Anyone recommend a bag

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C_Claycomb

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Oct 6, 2003
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Sainsbury’s Bag for Life. Light, packable, remarkably durable and has carried uncounted kilograms and still going strong.

Exped, Ortileb, Osprey, OMM, HPG, Kifaru…

or do you mean sleeping bags?

All joking aside, you will need to say what sort of bag and what you would like it to do before you can get a useful reply. If you meant sleeping bag, I will move the thread to the other sub forum.

atb

Chris
 
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Broch

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Jan 18, 2009
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Hi Kyle, welcome to the forum :)

I'm going to assume you mean a bag to carry stuff in as you've posted in the 'Carrying' sub-forum ;)

To get a useful answer, as Chris says, you'll need to be a little more clear about what you want. Such as:

- a day bag for carrying rain gear and your lunch
- a small trekking bag for a few days/nights out
- a full sized rucksack for week-long or more treks
- a shoulder bag for holding your binos and notebook on a bimble

the list goes on .....

If you're just setting out on this adventure you'll almost certainly end up with at least one of each of the above :)
 

C_Claycomb

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Hi Broch,
Kyle actually posted in the Reviews section and I move the thread here before considering he might have meant something other than a carrying bag.
 

Potatohead

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Jul 1, 2020
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Surrey... near a tree :)
Assuming you mean for carry, Millican are good.

Comfy, well thought out, Tough and environmentally conscious.

I have their messenger bag and their big backpack.
The missus has one of their smaller backpacks.
 

Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
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@Kyle26
Are you still on board here?

If we don't know what kind of bag for which purpose you mean, we are unable to give you serious answers.
 

Nice65

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Apr 16, 2009
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Kyle hasn’t been seen in the site since he posted that question. Let’s park the thread until he comes back.

Chris
The guessing game is fun. It really could be as open as ‘Recommend a Bag’ with a bag you just used or discovered that suits a need.

I’ve just found an old army canvas roly-poly dump pouch for belt carry that would work a treat for foraging edibles or hanging onto torch/knife/can of beer/pipe type things. I think it was from Varusteleka.
 
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Tengu

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Jan 10, 2006
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I wanted a Laptop suited rucksack for Uni.

So I went to Cotswold Outdoors, -they have many bags, and are not cheap, as I told my Father who was getting me it as a Birthday present, They are experts and will pick the bag you need.

They recommended a North Face Surge, and I have had it over three years now, it serves me well.

I see you are in Cornwall, so you will have access to loads of Car Boots. They will have a lot of bags, mostly cheap but every so often you will find a good one.
 

Erbswurst

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Mar 5, 2018
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3 seasons or winter?
How tall are you?
How old are you?
How strong are you?
How much do you want to pay?
Which distances do you want to walk?
Old fashioned or modern?
Are you experienced with camp fires?
 
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Lean'n'mean

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Nov 18, 2020
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I should’ve said a bag for Bushcraft & weekend camping


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Still none the wiser. Presumably you mean a rucksack, so if you could give us a little more info such as the size/litrage you're looking for, what you're expecting to carry in it, type of pack, i.e. mil surp or civvy, lightweight or not, new or used, your budget, etc.
They don't charge by the word here so feel free to elucidate. ;)
 

C_Claycomb

Moderator staff
Mod
Oct 6, 2003
7,391
2,407
Bedfordshire
3 seasons or winter?
How tall are you?
How old are you?
How strong are you?
How much do you want to pay?
Which distances do you want to walk?
Old fashioned or modern?
Are you experienced with camp fires?
Based upon Kyle’s profile, he is 25. From that there are a number of other generally safe assumptions to make. The fact he is asking here, and his age, suggest we take all the really high end expensive stuff off the table, so no Kifaru, Hill People Gear or similar. Generally it is the older crowd who decide they want old fashioned gear. If you are asking and haven’t specified leather and canvas it is a safe bet that Nylon will be fine.

