Micon packs in 32L and 42L sizes which have been around for a few years under the “Rush SK” name.
There are a few other electronic airbag systems on the market. The top competitors are Alpride’s E2 and Black Diamond’s Jetforce, both of which are heavier and a hair cheaper than the LiTRIC. Alpride’s E2 system is licensed out to other pack manufacturers so you’ll see it in BCA, Osprey, Deuter, and Scott’s airbag packs. (Drew Zieff reviewed the BCA Float E2 35L pack recently for WildSnow.) The LiTRIC system was co-developed by Ortovox and Arc’teryx, so they’re the only companies using the tech at this point.
What follows are my first impressions of the usability of the pack itself. I’m not digging into the LiTRIC system tech too deeply here for right now–WildSnow has covered the LiTRIC airbag system itself in depth– and I’m interested in the everyday experience of using the pack in the field.
What I Like About the Arc’Teryx Micon LiTRIC
First looks like these can often come off as very negative (or artificially positive). I try to sniff out flaws in gear before I learn to appreciate the more subtle benefits. So while I’m about to detail some of this pack’s cons, here is what I really like about it.
The weight.
I already touched on this earlier. But I’ve been skiing with the pack nonstop, even while meadow skipping, because the weight seems to fall just under the threshold of feeling like an airbag pack. This is major since most folks see weight as one of the two major barriers to adopting an airbag pack.
The goggle pocket.
Or if you don’t carry goggles, a “things” pocket at the top of the pack. It’s massive. I wish every pack had a pocket like this. I’ve been able to drop sunglasses, sunscreen, lunch, snacks, etc in and there’s room for more.
The airbag trigger handle.
It can be anchored into different locations on the shoulder strap and can be moved to the right shoulder instead of the default left shoulder. Lefties will be psyched. In minimalist fashion, the trigger is always exposed on the shoulder strap rather than tucking into a dedicated pocket or sleeve. Fortunately, there’s a twist-lock mechanism that prevents it from being pulled erroneously. Is it possible to accidentally lock the handle while trying to deploy the airbag? That’s a question I asked Arc’teryx. Here’s their response:
The entire goal of the patented one-handed rotationally locking handle system was to overcome the common failure in the field of users leaving their trigger handle zippered or Velcroed away when dropping into a line, while also avoiding common accidental, often hazardous, inflations caused by hassle of trying to fold and zipper away a trigger handle when in situations where accidental deployment was likely to happen.
We wanted to create a system that was extremely fast and secure to lock and unlock while touring – including the ability to unlock the handle in an emergency, even if it was unintentionally left in the locked position. While the fully “unlocked” position is a 180-degree rotation from locked, the users can deploy the system even if the handle is rotated about 45 degrees in either direction from locked.
To look the system the user must rotate the handle all the way until is snaps into the locked position, so just rotating it out of the dedicated “unlocked” position will not affect the ability to deploy the airbag. This system was launched in 2015 on the Voltair airbag packs and was found to be extremely effective—for both avoiding the accidental inflations that were very common at the time, and avoiding the hidden-handle mistake that was also frequently reported by users.
LiTRIC builds on this proven system by introducing a new off-axis handle rotation whereby the handle lies flatter against the shoulder when locked and stands further away from the shoulder once rotated into the “unlocked” position. The introduction of the bi-color handle with bright orange exposed when unlocked and black exposed when locked adds to the intuitive ease of use and indication of locked/unlocked status.
The main compartment.
I don’t have a scientific way to test the exact usable volume at this moment, but the main pocket is big. I had no trouble fitting lots of gear in there, including a full spring load out (for testing purposes, for now) including RAD Line, crampons, ski crampons, tiny harness, etc. The compression straps do a good job of compressing the pack for smaller loads. If ski mountaineering is in your seasonal cycle, I wouldn’t hesitate to go for the 42L for all-season skiing.
The Scott Patrol E2 30L (left) compared to the Arc’teryx Micon 42 (right)
The shoulder and hip straps.
The Micon LiTRIC’s hip and shoulder straps are simple and lightweight, but far from uncomfortable. They do a lot with a little in that regard. Despite having essentially zero padding on the back panel, I found carrying the Micon Litric, even with heavier loads, to be plenty comfortable.
Gripes with the Arc’teryx Micon Litric
Okay now to my notes and nit-picks so far.
Back Panel
The back panel is boxy and padding is non-existent. While not uncomfortable, I’ve found that It’s a bit bouncier on the downhill than others, including the Scott Patrol E2. That big rectangular back panel doesn’t exactly hug your back or hips. I’ve been compensating by cinching the shoulder straps as tight as possible, and that has been sufficient for my needs.
