Black Diamond Creek Transit 32

The Black Diamond Creek Transit 32 is BD’s foray into a more ‘Urban/travel/life-style’ pack market whilst still maintaining their legendary build quality and taking design cues from their specialist climbing packs. It has a smaller brother the Creek transit 22 that is very similar just smaller and lacking the bottom compartment.

From a distance the Creek Transit 32 looks like a small haul bag, cylindrical with daisy chains and dual haul loops. However the zippered lid breaks the illusion and on close inspection this is a very different beast. The main fabric is a light weight tarpaulin like material similar to a haul bag (but far lighter) and its smooth PVC like finish makes it easy to wipe clean as well as providing excellent weather proof-ness. I’ve been using the Creek Transit as my commuter bag for the 20km each way trip throughout the winter so far and it has proved impervious to the weather as well as easy to clean. Construction wise ‘burley’ is the word that springs to mind. The tarp fabric with webbing reinforcements and trim means you are unlikely to wear a hole in this pack anytime soon. Conversely this is not a pack to use if you are trying to shave grams – partly due to the materials but also to plethora of pockets. Regarding pockets if you are the type of soul who likes to have a place for everything and everything in its place then you will probably love the Creek Transit 32. The Transit Creek has:

• Main zip accessed compartment
• Hydration bladder pocket
• Under lid zip pocket
• Base zip pocket (divided from main compartment by a sealed loose divider) Zippered lid pocket
• Internal mesh zip pocket in lid pocket
• Front zippered pocket
• Padded external laptop (15″) pocket with internal divider
• Back panel external zippered wallet/passport/phone pocket

In Use
I’ve found the Transit Creek 32 to be a fantastically versatile pack – once you’ve accepted the weight penalty. As i’ve mentioned it works well as a commuter pack both on the bike and on the train. The additional side handle makes it easy to manoeuvre on crowded carriages and the pockets mean you can quickly access book/headphones/tablet etc when packed like a sardine in the five seats wide carriage (who designed these – I’m pretty skinny and yet my shoulders overhang the seat and larger two large folk basically occupy three seats!?). On the bike the Transit Creek 32 is comfy and the reflective daisy chains work reasonably well (according to work colleagues who’ve passed me) whilst also allowing LED blinkers to be attached. The large foam panel back does get a bit sweaty – even in winter but this I guess is inevitable with the need to protect the contents of the 15″ laptop zip pocket. I removed the included waist belt as it seemed unnecessary for the sort of uses the pack would be put to but found that I needed to use the sternum strap as the shoulder straps were quite widely spaced and rode to the edges of my, admittedly narrow, shoulders. Regarding the waist strap – this is placed quite high and attaches with a ‘larks-foot’ hitching arrangement which is neat and means it can be removed without leaving any hard-wear dangling around. The sac as a whole sits low at the base and while I didn’t find this an issue some people might depending on torso length and hips/bum size! There is plenty of space to carry work kit along with gym/bouldering kit for a post work workout. You can comfortably fit a case of Moretti beer in there too! The structured haul bag construction also means the pack will stand upright for packing which is often useful both out at the crag and when loading up the shopping! A separate base compartment is great for dividing work and climbing kit or even just for storing smelly rock boots and chalkbag away from other equipment and includes drain/ventilation holes half hidden behind the crossover webbing. Capacity wise the Creek Transit 32 is more than adequate for a days bouldering or cragging but there is no dedicated way of attaching a rope to the outside so you may struggle to carry a full on trad rack, rope and clothing food etc. for a day in the mountains but this is not really the target market for this pack. The Transit Creek’s forte is in the day to day urban life of working going to the wall or gym or shooting out to the crag for a post work session when you might need to take carry both work and fun kit with you. In this sphere it excels and is likely to do so for years to come. It would make a great carry-on for European rock trips if bouldering or sport climbing keeping your laptop safe and at hand so you can update your mates with tales of sends and pics of blue skies from the local cafe 😉

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Pros

• Durable
• Multiple pockets – great for organising
• Versatile
• Standup packability

Cons

• Heavy
• Sweat prone back panel
• Rear haul loop a bit small

SRP £110

Stockists

Richie is the enthusiastic amateur of the team. Enjoying all aspects of climbing but especially alpine, winter and his local grit . Having managed to survive the vagaries of both fluorescent Koflachs and rainbow tights in the 80s he looks forward to an even more stylish future. A shady past in mountain marathons and adventure races, including the Marathon des Sables, means he’s an advocate of fast and light. Though the former is debatable if you’ve seen him on a tricky lead!

Disclaimer – CGR reviewers are never paid to provide a review and the website does not take advertising. We are a bunch of keen climbers and travellers that accept sample products and offer an honest and independent review of the item. The reviewer will often keep the sample after reviewing it for both hygiene reasons and more often they’re in no fit state to return!