The questions about strength and distance to be walked might need some clarification. No one is going to say, oh I am really strong and won‘t be walking far, please recommend a cheap heavy pack that is uncomfortable to carry! :biggrin2:

Personally I have found 45 litre packs a too small for over night trips even in summer, unless I am adding pockets or lashing gear to the outside. I could probably manage better now than when I started because I have more light weight gear now, but I would still be leaning towards 60 litre with external lashing options.

Pockets on the waist belt are great. The high end packs often have belts with PALS webbing to which one can attach pouches of one’s choice.

”Bushcraft” is often characterised by tool use, so a pack with some means of organisation is useful. The one-big-sack pack is good for clothes, sleep gear and maybe shelter, but can be annoying when you have to rummage to find small tools.
 
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Erbswurst

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First choice for the average young man is surely the Dutch army Sting.
It's an all purpose rucksack that can be bought used really cheap. It's not too large for summer use but can be fitted out with additional outer MOLLE pouches for winter use, for example 2 x British army MTP water bottle carrier pouches and 3x British army MTP utility pouches that are offered everywhere very cheap. Easy access to smaller stuff is pretty practical in all conditions of course, but these pouches are relatively heavy, rather an option for shorter hiking distances an more camping or journeys by car, bus or train. For summer hikes I surely would leave them at home.


I recommend to take that and now!


A bit too large for just a weekend in the jungle at the end of the bus line in front of your house is the Berghaus Atlas 4, that is offered in several body sizes like clothing because it's less adjustable.
That's a good choice for winter use, independent longer hikes in remote areas, long journeys by train or on foot.
You can manage to fit in here all you need, you can live out of this rucksack all the year round if you choose intelligent compact packing stuff. But it also can be compressed very well if you need just a smaller capacity. It's the lightest real military rucksack in this size. It's relatively cheap if we talk about factory new equipment because it's made in China. Nevertheless it's issued in the German army, also to special forces. That's my own large rucksack by the way. But if you are unable to avoid sparks from the camp fire you risk to damage it at the first weekend.
That's why it's probably not the first choice for green horns.

A Dutch army Saracen offers even more capacity, is very similar to the Sting and can be found used relatively cheap, but it's pretty heavy.

Another option is the Berghaus Vulcan, that is the predecessor of the Atlas 4, also offered it several back lengths.
Here offered affordable because used from a Dutch seller. No idea what's about import taxes and shipping costs to Britain. Perhaps you can also find it in Britain via e-bay.


And last not least, if you just want a large pack for camping rather than long distance hiking the large British army infantry bergan, long or short back can be of course found cheap in Britain. That's large, well organised and robust and cheap, but not the most comfortable one in the world.
If you burn your first spark holes into that, you probably will not collapse immediately. But I think that's rather a good choice for camping than for hiking, but only if you can get it used and very cheap.
.
 
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Erbswurst

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 5, 2018
4,079
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Berlin
A good rucksack is also the Karrimor SF Sabre 45 that counts additional 20 litres in the side pouches, all together approximately 65 litres, so far I remember it right. It's non adjustable in the back length. It's made for the average Brit, no giants or dwarves.
That's the smallest of my recommendations but also should work well for you 3/4 of the year. If you don't want to go for winter camping and use it mainly in Britain for weekends that's large enough for you, especially if you select rather compact equipment and don't stuff more into it than is really necessary for a shorter hiking tour.

One can buy it new or find it second hand, via e-bay or from time to time offered in this forum here.


But I have to tell you that I looked for you through all larger British military surplus shops now. I could find only one Dutch army Sting with side pouches currently offered in Britain. I highly recommend to buy it immediately. Now!
That's the best offer for a cheap and good allround rucksack that I could find on your island. One can get them elsewhere also later, but has to count in import taxes, shipping costs and waiting time.
If it doesn't convince you, you surely can sell it in this forum here later for the same price. But I guess that you will like it. And now the weather is fine. You should start into the woods immediately! Don't waste your time and money!
 
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