In the quest for the perfect gear set up, it’s not often you find a pack that is equally at home on the urban commute commute as it is boulder hopping at ten thousand feet. Heimplanet’s new Motion Series changes all that.

Built with the everyday adventurer in mind, the two all new Motion packs feature clean design, excellent load carrying capabilities, and simple organization that is easy to use and intuitive. In short, these packs are the very first that we have found that perform as well as they look, and can pull duty in any environment.

The HEIMPLANET MOTION Series Active Backpacks on Kickstarter

We’ve been carrying the twenty-five liter Ellipse around town and on winter hikes for a couple weeks now. The first thing that stood out to us was the back panel and harness. 3-D molded foam serves as both an effective frame, protection for a laptop, and channels air when you’re working hard. The shoulder straps are very comfortable for their size, and the load lifting straps are a nice touch to stabilize heavier loads of hiking gear.

Heimplanet Ellipse — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Likewise, the body of the pack is streamlined and well thought out. The ripstop fabric of the main body is water resistant. More importantly for us, it is clear of extraneous straps and too many pockets. Many outdoors focused backpacks fall prey to compression straps on every inch of the pack body. The Ellipse has only a single 3-point retention strap on each side. They’re simple, functional, overbuilt, and understated. A spandex stash pocket at the bottom keeps essentials like a rain shell close at hand – and out of the main body when you’re getting wet.

HEIMPLANET MOTION SERIES – ELLIPSE

Inside, you’ve got a main pocket that swallows a fifteen-inch laptop or three liter hydration system. Two smaller stash pockets on the top of the pack are perfect for your electronics, snacks, and navigation items (you do hike with a compass and map to back up your phone’s meager GPS app right?).