Dilemma of choice for new rucksack

[Amosjl]

Hi All,

A first time user of this forum, but have read many previous posts that have proven more than useful in previous purchases.

I'm looking to buy a new rucksack for anything from overnight hikes to week long trecks. I'm a big fan of Molle gear from 5.11 and Maxpedition, but they don't have what I would consider proper hiking rucksacks.

My choice is narrowed to three packs as things stand but any advice on load adjusters, general build quality etc would be greatly appreciated. I'm 6' 3" with lower back weakness, so having the hip belt and load adjusters correctly placed are important. The three pack shortlisted are:
- Eberlestock Destroyer V69 60 ltr (great but pricey)
- Tasmanian Tiger Raid Mk2 45 ltr (cheaper but concerned on the height of this pack and whether load adjusters will have any room to be effective)
- Tasmanian Tiger Ranger 60ltr (no side pockets which I tend to make use of)

Also considering the larger Range and Range G82 packs from TT but fear they are oversised for my needs.

Any advice or user reviews very welcome.

 

[rg598]

I find that when people ask about packs, they already know in the back of their mind which one they want. You know best what type of pack you want.

If I was going to select a pack in the 60L range, it would not be any of those. I like the way they look, but I find that mil spec is usually code word for "extremely heavy". They are not cheap either. For that money you can get more mainstream packs that are well tested by many users and on which you can find tons of information. I was not able to find out the exact weight of any of the packs you mentioned, despite some of the manufacturers stating they are light weight. That raises a red flag for me. My first choice for a 60L range pack (from what is available in the UK) would be the Osprey Atmos, and the Gregory Baltoro if you are looking for something more comfortable.

 

[Bluezephyr]

Have a look at the Karrimor Sf range.

 

[Ed Edwards]

Have a look at the Karrimor Sf range.

+ 1. I use the Karrimore Sabre (60/100). I've used it for the last 10 years of my Military Career and found all of the adjustment and overal comfort to be fantastic. Build quality is excellent and its compatibility with PLCE Jet Packs is also a great bonus when modularising your kit for different situations. My pet hate is poor compression and this is something the Karrimor has in spades.

Granted we all like different stuff, but its versitility does tick most boxes. I truly recommend you give them a good look.

Hope this helps

 

[Amosjl]

Thanks all for the advice so far. Must admit I hadn't been aware of the larger Karrimor SF range that has seperate sleeping bag access (a must), so will look further into that. The larger Predator packs look interesting and a modular pack solves any probs when it comes to having one pack to cover both long and short trips.

Very true in relation to already knowing what direction to go in, tactical gear has always been my experience, but will certainly look at Gregory when it comes to kitting out the missus! The material in mass market packs doesn't look like it compares to mil-spec when it comes to any degree of punishment though and they don't come cheap, but then it always pays to fork out for quality.

Any experience of Tasmanian Tiger or Eberlestock still welcome as they're a bit of a punt in the dark at the moment, despite looking promising.

 

[MertzMan]

I'm not a massive fan of Karrimor SF gear as I've always found it a little short in the back.

As for another bag around the 60L mark have a look at http://www.wolverine.com.pl/en/w70_od_II.php

I've had the 50L, 70L and 90L over the years. nice generous side pockets and built like a tank. Weighs in around 2/3KG from how it feels. Really well built tho.

 

[Inky]

I have the same karrimor sf as ed the 60/100. Highly recommend it. Very tough, very comfortable, plenty of space, you can attach side pouches and all sorts of other things. It is a little on the heavy side but that's the price you pay for having something indestructible.

 

[Nice65]

Any experience of Tasmanian Tiger or Eberlestock still welcome as they're a bit of a punt in the dark at the moment, despite looking promising.

Eberlestock HalfTrack review from BB. It's a little smaller than you want, but you'll get an idea of the style and quality.

http://www.britishblades.com/forums...w-with-lots-of-pictures&highlight=Eberlestock

 

[rg598]

Thanks all for the advice so far. Must admit I hadn't been aware of the larger Karrimor SF range that has seperate sleeping bag access (a must), so will look further into that. The larger Predator packs look interesting and a modular pack solves any probs when it comes to having one pack to cover both long and short trips.

Very true in relation to already knowing what direction to go in, tactical gear has always been my experience, but will certainly look at Gregory when it comes to kitting out the missus! The material in mass market packs doesn't look like it compares to mil-spec when it comes to any degree of punishment though and they don't come cheap, but then it always pays to fork out for quality.

Any experience of Tasmanian Tiger or Eberlestock still welcome as they're a bit of a punt in the dark at the moment, despite looking promising.

I am not saying that you shouldn't go with a mil spec pack. Some of the civilian ones are also very though however. The Gregory Palisade I have is bomb proof, and they guarantee their packs forever. The warranty also passes with the pack, so if you give the pack to someone else, they can also get it repaired or replaced if they damage it. I think Osprey has the same type of guarantee for their packs.

 

[andybysea]

Ive had two karrimor sf (the 45 and the 80-120) both passed on 45 to short in back 80-120 oversized didnt particularly rate its quality,not the most comfortable(straps and waist belt over padded which led to lack of decent fit to body)

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

I quite liked my Sabre 45 but found the straps didn't suit me. I have ended up with a couple of Lowe Alpines and couldn't be happier.

