Eureka! Endeavor

Don't scoff because of the price -- I think this is a great pack for beginners and even intermediate hiking/camping. The compression system beats the hell out of my friend's $400 pack, and once I fiddled with it long enough the fit can't be beat, bringing the load comfortably against my back. My back stayed cool while hiking through 90-degree sun, and the detached external pockets allow you to stuff them full without taking space away from the inside load (and the space between is a convenient place for a jacket to be shoved for quick rain preparedness). The only thing I'd ask for is a floating top pocket and side zippers for easier access, but I never had any problems. For this kind of money I was amazed at what I got and how beautifully it's held up so far. I've had this for less than a year, though (I do use it every week), so the only question that remains is how long will this good thing last?

The Eureka Endeavor has proved good when backpacking about 5-7 day treks, although my specific model has some flaws. One day, I delayed my backpacking group 10 to 15 minutes because of the stays on the inside of the pack. They had acutally unvelcrowed the part that holds them in. The pack was crippled until fixed. The plastic thing that you pull on for the shoulder straps, compression straps, etc slip after a while. Durability isn't the greatest either.

Other than that, I think that it is very comfortable, and can handle loads under 40 pounds pretty well, but over 40 it tends to not support as well. Another plus would be that its huge hipbelt is comfortable and supportive because of it's large plastic sheet built in.

Overall, I think that it's a great pack, esspecially for beginning backpackers. Great value, too!!! (I got mine for $100)