Before I revised how much I take camping and went to a molly mac pack, I used for spring and fall (I don't (anymore) snow camp) an Osprey Ariel 65 (liter). It was really too big for what I used, even if I stuffed a bear can in there. If I could have gotten a 55 in that pack through REI I would have.
I did manage to stuff a summer weight 2 day pile of gear into a Gregory Z30 (30 litres). I used a thin pad with this load out instead of an UQ and the pad went on the outside of the pack. However, I would say that is too small for most folks.
I did what dejoha advocates, and took a duffel full of gear to REI to pick a pack (the Osprey). The backpack guy there said about 2% of people do that. So go be a 2%! It is tempting to get the pack first, but it works better to get the pack last.
Bookmarks