Lightweight Rucksacks 30 to 50 litres

[Erbswurst]

Which relatively lightweight rucksacks are used or new currently available at the market with a capacity of 30 to 50 litres?

I am mainly interested in rucksacks with 40 to 45 litres volume.

They Should be made of a relatively durable tough fabric, saving the weight mainly via the lightweight construction.

The weight should be up to maximal 2000g.

Please write the name of brand and model, capacity and weight well visible directly in the tread, but don't forget to set us a long lasting link, if possible to the manufacturer himself, if not to an authorised dealer or serious surplus shop.

Rucksacks with more than 50 litres capacity but weight under 2000 g are interesting too.

They should be available in colours which blend well in British nature.

So I am mainly interested in olive green, other greens, brown or dark grey.
Coyote brown, bright grey, black, navy blue are interesting too.
Camouflage patterns are interesting as well.

The rucksacks should be constructed rain protective on theyr own.
That means, I am not interested in rucksacks wich always need an extra rain cover, how they are currently in fashion in towns and used by armies in dry areas with zippers everywhere .

If you know where they are produced, please inform us about it. And please tell us the current price new or used.

If you own the rucksacks, please tell us something about them, for example which bottles or other stuff fit in the side pouches and so on, and if they are in your opinion comfortable to carry and to use them.

The rucksacks I am mainly interested in should look more or less like that here.
If needed tell us about additional side pouches which fit to the rucksack and can be used for water bottles for example and other smaller stuff.

ESSL KADER RUCKSACK RU 5026
OLIVE GREEN, 40 LITRES , 80 € new.
Austrian Army, made in Czech Republik
1650 g

1,5 litres supermarket bottles fit easily in both side pockets.
Austrian / German Army mess kit fits well in third outer pouch.

https://www.essl-rucksack.at/produkt/essl-ru5026-kader-rucksack-large-40-liter/

http://army-warehouse.com/essl-rucksacke/1055-essl-ru5026-kaderrucksack-40l-oliv.html

 

[Barney Rubble]

That's a nice looking rucksack. May I suggest the following:

Karrimor SF Sabre 35 (£75)

If you don't mind MTP camo, my choice however would be this:
British Army current issue Virtus Daypack. 40ltr - expandable to 50ltr with the zip on side pouches (approx £100). These aren't very easy to get hold of at the moment as they are current issue, but they are very impressive bits of kit and have come a long way since the old Northern Ireland patrol pack. Ebay is your best option for sourcing one of these and the matching side pouches.

 

[SCOMAN]

That's a nice looking rucksack. May I suggest the following:

Karrimor SF Sabre 35 (£75)

If you don't mind MTP camo, my choice however would be this:
British Army current issue Virtus Daypack. 40ltr - expandable to 50ltr with the zip on side pouches (approx £100). These aren't very easy to get hold of at the moment as they are current issue, but they are very impressive bits of kit and have come a long way since the old Northern Ireland patrol pack. Ebay is your best option for sourcing one of these and the matching side pouches.

Strikeforce supplies have them and are great to deal with.

 

[Billy-o]

Hyperlite 2400 Junction is 45L. Available in black and there is a sale on right now

 

[Feurio]

Since I am rather passionate about finding "the perfect" rucksack, too, here's my findings.
I especially like alpine packs for bushcraft/allround purposes, because they are often built very sturdy yet lightweight due to minimalist design.
I find load control straps very important for comfortable carrying, but that might just be me. All of my suggestions feature those, though.

Millet ProLighter 32+5 (the pack I use nowadays; it's discontinued, but the 30+10 might even be better, only black or bright colours, though)
Colour: grey
Weight: 0,9 kg
-> very comfy, very light yet still robust enough

Berghaus Centurio 45
Colour: green
Weight: 1,5 kg
-> good comfort, as robust as it gets (1000D Cordura I think?) and still fairly light. No real hip belt, though (I don't use them anyway).

Deuter Guide 35+8
Colour: black
Weight: 1,7 kg
-> best comfort, very robust, but a bit heavy. As this is a common brand in Germany you'll find used ones for about 50€ on ebay. Very good quality for the price.

Crux AX40
Colour: grey
Weight: 1 kg
-> Best comfort, very robust, waterproof!, lightweight. The perfect pack, unfortunately the back length was just a bit too long for me (1.70).

