71–80 of 97 posts
I love it. It's spacious enough that I can pack everything I need for a week away from home, yet compact enough that it fits under the seat in an airplane. Kind of pricey but sturdily built, I've had it for six or seven years now and it isn't showing any signs of wear or tear.
One of my two upright tubes on my (third) Tioga broke during BMDM this year after a punishing training schedule, so I'm going to use something different for 2020. However, I was doing three training runs a week with bulky dried food (beans and lentils) taking my pack weight to 40 pounds and that's not what the Tioga is designed for, so it's my own fault, not Kelty's.
[1]: https://www.patagonia.com/product/black-hole-backpack-25-lit...
https://www.everki.com/us_en/suite-premium-compact-travel-fr...
First, it had to be relatively compact. Specifically, it had to fit under a standard economy-class airplane seat with room for my big feet.
Second, I wanted something more vertically oriented than usual. Most backpacks have multiple pockets in a "sandwich" configuration, so everything slumps into the bottom of each one and the top remains completely slack. I hate that. Having two decently sized outer pockets in an over/under configuration really helps. The straps (it's meant to be a skateboard pack) are occasionally handy to hold a jacket or hoodie instead of stuffing it inside.
It's not as weatherproof as some, certainly not as stylish, but it has survived a dozen week-long coast-to-coast trips and still seems barely worn. I looked at a lot of camera and other packs that might satisfy my preference for verticality even better, but for one third the price this one has done just fine.
REI Ruckpack 28 ( https://www.rei.com/product/118790/rei-co-op-ruckpack-28-pac... ) I bike commute with it every time, sometimes with a laptop, and it is wonderful. I really enjoy that it sits on my back comfortably while pedaling and has enough venting to not leave me crazy sweaty.
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13369197 (Jan 10, 2017 - 135 comments)
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14721746 (July 7, 2017 - 42 comments)
* https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15250044 (Sept 24, 2017 - 48 comments)
It's sturdy, it can host a multitude of stuff (for me, it has hosted laptops going from as light as the ThinkPad T440s to as heavy as the ThinkPad W530 -- with its 170W power supply).
The back padding is nice on my back, and so far it hasn't shown any sign of destruction (I've owned it for two years now).
I've been happy with a Dakine Duel 26L. I know that's going to seem too pedestrian to some because it's pretty inexpensive, but it fit my requirements. First, it had to be relatively compact. Specifically, it had to fit under a standard economy-class airplane seat with room for my big feet. Second, I wanted something more vertically oriented than usual. Most backpacks have multiple pockets in a "sandwich" configurati…