Deuter Speed Lite Pro 30L Review

When I’m 2,000-plus vertical feet and 10 miles into a hike, the last thing I want to think about is the weight of my pack pulling me down. Luckily, as I hiked wearing the Deuter Speed Lite Pro, the thought didn’t cross my mind. The pack was loaded with gear, but it wasn’t slowing me up or weighing me down at all.

With Colorado’s Fourteener season in full swing, selecting the optimal backpack for the job can be tricky. You want a lightweight bag, but it still has to carry a day’s worth of gear and supplies, at least. You need to balance your own packing needs with how much you’re willing to carry, compare different frames against one another, and examine different layouts.

Over the years, I’ve tried dozens of different packs while ascending more than 40 of Colorado’s highest peaks, known as Fourteeners. And the Deuter Speed Lite Pro is proving ideal for the job. The ISPO Award-winning pack is a hybrid, featuring a vest-style shoulder harness with a supportive LiteBack system, a helmet carry option, and a hydration system.

I tested this backpack hiking around in Colorado’s high country this summer. So far, it’s proven to be the perfect pack for day missions and even minimalist overnights.

In short: The Deuter Speed Lite Pro ($140) is a lightweight pack that fits like a running vest and performs like a backpack. At 1.6 pounds, the Speed Lite Pro has an ice axe loop, trekking pole carry, plenty of pockets, and a helmet carry. It checks all the boxes for gnarly hikes, scrambles, and ascents. The ISPO Award-winning pack is a versatile piece of gear for going fast and light, exploring the alpine, and conquering peaks.

Find more daypack options on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Daypacks.

Deuter Speed Lite Pro 30L Review

For my test hikes, I carried a shell, a rain jacket, a day’s worth of food and snacks, and about a liter of water in the Speed Lite Pro. The pack was light, comfy, and easy to use. 

The 30L version of the Speed Lite Pro I tested weighs just 1 pound, 9.6 ounces. Compared to other packs on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Daypacks, that’s pretty light. Most of the packs on that list in that weight class have smaller volumes in the range of 15-25 L. And with seven pockets, only one other pack on that list has more — the Black Diamond Pursuit 15, which has eight pockets.

On the trail, the Speed Lite Pro hits the sweet spot when it’s carrying between 10 and 20 pounds. Anything over 25 to 30 pounds, and the support system starts to struggle a bit. However, 20 pounds of gear is a lot (especially for a day trip), so there was a lot of wiggle room to pack everything I needed.

Construction & Sustainability

The pack’s lightweight construction is thanks to the LiteAir back system, which has a skeleton structure and a lightweight panel. The flat-format reinforced structure hugs the back and provides balance and structure with flexibility. The ergonomically shaped shoulder straps and hip fins were mostly comfortable on my body as I carried the pack, and an elastic sternum strap helped dial in the torso fit. 

The Lite Pro is made with 600-denier recycled polyamide. It’s PFAS-free and uses DWR (Durable Water Repellency) for water resistance. It is also Green Button certified and a Bluesign product.

Deuter’s ‘Most Pocket-Rich’ Pack

Deuter dubbed the Speed Lite Pro its “lightest, most pocket-rich hiking pack yet,” and with good reason. This pack has pockets everywhere you look. Both waist and shoulder straps have stretchy pockets for snacks, phones, keys, or sunglasses. Two stretch mesh pockets on either side of the pack hold water bottles. The brain of the pack has a pocket. There is a mesh stretch pocket on the outside back of the pack as well. 

The Speed Lite Pro feels similar to a backpacking pack, with its ample pocket storage. It’s easy to access almost anything you need while wearing the pack. There is also a passthrough for a water bladder tube, in case you want to carry a 3L bladder in the pack.

I opted to carry a Cnoc Sawyer collapsible 1L bottle with a Sawyer water filter. With this setup, the lightweight pack was only about 5 ounces heavier. The front shoulder strap pocket is designed for a soft bottle like the Cnoc Sawyer. 

Part Vest, Part Pack

One of the Speed Lite Pro’s most apparent features is the vest-style shoulder harness, which hugs the body and holds gear simultaneously. The vest-style shoulder straps are perforated to help with weight and airflow.

The hip belt is thin but supportive and has a two-way adjustable sternum strap. Deuter’s signature LiteAir back system is comfortable but still provides the robust feel of a backpack, creating extra ventilation on the trail. The quick-release pole attachments also make it easy to carry trekking poles.

All in all, this makes the Speed Lite Pro an easy-to-access pack while on the move. You really only need to remove the pack to access the main compartment, brain, or the rear stretch pocket.

While you can go as lightweight as you want, the pack offers a robust set of technical features, including an ice axe loop and helmet carry for more technical mountaineering ascents. The helmet carrier is sold separately and straps onto the outside of the pack.

ISPO Winner

Deuter launched the Speed Lite Pro this summer on the heels of winning the ISPO Award in Germany, which recognized it as a top lightweight daypack for speed on the trail.

The pack took home the award based on its light weight, breathability, and comfort. ISPO also noted the pack’s simple, practical features, the abundance of pockets, and easy accessibility.

“Comfortable and stable backpacks are particularly important for speed hiking,” the ISPO Jury said in a statement. “The new Speed Lite Pro impresses with its great fit, good ventilation, and low weight.”

Room for Improvement

Overall, this pack is great and performs well on many different levels. However, it could be improved in some areas. 

The shoulder straps, for instance, while full of storage, are very thin. With a heavier load, a little more padding would go a long way on the shoulder straps — even if it came with a slight weight penalty.

The straps are also a little high for taller people with a large torso. I had the shoulder straps as loose as they would go, and the pocket access was right under my chin as opposed to on my chest. Instead of a one-size-fits-all model, having an extra-long (EL) option, like some Deuter backpacks, would also be nice.

Deuter Speed Lite Pro: Who’s It For?

If you like to go high and fast, checking off multiple mountain peaks, this pack has everything you need. It’s purpose-built for fast-pack hikers and includes features for technical mountaineering.

While I could likely get an overnight trip out of the pack with a trekking pole tent and top quilt, the pack is not designed for longer or heavier trips. If you end up with 30 pounds of gear or more, the Speed Lite Pro will struggle.

If you can keep your weight below 30 pounds, though, this pack could be used for overnight strike missions if your objective is deep in the backcountry or requires a very early start. For less technical day hikes, this pack still carries everything you need. It might be overkill for a grocery store run on a bicycle, but it would offer plenty of pocket storage and internal volume for the chore.

The helmet carry is sold separately, which adds cost, but otherwise, at $140, this pack is competitive with others on GearJunkie’s guide to the Best Daypacks.

If you are in the market for a lightweight fast-pack with lots of pockets and comfort features, the Speed Lite Pro is a great choice.