Deuter Futura 30 SL

Summary

Fantastically comfortable big-daypack/ultralight overnighter; happily recommended.

I've run through five different day packs in the last few years, and i think i've finally found a winner. I'm no ultralighter - i like to have ALL my equipment when i go for a hike.  i LOVE to have a hot meal in the middle of long day hike. this bag carries everything i could possibly ever need (and always hope never to need), plus my stove and fuel and food, with room left over. it really seems designed more as an ultralighter's pack, what with the separate sleeping bag compartment.

Straps and hipbelts are well-padded, endlessly adjustable.  i love the narrow, tall profile.  i tend to carry around 20 pounds of gear on my dayhikes, and i always end up feeling like i could go farther.  and i love the included rain cover - it gets a lot of use on my Cascade Mts hikes, believe me.  and the air-venting though the back is wonderful - no sweat building up and causing chafing.  five miles or fifteen; rain, snow, or sun; this bag has been great.

My only gripes are pretty minor.  there aren't a lot of interior pockets to contain small items, and the two side pockets aren't particularly well-situated with respect to the compression straps.  and the hydration pocket isn't particularly well-suited to my Camelbak bladder - something true even of my other Camelback pack. in particular, the routing of the tube is a little awkward, and the bladder seems overly intrusive into the main compartment space.  but these are hardly problems that other packs don't have.