A decent day pack

[shadowcat]

Day Pack

Tramper:
that Golite you show is really more of a biking pack. I honestly don't know if you'll find it able to accomodate what you'll end up wanting to take along even on a day hike. golite does make some larger, ultralite packs tho; the golite team, speed & gust to name a few. check out northernmountain.com often they have great sale prices on them or search the web.
(note: you can get the golite gust for $60 at northernmountain.com / it is 3000 cu or so?) (and as always --- sierra trading post for some good pricing)

my personal favorite is the gregory advent pro - i have this one and love it. it is very lite but has very good support vs the older versions of the golite which i felt did not have very good support. newer versions i believe have been improved upon. the gregory does have a lot of straps and pockets, lots of places to store stuff and an easy to get to internal sleeve for your water bladder -- actually it has 2 sleeves for bladders if needed. some have said they don't like all the straps but i just take and tuck the straps out of the way & they have never caused me any problem getting caught on trees etc. (the gregory "g" pack is very trimmed down & got great reviews also)

i also have an osprey, i think the helios 26. this is not an ultralite, just your reg wgt day pack. the fit is awesome and great comfort on your back and it carries the weight really nice off your hips. the thing i hated about it tho was the external sleeve for the bladder. i found it a real pain in the butt to work with. it's just so much stiffer & a struggle to get into. so, ever since getting my gregory i hardly ever use it anymore.

i would just recommend that even for day hikes you will want enough room for water, food, extra clothes, hdlamp etc etc. i think a minimum of 2200 cu would be a basic size to start with. it's better to have some extra room then not.

 

[Gris]

I will offer a contrasting opinion on daypacks. Call it knowlege from the school of hard knocks. My regular multi-day packs weigh 1-8 and 2-10 (lb-oz) and are 4000 and 3600 cu respectively. Yet ... i MUCH prefer the 1-0, 1200 cu Platypus Thunderhead ... Why? PRECISELY BECAUSE IT HAS A SLIMMER PR0FILE (THINK BIKE PACK) IT DOES NOT SUCK UP TO AND COVER YOUR WHOLE BACK IS THUS WAY, WAY COOLER. Now i started off w a Playtpus RoadRunner, but w/ only like 500 or 700 cu or something like that it did not have near enough room for getting back into the mountains. But the 2002 T-Head and Typhoon certainly do ... Maybe i will post a pic or two tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Tramper Al]

Thanks everyone

Shadowcat, thanks for the golite low down.

In general, I have not liked what I've seen in the big Golite packs, with minimal support/suspension, a tiny little belt, etc. The 24 I'm looking at (right now) is really of more conventional design, it's just very tall and slim and light in weight. I guess you could use it for biking, but I use panniers with my big heavy bike, as there is not need to carry anything on my back.

I do get by fine on summer (or 3-season southern NE) day hikes with only about 1200 ci or so. Stuffed Redledge rain gear, gloves, hat, a couple layers of long underwear, a light fleece jacket, light bivy, food, headlamp, and the other 10 essentials. I mean, 3 liters of water take up much of what I need a day pack to hold. What's everyone else putting in those day packs of yours, multiple editions of the WMG?

If I need more stuff, like if I'm starting to carry crampons, a foam pad, warmer layers in fall or whatever, then I have already moved up to my TNF Prophet 45, which is like 3000 ci and 3 lbs even (it's not the current model, which is a good bit heavier, and I got it at huge discount). So, I don't think I need anything bigger than 1500 ci or so for this day pack. Same thing for ski tours. If it's somewhat remote, and I want a foam pad and proper bivy, I go with the 3000 ci. If it's through farms in central VT on a warm day with a group, a day pack is all I need.

 

[sierra]

hey man I own the BD speed 30, I looked at the hollowpoint and wasnt at all impressed. Thats what you would use for a daypack? Maybe I carry alot more weight but the starps looked wimpy, how much winter clothes could you put in that? when you go a little up in cu inches you get better straps, better suspension and the option of carrieing more if you have to, to each his own though its your choice and you have to carry it, my 2 cents, ok 3 cents.

 

[Tramper Al]

hey man I own the BD speed 30, I looked at the hollowpoint and wasnt at all impressed. Thats what you would use for a daypack? Maybe I carry alot more weight but the starps looked wimpy, how much winter clothes could you put in that? when you go a little up in cu inches you get better straps, better suspension and the option of carrieing more if you have to, to each his own though its your choice and you have to carry it, my 2 cents, ok 3 cents.

Hey man I haven't seen the BD Hollowpoint, just the picture in the link I posted. And you can't see much for straps in that photo, admittedly. When I say day pack, I don't mean winter hiking, as I think is clear from my post right above yours. My question wasn't so much how big do people think my day pack should be, but rather are there some packs out there meeting my stated criteria (mainly size and weight) that others might recommend. Still, I appreciate the feedback on the BD pack, thanks.

Here is another pack I came across, the Salomon Raid Race 300, 1900 ci, 1 lb 6 oz, $79. I would have to see one to know what the suspension looks like, though.

 

[Tramper Al]

Thanks, SK, I will check that one out if I can find it.

Incidentally, I just found this cool TNF pack which should be perfect for carrying all of my gear and 7-8 days worth of food through the 100 Mile Wilderness, in style.

 

[weatherman]

wow, cool pack!

Love those TNF... everythings. Al, you need an emoticon for "tongue firmly planted in cheek".
I think people are still in "winter pack mentality mode". Really, how thick do straps need to be for 1500 ci? Not much weight, unless you're carrying uranium or something.

 

[Gris]

Here is what Platypus T-Head 2002 looks like. Typhoon is same except lil bigger w/ padded wings on hip belt. Both have plenty of room for warm-weather dayhiking.

 

[Tramper Al]

Love those TNF... everythings. Al, you need an emoticon for "tongue firmly planted in cheek".
I think people are still in "winter pack mentality mode". Really, how thick do straps need to be for 1500 ci? Not much weight, unless you're carrying uranium or something.

Yup, TNF and I go way back. In fact my best day pack currently was originally my (TNF) book bag in elementary school. It's probably like 1200 ci and 4 oz, no belt. The zippers have seen better days, though.

Winter pack mentality? Who would hike in winter, that's just crazy.

 

[sierra]

Ok I guess wasnt paying attention, For summer hikes a small pack would be feasable. Im a soloist and do carry alot of xtra gear. I would say stay with the top names and whatever feels good, with weight in it is the one for you.