 

[Rabbitsmacker]

Lowe alpine or osprey get my vote every time.

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I'm not a massive fan of Karrimor SF gear as I've always found it a little short in the back.

As for another bag around the 60L mark have a look at http://www.wolverine.com.pl/en/w70_od_II.php

I've had the 50L, 70L and 90L over the years. nice generous side pockets and built like a tank. Weighs in around 2/3KG from how it feels. Really well built tho.

+1 on that. I have the 70 + 2 x 10l side pounces + 1 x 16l front pounch

Fully adjustable back system and tons of compression. Also has sleeping bag access zip. huge under lid pocket and top pocket too.

 

[Amosjl]

Must admit, the Wolverine packs look pretty bomb proof! Growing to like the Karrimor SF Predator 80-130 too, but when you add on the cost of the side pockets it becomes a tad pricey for my current budget. Thanks for the varied opinions on comfort/back length too, think I would need to try and get hands on with it before buying, even though it really looks ideal for my needs.

Finally managed to source a more detailed review on the TT Range pack and it's on Amazon for £165 which seems too goo to be true. Link to the review below...any thoughts on why Amazon has it so cheap?? Only downside is a distinct lake of MOLLE.

http://ksk-berlin.de/phpBB2/tt_range_pack.php

Waiting on news of a potential trade price for the Eberlestock item, but no news as yet. Thanks for the Halftrack review, the material on that looks more durable than the Destroyer fabric.

One final mention and not sure if you guys will agree, but given the endless uses of MOLLE on packs I'm always amazed that it's never found outside of the mil-spec range. The more lightweight civvy packs such as Osprey/Gregory/Lowe etc would be a no-brainer if only the outside of the packs weren't so sparse. Fabric technology always wins outside of mil-spec, but just wish somebody would think to add some MOLLE so that these packs can be more versatile.

 

[petrochemicals]

I have found that the bag is secondary to the harness/fit too. I'm thin but big, so your average hipbelt leaves strapmarks on my hipbones. I have just had one custom made and tailored to fit by the people at Lancashire sports repairs.

Buy a flat one like the karrimor sabre that keeps the load against your back, not one with a great big base compartment, there is a reason the forces use them.

If I had to buy again I would probably get one with an easily replacable hipbelt, and spend the money on a heavy duty hipbelt. I cannot point you in the right direction for compatability, but I know at least GRANITE GEAR do a great range of interchangable straps etc. I will not buy a bag like a jack wolfskin thats sooooo hard to modify and poorley engineered.

A good heavy bag will weigh less than a bad light weight one does on you

 

[Andy BB]

Molle - bullet-proof quality - 60-odd litres - side-pocket facility - brilliant price new? Lowe Alpine Salient see http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104520&highlight=Lowe+Alpine+Salient

also good review http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkT2Rfggq5k

 

[Köld]

I agree with post #2, but to my experience (being a bit taller than Amosjl) the atmos 50 in size large is still too short in the back for the load lifter straps to be of any use. It's fine for light loads like what you would use a daypack for, but for more than maybe 15 kgs of stuff I would be looking for something else. Maybe a lowe alpine with the apx(s?) system or Osprey's aether 70 can be had in XL so that one might be worth taking a look at.

(I just got the TT range pack (not the 82 version but the plain) and it truly is "ginormous", the back length seems to be adequate and there are two sets of buckles for the load lifters so the top ones acually do some good. The empty weight is around five kilos ... The tanonka bison 85 is cheaper and more suited for backpacking I think so I might end up with one of those too. Just to be clear TT is made by tatonka.)

 

[Amosjl]

Thanks Köld, I had spotted the additional buckle but wasn't sure if it really was an additional lifter as suspected so great news. The bison looks like a decent pack but side pockets are a must for me. Really keen to get a pack that will fit my frame and knowing it suited your taller height is the info I needed. Finally made my choice ('grown a pair') and bought the TT Range pack for a steal of just £165 on Amazon....very pleased!

Thanks to all for your advice and suggestions. As a first time user of this forum I am very grateful and really impressed by the amount of input from other members

John.

 

[Köld]

bought the TT Range pack
.

Compared to what you would pay for a Norrøna recon pack / para ranger / svalbard-nansen 100, Bergans powerframe or fjällräven kajka 100 you payed peanuts for your range pack.
I had a 100 litre Norrøna with their synkron carrying system (no external frame) and the load lifters were placed way too low for the top couple of adjustment steps for back length. The swiveling belt was cool but should have been taller (like kifaru's) or more padded. Not really made for carrying more than 20kgs considering the lack of stability in the frame and almost no padding between pack and back.

The tt range pack felt well heavy with 26 kilos gross weight, but I got the feeling it was me who were the weakling, not the rucksack.

+ Not too sure about the wolverine pack with contrasting colour for the straps, no picture at all showing the carrying system on the webpage, 60 GBP for a couple of side pockets, and the adjustment for back length shown in the video on the page left me with more questions than answers. Shouldn't the side of a rucksack that faces the carrier's back be the most interesting thing to buyers and thus shown in pictures, rather than the other side? :/ Made in Poland - or just designed there?

 

[Amosjl]

For all those members that helped me with their own advice and suggestions on different packs, I've posted a review of the one I finally bought to return the favour and help any other folk that are looking. It's titled 'Tasmanian Tiger Range Pack Review'.