ProView – Sterling Rope Wonderwall Crag Pack Review

The Wonderwall crag bag arrived at my doorstep during a weeks-long stretch of rainy weather, uncharacteristic of Colorado. Right away, I admired its cushy waist belt and the multiple access options for the main pocket. The fabric and construction seemed solid and durable, and the zippers appeared beefier than on any other pack I own. 

For days, the excitement of touching real rock again built as I packed and repacked the Wonderwall in my living room while it thundered outside. Finally, a strange yellow orb emerged between the clouds and we hightailed it to the crag. Half the routes were wet and unclimbable, but we were glad to just get outside. Desperate times, ya know? We chose a crag in Clear Creek Canyon near Golden, Colorado with beautiful views of the river winding below us. I’ve used quite a few different climbing packs in the past for various objectives (for sport, trad, and canyoneering as well as varying approach hike lengths and difficulty). Today’s sport crag had a short but steep approach, and I carried a 70m 9.6 diameter rope, quickdraws, harness, helmet, shoes, first aid kit, snacks, water, and miscellaneous small necessities. 

Features

The Wonderwall’s main pocket has two access points: the wide-mouth zippered duffel opening, or the roll-top top entry opening. In addition, there are two zippered pockets for small items (one internal, one external) and a buckled gear compression section inside the main pocket. I loved the wide-mouth duffel access for easy loading and unloading. Even a bulky trad rack would be easy to load here. The zipper opens all the way up so you can quickly find what you’re looking for. The roll-top closure offers an expandable area that was handy for loading my helmet or extra layers. The exterior zip pocket is nice for quick access items, like keys and phone. It also serves as a separate area for sunscreen (which I’d prefer not to explode on my rope). The mesh interior zip pocket makes a nice home for snacks and less-frequently used small items, like a headlamp.

There is also a water bladder pocket and hydration port, however, I personally prefer water bottles to bladders at the crag. I was a bit disappointed that there were no external water bottle pockets, but the design choice makes sense to minimize snag points and offer versatility for long approach hikes or alpine missions. The (removable) waist belt has cushy padding which, along with the cushy shoulder straps, makes shouldering a heavy load comfortable. The hip pads also have gear loops that I like for keeping up with random bits, like my belay device. The ripstop nylon fabric seems quite durable and not easily prone to small tears from constant rock abrasion, as I’ve experienced with other packs. The water dripping off the walls rolled off the water resistant fabric with no issue. One nice extra feature is a large, comfortable handle to move the pack short distances between climbs. Generally, the pack looks sleek, even when loaded to capacity.

East of Use

The pack has two different main options for carrying your rope: internally, using the buckled compression section, or externally, with a cinch strap on top of the pack. I tried both methods. Loading the rope internally would be a nice option for a shorter or thinner rope, and the buckled “compression harness” does provide additional stability. Unfortunately, my big rope (70 m, 9.6 diameter) did not fit well this way. I could not fit everything else I needed inside the pack while carrying the rope there, and had to pawn off my helmet and layers to someone else. Additionally, the compression area is flat against your back, which has the advantage of extra stability, but the disadvantage of needing to take out almost everything else in the pack to get the rope in or out of the buckles. I could see this rope carry method being most helpful for long hikes with smaller diameter ropes. The external rope carry method generally worked well, and the cinch strap on top of the pack was adjustable to tighten down the load.  However, I hope future versions of this pack include straps to secure the rope on each side, as the rope swung back and forth quite a bit without them. 

Fit

I was impressed that a “one size fits all” pack adjusted to fit my short, 5’2” frame comfortably and sat properly on top of my hips under load. I cannot speak to the fit for people who are larger or taller, but there does seem to be quite a bit of room for adjustment in the strap lengths. In general, I found this pack to be extremely well-made and durable.

Friendliness to the Earth

Though this pack is an investment, I expect it to stand up to abuse better than other packs and to stand the test of time. Sterling also has a strong commitment to sustainability. They minimize waste throughout production of their products and emphasize recycling where possible. Sterling is proudly carbon neutral; they offset their carbon emissions through a partnership with Arbor Day Foundation.

The Final Word

Truly, I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the most comfortable climbing pack I’ve ever tried. It could use some small tweaks to optimize rope carrying, and I could see maxing out the 33L capacity with a really serious trad rack on top of other equipment. There are some features included (such as bladder compatibility and padded straps) that would make this an especially nice pack for long approaches or possibly for alpine objectives. The pockets and access options give lots of options for organization and make it easy to find what you need. This pack will be perfect for my preferred habitat of single-pitch sport cragsand beyond!

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All photos taken by MAUREEN BECK.

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