The Velocity 12 is actually marketed as a bike pack but for less demanding days on the pistes it's ideal for carrying your bits and pieces and doing away with bulging pockets.
Indeed, some of the bike specific features work equally well for skiing - the helmet compartment will take your ski lid, for example, and as long as it's not so cold they'll freeze you can store water bottles in the two mesh bottle pockets on the side.
The Velocity's flexible full-contact suspension system harness has a close fit and active ventilation, two useful attributes when you're hooning downhill since it holds it firmly against your back rather than allowing it to bounce and sway, and the main compartment has enough room for a spare layer, packed lunch and hydration bladder.
There's also a small zipped outer pocket with a useful key clip, with the helmet compartment on the outside of this.
We weren't especially keen on the waist belt, which is quite thin and offers only limited support, and other features such as an anchor loop for a light and the rain cover are not particularly useful for skiing, but on the plus side these make the pack more versatile, and at £40 the Velocity 12 is a pretty good buy with a build quality that should see you through several winter and summer seasons.
