hi!
Ok, so i've got one month to go before, I'm escaping all this lovely soggy english weather and I can put off deciding what backpack i need no longer. Unfortunately I am still utterly befuddled! I can't decide between a travelpack or a toploader . Everything I've been reading has been pushing travel packs and they seem more practical than rucksacks; for access to luggage & transporting them on airplanes etc. however most of my trip will be spent in newzealand where i plan to do alot of tramping (Great walks etc).
If i take a travelpack am I going to end up with back ache and no way to carry a tent? Is there any backpack that compromises between the two styles (good access to luggage but also good weight dispersal)? Finally does anyone know of a travelpack available in the uk that doesn't have a daypack attached?
thanks!
Bryony
I don't think you're likely to find a travelpck that is going to be good for walking out in the countryside. It'll be possible you'd want the comfort of a sack designed for that kind of use so that you can concentrate on enjoying the outdoors - I have a Karrimore (spl ?) rucksac that has wippers down the length of the sack for easy access. They aren't quite a useful as they sound because the sack is typically so methodically packed that when you unwp one whole side and remove an object al of the contents gets messed up and the thing needs repacking again. But having said that they can make things easier sometimes.
How about taking both ? For the most part of your trip he rucksack can hold the not-so frequently-used stuff that you don't need such easy access to, but then it can be used for treking when you come to it.
how about a hybrid pack. I know they get some bad press on here at times but in my opinion they are great. I have a Macpac Genesis, had it for about 8 years, it has never let me down. You can either access it as a top loader or by the zip. Wrks for me
I've been trekking with a travel pack... they're ok as long as you don't jam too much into them.
On the whole, they are hard to pack (things get in the zips etc) and when you unzp them everything just comes out.
I suppose it depends what you see yourself doing with the bag once you get back from NZ... Personally I'd be on the lookout for a rucksack...
Lowe Alpine do a 60 and 70lt travel pack without the day pack attached, looks like a nice bag.
I have just spent 2 months going over the same problem and went with the travel pack in the end (Berghaus 70 &15). Consider the day pack a waste of space but will use for seperation of wet clothes etc.
the question I had to answer was will I be carrying such a weight while trekking in New Zealand or anywhere else that the benefits of the Rucksack come into play and I dont think I will.
apart from that.....for general backpacking travel the top loader is a pain in the ass
If you are at all serious about using your rucksack for trekking and carrying reasonable loads stay away from most travelpacks. They just dont have the support you need for carrying sustained loads. The saving grace are those made by Macpac if you can find them. In the UK you may struggle, but ironically macpac are from NZ. It may be that you could get a pack once you are out there?
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