Day sack for SWMBO. Suggestions please.

[ged]

Here we go again. SWMBO wants a new daysack. Main specs are:

Small size, around 20-25 litres.

Decent quality so it will take some use and not sprinkle her stuff all around the Pyrenees.

Some sort of frame to let the skin of the back breathe will be a big plus.

Not too high, she'll wear it while cycling and if it's too high it will clash with her crash helmet.

Compression straps a plus.

Colour not a big concern but her favourite is black.

Price no obstacle as long as she's happy. Then I'll be happy.

 

[Shewie]

Have a look at the Deuter packs Ged, Carol picked one up in Chamonix a couple of years ago and really rates it.

They have a nice mesh panel and decent pockets, I think the one she got was a Futura

 

[Lister]

SWMBO needs a daysack? have you not seen the amount of crap that women keep in their handbags! I swear my other half pulled some farm machinery out of hers the other week. A women's handbag is like a bottomless pit.

 

[cbr6fs]

You really can't go far wrong with a Osprey Manta.


If she wants a female specific bag though they do the Sirrus series.

 

[Hammock Hamster]

Slightly bigger than you stated but i recently picked up a lowe alpine airzone 35L. Mine was the +10L version but they also do a standard 35.

Its very comfy to wear and has a semi rigid mesh to allow your back to breath and stay cool. top and side opening so you dont have to dump everything out to fnd stuff at the bottom and has fully adjustable straps to suit most back lengths, two big water bottle side pouch/mesh bits and places to strap in your helmet or a waterproof jacket etc.. and an integrated (but removable) rain cover.

Really happy with mine, so much so i bought another - originally was to keep as a grab bag for anything up to a day long outing but decided to get another for to and from work.
Think they are going for about £105 in Cotswolds but picked mine up from go outdoors for about £65

 

[tartanferret]

http://www.uttingsoutdoors.co.uk/Product/276/108305/tatonka-cona-25-rucksack-bright-blue-ash-grey-1540-134/

http://www.uttingsoutdoors.co.uk/Pr...ack-della-robia-blue-dazzle-blue-4-34554-d9f/

No connection etc

 

[Snowfire]

Slightly bigger than you stated but i recently picked up a lowe alpine airzone 35L. Mine was the +10L version but they also do a standard 35.

I've been using one of these since about 2008. It's my standard go anywhere bag. It's been to the Alps 3 times, Norway, Sweden and Italy, plus it gets used just about every other weekend in the UK and taken on work trips when I have to go away. And it still looks like new.

It's also small enough to go as hand luggage on most flights (so long as you don't want to take sharps etc).

Very comfy. The only thing to watch is that the chest strap tends to slide up the shoulder straps and eventually drops off the end of the little "rail" it sits on. Not the end of the world, but I lost mine last year through not paying enough attention to it.

 

[ged]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

We've now looked at some of the packs suggested, and quite a few that weren't. If I'd been shopping for one for myself I'd have bought one of the Deuter ones on Saturday. It was the most comfortable pack I've ever put on, I was well impressed with it. I didn't see the Osprey suggestion until just now but they look good too -- especially for me, because I need a lot of water when I'm doing any work. I'll be looking at them sometime I'm sure. The wife doesn't sweat like I do (being born and raised in Kenya probably has something to do with it) so she isn't so bothered about hydration packs.

Anyway after two days looking at packs, despite my misgivings she finally settled on one from Mountain Warehouse. She took it back for a refund about 18 hours later because it was so uncomfortable, and while we were there at the shopping centre I spotted a retailer which seems to specialize in luggage for air travel. I ignored her protests and dragged her in (largely because I was starting to think of ways to murder your spouse without getting caught) and at the back they had some 'Jeep' branded packs. I said "I want one of those for me because it says 'Jeep' on it", and I bought it.

She loves it. Now we're arguing about who really owns it. I've said she can borrow it but I've had to stop her from modifying it already.

I must say that on all these packs, the capacities quoted seem to me to be a little optimistic. The 25 litre one from Mountain Warehouse for example seemed to be getting close to full with three 2-litre bottles of water in it.

The prices also seem to vary enormously, definitely worth shopping around. I paid about half the list price of 40 for the Jeep pack. And it's MINE, I tells ya, MINE!

She's still looking at packs.