In preparation for starting a multi year process of discovering the Camino, starting with doing the Ingles in May, I trawled the Web to find and compare all the backpacks from not only US but European brands within a 30-45L capacity range.
ETA: It's easy to see why some of the most commonly mentioned packs are so frequently used -- namely, the Osprey Kestrel / Kyte, Exos / Eja and Talon / Tempest series, the Gregory Zulu / Jade series, the Deuter Trail and Futura series, and the REI Trail 40. The things that are important to me are: reasonable weight, a stash space for wet clothing / rainwear, appropriate torso length and an attached rain cover, and these packs definitely hit the above criteria.
However, there are also quite a few models that theoretically have good specs when assessed on the same criteria, but for which there don't seem to be much reviews at all. Wonder if anyone has used any of these, or perhaps they are less well known due to less exposure on Amazon / REI / blogger reviews?
Ultra-Budget (USD 100 or below):
ETA: It's easy to see why some of the most commonly mentioned packs are so frequently used -- namely, the Osprey Kestrel / Kyte, Exos / Eja and Talon / Tempest series, the Gregory Zulu / Jade series, the Deuter Trail and Futura series, and the REI Trail 40. The things that are important to me are: reasonable weight, a stash space for wet clothing / rainwear, appropriate torso length and an attached rain cover, and these packs definitely hit the above criteria.
However, there are also quite a few models that theoretically have good specs when assessed on the same criteria, but for which there don't seem to be much reviews at all. Wonder if anyone has used any of these, or perhaps they are less well known due to less exposure on Amazon / REI / blogger reviews?
Ultra-Budget (USD 100 or below):
- Berghaus Arrow 30 -- https://www.berghaus.com/unisex-arrow-30-rucsac-black-red/13139984.html
- Decathlon Quechua MH500 (US prices are actually more expensive than prices outside the US):
- Patagonia Altvia 36 -- https://www.patagonia.com/product/a..._48915_color=BLK&cgid=luggage-technical-packs
- Thule Stir 35
- Gregory Stout 35 / Amber 34 (the Zulu / Jade series gets much more exposure) --
- Lowe Alpine Airzone Trail Camino
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