Backpack size - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**mbo108** · 04-24-2005, 09:29 AM

Okay, so I'm leaving in 3 weeks for ireland. We're going for 5 days, staying in hostels, blah blah. I need help picking out a good size pack.

Someone actually suggested this Burton bag to me. Now I know I dont need the snowboarding bells and whistles, but at the same time, with other packs, i dont need the camping stuff. I do lite hiking whatever, never overnight though. I have some burton stuff cause i snowboard and i love it. never ever had a problem, technically its great, indestructible.

its 2800cu, got a detachable day pack, and its only $144. Is this pack big enough? How many cubic inches do i really need for trips lasting about a week or less?

**mbo108** · 04-24-2005, 09:31 AM

Sorry, this is that burton pack

http://www.burton.com/Burton/gear/products...Number=B5806302

rjt98 · 04-24-2005, 12:29 PM

My first europe trip I just took my Jansport school back pack. The trip lasted about 17 days and the bag started having a strange stench at about the 13th day.

For 5 days any size bag will be fine. And having a detachable day pack is even better.

**kingcrazylegs** · 04-24-2005, 01:04 PM

For 5 days you won't need much...2800 would be more than enough. You might want to think ahead to possible future travels that might require a lot of space. If you are going to buy a pack, get a good one. I suggest looking at packs used by expeditioners (Dana Design, Sierra Designs, North Face, etc.) as they are made very well and fit for comfort with a load.

**GoKrazy** · 04-24-2005, 01:05 PM

For a 5 day trip to Montreal last summer I packed into my regular school backpack and I did just fine. My biggest problem (if you can call it that) was whitch shoes to bring with me - a pair of very comfortable sports sandals with a nice black pair of "all occasion" dress shoes proved to be the right combination.

As for the smell - I always have odour eaters or foot powder with me for the shoes and a few fabric softener sheets on the bottom of the bag. It seems to do the trick. If you avoid doing things like stuffing wet articles of clothing (wet towel, sweaty t-shirt, etc.) into your backpack, then you should not have a problem.

**Ozpacka** · 04-24-2005, 04:18 PM

Yup, just a small backpack... i had a 65litre, and that was more than plenty enuff for 6months, so im guessing 50litre or so will be just fine...

And the small bottle of foot/shoe powder was perhaps the thing im glad i bought most. Really helped, cuz you do do a hell of a lot of walking. Plus, besides dealing with smell, helps your feet to stay dry with all that sweating your sure to do... Dry feet = happy camper.

Cheers@!

Oz.

**omisan** · 04-24-2005, 10:52 PM

Well, I'm an avid snowboarder and even though i changed board brands, my friends call me a "Burton Whore," so I will naturally endorse this pack. I have a Burton laptop backpack (of all things) and I freakin' love it. Their stuff is monstrously durable, and pretty damn weatherproof at that, so you can't really go wrong. In terms of size, the volume's probably good for about a week.. I have a tendency to overpack, but I'm looking to slim down for the next trip. Also, at 50" linear, this thing is small enough to count as a carry-on.

BTW - You're the f'ing devil. I just picked this thing up (the black, non-camo versio) for $87 at Shoreline Sports. Oddly enough, I drove by that place every weekend during the snow season. Heh.

**mbo108** · 04-25-2005, 06:22 AM

Thanks so much guys. Omisan, how do you like the bag now that you have it? I think I'm getting it from that Shoreline place as well for $87. its a steal.

**omisan** · 04-25-2005, 11:25 AM

I don't have it yet - depends how long it takes shoreline to process the order and send it to me. Considering they're not that far away, I really hope they send it over quickly

(too far just to drive and pick it up, though... gah)

**mbo108** · 04-25-2005, 03:40 PM

Yeah i tried to purchase it today from ShorelineSPorts too for $87 but they called me back and said they were sold out!

**omisan** · 04-25-2005, 04:13 PM

Holy crap, did I get the last one?

Sorry, bud...

Well, you can get a good price throgh eBags, which - incidentall - is linked right here through Travelpunk

Linky Here

They've got it for $129 with free shipping. Too bad their "full moon madness" sale ended at Midnight, when they had everything for 20% off. I'd scour around the various snowboarding shops online - apparently, everyone's having their end-of-season blow out. I went and got a look at a smaller, older version of the bag at Any Mountain today, and it looks like it's a pretty worthwhile design!

