in search of the perfect travel backpack
Another of the dorky yet ongoing quests in my life is for the perfect travel backpack. Conditions in the blogosphere (do people really use that word?) seem ripe for me to share my discoveries so far. Brave New Traveler, Lorelle and Travel Betty all inspired this entry.
Like Travel Betty, my dad bought me my first pack. It was a great pack, a Mountainsmith, well-made, top-loading, ginormous. It didnt fit me particularly well, nor did I know how to make the right adjustments, but I managed well with it on a relaxed one-month trip to Finland. Studying in Lapland and staying with fam in Helsinki meant I didnt need to rush around with it too much. It worked great on a two-day hike, but you dont need much gear on an organized, two-day hike. . .
It was when I tried to use it for my 3 month Euro tour that I ran into trouble. Admittedly, I made a lot of mistakes on that trip. Not only had I over-packed, I’d bought too much almost right away, including books (books??!) and some very styling, chunky-heeled boots on day 3 in Dublin. The boots wouldnt fit in the pack so I wore them all the time. On day 4 I broke my arm falling from the upper bunk of a hostel bed.
It was only a minor fracture, but it made my overstuffed, ill-fitted bag a major problem.
It also made anything with buttons a problem, but luckily I had a tank dress that I lived in for the better part of the next couple weeks. And it paired nicely with the cute, 3-inch high boots.
But I couldnt lift my bag for shit. Not from a squatting position and not down from a luggage rack. Kind strangers and friends helped me out along the way. And laughed at me, too, as did a group of old men at a Paris train station watching me in my cute boots and long dress trying to get up from the floor with my oversize pack and falling on my ass in the process. Merci, gentlemen, merci.
When I returned home three months later with unworn clothes in the bottom of my bag, I knew my travel style would have to change. I was over the unwieldy size, the top-loading feature and the wilderness look. Even though I like the wilderness, I like the urban, too.
My next big jaunt was to Cuba and my luggage arrangement from that trip is still my favorite. I borrowed a just-larger-than-daypack (no longer available) North Face pack and brought along a small rolling luggage for a month of study in Havana. When we set out for a week trip to the other side of the island, I simply lived out of the pack and left the rolling luggage behind. My travel buddy with her towering backpacker-pack was slightly envious of the compact load I carried, and I was slightly too proud. Because living out of a small pack is not a special talent of mine. But damn it felt good for that week.
The next pack I picked up was the Mountainsmith Ramble. It’s a pretty slick “travel pack,” but wasn’t for me, either. The main compartment was awkward (basically spilled the guts of the contents every time I opened it). And when I overstuffed it–as is my way–the thin, plastic frame bowed outward, making tucking the straps irritatingly hard. As a final straw, it was no good for real hiking on account of minimal padding and lack of external water bottle type pockets or hydration. I ended up passing it on to a friend who never overstuffs it and perhaps consequently, really likes it.
With that experience under my waistbelt, plus a lot of online research, I finally came up with my list of requirements for my main travel pack:
- carry-on size
- panel loading
- good organization/pockets
- works for real hiking
- works for urban environments
- can handle a very full load
That’s all I ask. And this is the pack that best does it for me, so far: the Kelty Redwing 2650.
The Kelty has come with me neighbor-island-hopping in Hawaiʻi, to California a couple times and on the cross country midwest trek, but not yet abroad. Most recently, I’ve detached the waistpack and have started using it daily, which is to me the ultimate proof of urban workability.
The pack is as yet untested in the wilderness or on trips longer than two weeks, so I’ll save the singing of praises for another day. But so far, so good. Me likey.
Filed under travel |5 Responses to “in search of the perfect travel backpack”
Leave a Reply
Oh, a kindred spirit. I’ve been hunting for the perfect backpack for #$ years and each time I was sure that what I’d found was going to be perfect, but putting it into practice showed me I was closer but never smack on. Then I found the Jansport Penelope backpack made specifically for a woman with tons of room for clothes and everything you need, but compresses down to day use easily. I used it to travel all over Europe and for shopping in Israel (everything is on foot going from market to market). The way it is balanced and the front straps accommodate the chest, with an incredibly well designed waist strap, I love it.
A friend was so thrilled by it, she bought one and uses it for her missionary trips that last one to three weeks. Nothing else, except Chico Bags, compressible reusable shopping bags designed to replace plastic grocery bags. She hangs those little key chain size pouches off her backpack, as do I now, for carrying dirty clothes, food, or additional items temporarily.
Rick Steves has some great gear and I’ve recently added his smallest shoulder bag which can easily connect to my backpack or slip it. It’s extremely durable and light weight and I bought it in black so I can wear it to the theatre or banging around a foreign country. He also makes a backpack/suitcase that I use for “business” trips, which means I have to carry business clothes rather than some squishy light-weight clothes. It meets airline requirements for a carry-on and weighs very little yet is durable, so it can go through baggage.
Oh, look what you’ve done! You’ve gotten me started. I better stop now. Living on the road full-time, I’ve learned a ton of tricks and it’s nice to talk about them off my site once in a while.
Good work and thanks for the walk down my own memory lane.
haha, that’s awesome, Lorelle! Kindred spirit, indeed. The Jansport Penelope looks like a winner, and props to you for making 2100 cubic inches work! I’m a little hesitant to go that small but can imagine the freedom!
Random coincidence: I got a Chico Bag as a gift last month, can see that it will be very useful.
Im still in search of the perfect shoulder bag/ day pack, one that can work in a variety of situations, as you said. Maybe I’ll take a look at what Steves has; Patagonia is what I’ve been coveting, but it’s kinda pricey… then there is the question of travel with a laptop, whether to do it and how best to manage it, eek
But I better stop now, before I write a whole nother post on the topic :~j thx so much for your comments!
Oh, check out Rick Steves shoulder bags. They are made of the lightest but durable canvas/ripstop stuff and lay completely flat in your suitcase or backpack when empty. Weighs nothing. It could easily accept a backpack harness, one of the light ones, too. It has lots of room but hangs flat when there is nothing in it. The black one really looks classy for a travel bag and I’ve carried it to business meetings and concerts without a worry. It just fades into the background.
The problem with so many of these bags is that they are made of really heavy materials. They have weight before you even put anything in it. This weighs so little, and yet is classy and durable.
A friend introduced me to this and she took it with her to her first trip to Europe this fall. She is a fashion queen and felt totally comfortable everywhere including the nightclubs with this bag. That says a lot to me. I loved it traveling last year. Saved me, especially when I have to tuck it into my suitcase or backpack for flights and it doesn’t add to the weight.
The weight restrictions are abominable on airplanes today.
As for the Penelope - it EXPANDS. I’d bring home fruits, vegetables, bread, and all kinds of groceries from the open markets in Tel Aviv, with nary the feel of weight on my back. Sweat, yeah. Gallons, but the pack is designed to breath while holding it away from your lower back. I tried at least a dozen different backpack styles in the Middle East before discovering this one, and I’m so glad I did.
Gees, I need to be a sales rep.
See, we’ve started something!
[...] of response from a variety of bloggers writing travel stories. Examples include snow covered dogs, a search for the perfect travel backpack, the family of a comic book fan blogger going on a trip to find a super hero, a gruesome travel [...]
Hey, I might be a little late to the party on this one, but I do know how important having the perfect backpack can be! (as well as how annoying having an uncomfortable or otherwise ill-suited one is). One of my favorite shopping sites lists these three as the top picks - http://www.3luxe.com/category/Luggage/Travel_Backpacks.
Hope that helps and happy travels!