Patagonia Ascensionist 40
Colour: grey
Weight: 0,8 kg
-> ok comfort, very robust, very light.

Those are my favourite rucksacks (all tested myself), I was not too happy with the carrying system of the Blackdiamond Epic 45 (dark grey, 1,5 kg), otherwise a superb pack. The Exped Lightning 45 (grey, 1 kg) might be another option.

Hope this helps!

 

[Alan De Enfield]

Berghaus 65 litre
Weight 1.7kgs
Price £60
Supplier Amazon : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Berghaus-Mens-Trailhead-Litre-Rucksack/dp/B073QM3TSH

Waterproof (but probably not 'storm-proof') but has a separate cover for extreme weather.

Comfortable with adjustable back support / height

I never trust any bag to be waterproof (except PVC 'dry-bags' for canoeing / boating) and always use a bag liner in the rucksack.

 

[marcoruhland]

a class of its own the arcteryx drypack-40 ( i use the out of production 70l version) maybe the most expensive 40l military backpack on the market - 1,92 kg 40l waterproof (ip67)

my first choise for a 40+ backpack is the black ortlieb elevation pro 2 (out of production) waterproof (ip64/67) top loader with a side zipper build on special request for öbrd (red/yellow version) 1,6 kg 42+4l

mr

 

[Tiley]

Exped make some good packs which have the added advantage of being waterproof for the most part. This one might tick the box for you:

Thunder 50 - Backpack | Exped

Lightweight and comfortable backpacking pack with front access

www.exped.com

I really rate the Crux range of packs, too - light and utterly bombproof. By the same token, Aiguille Alpine packs are superb with all the qualities of the Crux range as well as reasonable prices and a degree of customisation available.

 

[Paul_B]

Gregory Octal 48 litre - there's a smaller one too I believe.

Crux rucksacks are very highly rated.

I've always fancied an AK-47 from crux. They've been around 15 years with an unchanged design because they simply got it right first time. The good thing about them is they look used from pretty much new and never change no matter how much use they get. I bet the originals bought 15 years ago are as good as new. I've known people who have them and never heard a bad word said about them. I tried one with 16kg of weights in it once in a store. It didn't quite fit me but I'm 6'5" tall so that's not surprising. Not many rucksacks do fit me.

BTW my backpacking sack (32-50 litre capacity) is an ancient Berghaus Alpin Extrem (with the missing e's). It's 50 +15 litres capacity alpine climbing sack. Unavailable now but at ~1250g and I've carried 28kg in it I can say it's a good sack. I Berghaus do an updated sack half as good then check out out. Best feature is the cinch straps that pull the back into your back for the steeper terrains. It's a v shape run of strap from part way up the back of the sack via the side of the supportive hipbelt to the base of the sack. I pulled a back muscle 2 days into a 2 week backpack and this feature took the weight off my back even supported my back enough to finish the trip.

BTW, check out the video in the Gregory sack link. The belt cinch detail is close to my Berghaus sack to give you an idea. If it is the same then it'll be a seriously stable carry.

Aiguille Alpine based in Staveley, Cumbria, UK

These people make all their products at their site in Staveley, Cumbria. Always have and I am doubt they will change that. Unashamedly old school I think I'm their style of rucksack design but that was before the main brands got a bit porky so they'll still be considered light now. Bombproof materials and simple design. Also, for a very modest premium you can get a custom sack. I got one made to exactly fit my back length and a halfway design of what I considered the best features of two different models of their rucksacks. About 1.2kg and unknown capacity but about 50 to 60 litres. Black with two different materials for wear points and non wear points to save weight. Single, alloy stave transfers weight to the vertically near rigid hipbelt.

I'm a fan of theirs but they are not your bells and whistles rucksack. They simply do a job, if that's what you want then great. For me it's half an hour drive away and I'm supporting a local manufacturer and a rare thing in the outdoor sector I reckon. Pedigree? Well a side line is custom kit carriers for MRT teams. If you needed a climbing sack with the added capability of carrying gas tanks then they've got a design for you. If you need to carry very high weight loads, well they've supplied special forces members with suitable rucksacks apparently. And great if you're very tall if you get their custom sacks. When designing mine they told me they've just made one for a 6'9" man. He got me to try it on for size but being 4 inches shorter it was a little too big but he got an idea of how big to make mine. In he nailed it first time.