A good alternative would be the series of duffel/backpack/daypack things from Osprey, but I haven't found a decent price on those yet - the full retail on the Burton is cheaper than the sale prices on Osprey. Gah.

**mbo108** · 04-25-2005, 05:07 PM

yeah, you definitely snaked that last one today. and when i say last one, i dont mean last one at that place, i mean basically in all of america. i've called every snowboard shop within 50 miles of my house, nobody's got it. I guess I can get that camo one. i wasn't too into sticking out that much, I really wanted to go with the black one, but they're all gone.

Wanna trade since i did bring it up in this forum? or at least help me find a place i can get the black one?

**agriadam** · 04-25-2005, 05:22 PM

hey notes on ebags

wait till they have a sale. they have one day sales all the time. on April fools day they hada 20% off sale, omid just mentioned another just check the site daily cuz that is the only way that you will know about it.

also for those of us that are AAA members we get a 15% discount at all times. so keep that in mind

BTW ebags has great customer service, and their return policy is excelent. I have to rely on Online sources for all my gear because the only camping and outdoors place in indy is Dicks and they sell a bunch of overpriced CRAP to soccer moms and middle age men going through a midlife crises...in other words they don't have quality

**omisan** · 04-25-2005, 06:00 PM

Hey Mbo - well, I can't trade because I have this sick obsession with buying everything in black and/or red. lol.. And since I do plan on using it for backcountry snowboarding next season, I don't think light camo is a good idea in case someone has to rescue my dumb ass. But I promise I WILL help you track one down at the lowest price

I'm pretty good at that...

**mbo108** · 04-26-2005, 06:50 AM

I would really appreciate that Omisan. I have looked everywhere, I cant find a black/red one anywhere on the web and all the shops near me are sold out or closed for the season anyways.

If you find one at a shop near you that would be great, I could just get it shipped to me ( I live outside Philly).

**omisan** · 04-26-2005, 07:43 AM

The search continues...

**mbo108** · 04-27-2005, 08:30 AM

dont worry about it, i got one. Had to go to new jersey, but found it. Thanks for your help.

**omisan** · 04-27-2005, 10:06 AM

Congrats! Now that's some perseverance, man. If you're that tenacious just in getting the backpack you want, I imagine your travels are going to be everything you want them to be. cheers!

**omisan** · 04-27-2005, 04:23 PM

Ok, my bag arrived today. I'm a *touch* disappointed because it's black with blue trim, not red like pictured, but I'm not going to complain too much - although it does break up my whole black/red motif.

Anyway, despite the listed size, it does seem a bit smaller than I expected, but I haven't packed it out yet. I'm still trying to figure out how all the straps & stuff work. Well, if it's a bit small, I guess that's good - it'll force me to pack light, since i'm a notorious overpacker.

It loads two ways (from the top and a fully-opening zipper in the rear), and the material quality looks pretty tough. There are internal straps for securing long/tall objects on the inside, which is cool. The strap has a hydration clip (yay!) and for a relatively small pack, it's got some pretty robust padding - something I really liked about my laptop bag.

The detachable daypack is roomy enough, but it doesn't have lots of compartments/pockets like the other small Burton bags I'm used to. It does, however, have a lot of loops to clip on whateve ryou may need to hang off the back.

I look forward to using it in the next couple of weeks!

kungfufighter · 04-27-2005, 06:59 PM

Hey everybody, first time poster here. I'm also having difficulty determining the right size backpack to bring to Europe. I'm going to be there the entire summer (3 months) and plan on traveling extensively. I currently have one of those huge hiking/expedition backpacks that I'm borrowing from a friend. I think it's around 5,000 ci and I'm afraid it might be overkill, but I'm not sure.

So...I have a few questions:

1) What size packs have you guys used when abroad for this length of time?

2) How much stuff do you guys carry and/or how heavy have your packs gotten?

2) Do you think I'll have any problems lugging this huge pack around and do you think it'll hinder my mobility?

3) Would I look out of place walking around with this huge pack on my back?

Any feedback/responses would be appreciated. Thanks!