BootsnAll Travel Community

So I went with the Gregory Baltoro for a few reasons: REI had a great price (20% off) and it won Backpacker Magazines best all around pack. I had to order online because they were out of the green in store, so I can still change my order if need be.
http://www.rei.com/product/757777


I started having serious concerns that 70L is way too big. I'm 5'11", 130 lbs. Traveling 6 weeks in Europe, don't plan on camping this trip but I WILL be doing a few big camping weekends per year and Yosemite for a week in the fall hopefully.

So my question isn't if 70L is too big for Europe, I know it is by 20L or more. But for multi-day hiking is 70L still over the top?

Everyone says don't buy a big bag because you'll fill it, but I know that I can (and plan on) wearing the same 2 pants for 6 weeks... It doesn't bother me at all. Is there any disadvantage to under packing a big pack and just strapping it down tight? BnAers seem to be in the "small as possible" boat but I don't understand why you can't buy big, and still keep it light, ya know?

I can't help you with you question about REI bags.

However, from what I understand, there are two main problems with detachable day packs:

1) They can extend the weight of the pack too far behind, putting you off balance. If you try one of these, try filling both the main pack and the day pack and see how you like it.

2) In an otherwise carry-on acceptable bag, they can make the bag no longer acceptable for carry-on.

Of course, the advantage of the detachable day pack is that you get extra room in your backpack because you don't have to stuff your day pack inside of it.

Personally, I think that if you can't fit your day pack inside of your big bag, you've packed too much. My day pack is a messenger camera bag, and I stow it inside of my big bag when I'm walking around with both. But, I do know some people who love detachable day packs.

I don't like detachable day packs. I find them hard to attach and detach and when they are attached you have to take off your whole pack to get at the stuff in the daypack. I also use a messenger style bag for a daypack, it's easy to wear when I'm wearing the regular pack and my stuff is very easy to get at.

Went with the Gregory Baltoro 70... went to REI and everyone was sold out, ordered it online and it's back ordered, so hopefully it gets here in the next month or I'm SOL.

Got 20% off on it for becoming a member so it was a decent price.

ps... no daypack I decided I could just add my own and pack it myself.

I've got the REI Women's Ridgeline and really like it. I used to carry a much bigger pack, but I've downsized as I realize it's just more space I end up filling with useless things.

What I love about it:
The J-zip provides great access to the bottom of the pack, and there's no internal divider. It's a fairly light pack which also factored in for me. The zippers are heavy-duty.

What I'm not in love with:
There are a lot of buckles which help to secure the weight, but seem like they are a little excessive.

Hope this helps!