Category: Backpacks

Gregory Zulu 65

On By arcoleoIn Activities, Backpacking, Backpacks, Gear, Jungle, SummerLeave a comment

I did my Colombia trek with the Zulu 40 and it worked perfectly. The pack is made to stay off your back so sweat doesn’t stick to you, which is great in the jungle. I noticed however that the upper compartment on an airplane can easily fit a 65L pack, and not even long-ways, so why go for smaller? Yes, smaller looks neater, but it’s easy enough to tighten the straps and you have the extra room when you have to carry things for other people… so I upgraded. It’s not my go-to summer pack, but I haven’t used it much yet because I broke my leg and well, Covid.

New Daypack: Gregory MiWok 24

On By arcoleoIn Backpacks, TravelLeave a comment

Gregory_MiWok_24

So this is my what, third Gregory pack?  Really, I love them.

I bought the 2019 Radial 34, but returned it before I left the store.  It was just much thinner than I expected and the wire rim didn’t click with me.  I couldn’t really understand it.  It got a lot of love online, but didn’t click for me, certainly not at $170.

The MiWok 12 and 24 were on sale for 50% off, so I took a chance.  I’m glad I did.  It’s light, yea thin, doesn’t feel super substantial, but feels sturdy enough for my two laptops, some gym clothes, and bag gloves.

I haven’t gotten to use it much yet, but still, I’m very happy with it.

Looking for new daypack

On By arcoleoIn Backpacks, Day, TravelLeave a comment

Wants

    • prevents a sweaty back
  • good for walking to work
  • ok for biking to work
  • ok for airline travel
  • normally will hold one laptop and one large tablet
  • sometimes will hold two laptops and two tablets
  • on flights will hold four laptops, three tablets, two kindles, and lots of wires

So far, only Osprey has a mesh panel to keep the back cool.

All the models I’m considering have a 25-ish and 35-ish size option.  The larger size compresses down to the smaller one so there is little advantage in the smaller one considering when I do pack a jacket, it takes a lot of space.

Options

  • Osprey
    • Radial 34 (2019)
    • Radial 34 (2018)
    • Escapist
    • Nebula
    • Tropos

 

Pack Pro Con
Radial 34 (2019) Hopefully fixed kickstand digging into back $50 more expensive
Radial 34 (2018) $50 cheaper
  • kickstand sometimes digs into back
Escapist Non removable waist strap
Nebula
Tropos

Update: found my backpack.  See next post.

Karrimor SF Predator 80-130 PLCE

On By arcoleoIn Backpacking, Backpacks, Camping, OutdoorsLeave a comment

Need something huge to carry my gear, my daughter’s gear, maybe my other daughter’s gear as well.  Will write more when I’ve used it.  130 liters is pretty big, but this bag is wide, not tall, so I don’t know how balanced it is.

Predator-80-130-Black-6

Update April 10, 2020

I think I jumped the gun on this bag.  So far it hasn’t been used at all for actual hiking.  I’ve basically been using it as a truck bag which it’s terrible for.  In fact, on my last few trips I didn’t even bring it.  I loaded it up, realized I’m just going car camping, and just put my gear in a couple big duffle bags.

I’ve learned a few things though.

First, a large bag doesn’t make up for having large gear.  It just doesn’t work.  I have a large synthetic sleeping bag which takes up maybe a third of the bag.  The sleeping bag straps on the bottom don’t expand enough to accommodate sleeping bag.  I ended up getting a down bag, but it’s for -30F, so it’s also large.  Maybe it will fit with a long and narrow stuff sack.

I also have a large BearVault.  The bag doesn’t have a floating crown, so the BearVault doesn’t really fit well.

With the two largest items needed to be carried outside the bag, I don’t see much of a use for the 130L capacity.  Maybe I will on a longer trip, but the bag is heavy, like 8 lbs, so I wonder.

Improvements

Considering this is supposed to be a bag for when nothing else will do, it lacks a few key features.  I think with a few small improvements, it could be twice as useful.

Floating Crown

With a floating crown, I would be able to fit my large BearVault easily on the top of the bag.  Almost all pack have this, why doesn’t this?

Longer / Replaceable Sleeping Bag Straps on the Bottom

My synthetic bag barely fit in the straps.  It took me over five minutes to wiggle it in.  Had the straps been longer or replaceable, it would’ve been a snap.  Why does the bag limit me to such short straps?  Large backpacks are used in the winter and so are large sleeping bags.  I don’t understand the limitation.

Taller

I wish the bag were taller and narrower.  I don’t understand why it has the dimensions it does.  Maybe someone with more experience could tell me.  If the bag were taller, it could even go to 160L which would be fantastic.

For my purposes, more volume doesn’t always equal more weight.  Synthetic products sometimes cost 20% of their down counterparts.  We’re not all made of money.