Pack Layout
The Micon LiTRIC zips open clamshell style, and I’ve tended to position the two zipper sliders to the side so that I can access the main compartment and the avy tools pocket from the side with the pack lying on its side. Because the airbag is positioned at the top of the main compartment, there’s not a ton of room to pull things out of the pack from there. Side access has generally worked pretty well, but I have to remember to keep the zipper sliders on the side between the two side compression straps.
The hip belt pockets are small, elastic, and not secured by a zipper. I haven’t lost anything out of them yet, but the lack of security means they’re been dedicated snack pockets. I think that’s fine given the generous goggle pocket up top.
Avy tools pocket
One strange design feature is the side avy tools pocket access. The upper compression strap bifurcates the main side avy tools pocket zipper, making it a little bit fiddly to access with gloves on. You either need to push the zipper slider under the compression strap, or unhook the compression strap entirely, which is awkward given the non-traditional buckle hook thing. You can also access the shovel-probe pocket from the top via a small zipper inside the pack’s main compartment.
There’s one sleeve inside the avy tools pocket for a probe or shovel handle, but it’s impossible to pull the probe or handle out from the side when they’re holstered in there, so I’ve been simply adding all the gear in there loose, which has worked fine. Bottom line, it takes more time to pull out avy tools than any other pack I’ve used. That could be a dealbreaker for some skiers out there. Others will need to practice getting those tools out to mitigate the fiddle factor.
Odds’n’Ends
There are few other things that have stuck out to me as interesting. All the buckles are plastic, which is a departure from most other airbag packs that employ metal clasps and buckles to withstand the thrashing of an avalanche. I reached out to Arc’teryx to ask about this design choice and testing and here is what they said:
“All Arc’teryx LiTRIC systems are tested to and conform with CEN 16716, which includes several different destructive force-loading tests on finished packs and components. With our background as starting out as a climbing harness company, we realized that the critical forces would and should load primarily into the leg-loop, not the hip-belt or shoulder-straps. Our goal was to design an intuitive and easy to use leg-loop system that users would use every time. At the time we helped develop the CEN standard it was estimated by other airbag companies that leg-loops were only used around 50% of the time.
Our patented solution was launched on the Voltair packs in 2015 and far exceeds the CEN strength requirements of leg-loops—when loading the entire system, the force vectors can be directed efficiently all the way from the air-bag anchors to the leg-loop, like in a harness.
We found that looping a leg-loop through a hip-belt strap causes the force vectors to misalign, and when loaded the hip-belt/leg-loop arrangement floats up the user until either the hip-belt is stopped by the rib cage or the leg-loop eventually gets loaded—which causes the forces to transfer to the hip-belt buckle.
On the Arc’teryx system, the hip-belt and hip-belt buckle do not see any significant loading at all. The shoulder-straps will float up-and-off the users’ shoulders and users won’t see significant loading compared to the leg-loop. We chose to maintain the ease of use and comfort of standard backpack plastic buckles for the normal pack functionality and focus the safety related load-bearing aspects into the airbag to leg-loop to user interface.”
The ice axe carry is weird. There’s a dogbone and pick loop at the bottom of the pack, but no dedicated holster for the shaft other than the upper compression/ski/snowboard carry strap that doesn’t stop it from moving laterally. It’s the same system as the Rush Sk 32 pack (now the Micon 32) that I’ve skied with extensively. There’s an attachment point for a ski strap or other DIY solution in the middle of the pack at least. But the best option I’ve found is to add the tool to the avy tools pocket, which only works if you’re using a shorter tool like the Black Diamond Venom LT or Petzl Gully. But then you also have another thing in the way of your avy tools.
Testing is ongoing
So far, the Micon Litric 42 has a few quirks. It also has some major strengths. I’m going to keep skiing with it and try to get a more complete long-term review posted once I know it inside and out. At this point I’m a fan of the pack overall, primarily because I haven’t thought twice about wearing it. It’s so dang light. The best safety gear is the stuff you’ll actually use, and I’m definitely more keen to haul the Arc’teryx Micon Litric 42 than all the previous airbag packs I’ve used, even if the features aren’t as dialed as the Scott Patrol E2.
Hit me up in the comments if you have any specific questions or have tested the Micon LiTRIC 42 yourself.
Bergen Tjossem is a ski fanatic, conservation professional, and nature nerd based in Vail, Colorado. His life and career have centered around protecting the natural environment and public lands that raised him, but as Ed Abbey put it, “It is not enough to fight for the land; It is even more important to enjoy it.” So when he’s not working his day job, you’ll find Bergen ski touring before dawn, ice climbing in the dark, running trails until his legs fall off, skiing 13er’s with his friends, or making the world’s best pizza with his wife, Rachel. You can find him on Instagram.
