Which Type of Pack(s) Should I Get? (Female, 2m trip, DSLR)

Hi, newbie here and hoping to get some much-needed advice.

I'm taking a 2 month trip to Costa Rica starting in August. I've found tons of information about what to pack, but no great information on how to pack it.

I was recently sold a huge (66 liter) hiking pack made for women (I'm 5'5", 110 lbs) from REI, which should work in theory, but I'm not convinced I want to keep it. The purpose of this trip is for work exchanges, which means my friend and I won't be doing tons of hiking with a bunch of gear (not bringing camping stuff like a tent or cookware or even a sleeping bag). At most we might need to hike to the place we're staying, but after that all I will need is a daypack for weekend excursions and my DSLR. The one I bought comes with a detachable daypack into which I could probably squeeze my DSLR, an extra lens, and a change of clothes, but it's pretty tiny. Plus, it doesn't provide the extra padding of a specialized camera bag. The rest of the pack is HUGE - more space than I'm thinking I'll need (but I have no clue!).

So. Does anyone recommend getting a smaller (maybe 45-50L) pack to carry my clothes, toiletries, etc. and then a larger camera bag that I can also use as a weekend bag instead of the setup I have now? If I do that, I'm thinking I could rig it up somehow like S:G:T:P suggests in this (http://www.flickr.com/groups/perth_photo/discuss/72157618325420367/) thread on Flickr when I have to carry both packs. I can attach the camera pack to the front of my straps with carabiners. I'm leaning towards this option and have some ideas of what camera pack I'd like to get, but I'm still completely torn on the travel/hiking pack.

Also, any recommendations for packs for women with smaller frames would be greatly appreciated. I'd like to keep it less than $200 if that's possible (getting close to what I spent for the plane ticket - crazy!). I've never done a long-term trip like this, so I really am clueless here. I guess I'm most concerned about giving myself too much room and thus end up packing way more than I actually need. Oh, and I have to be able to lift the dang thing as well.

Thanks in advance!

Katie

That's HUGE Chuck it on Ebay and get a smaller one for sure.
Consider taking a small camera bag too - we just used a large one to fit all our electronic doodads and it was a pain. Ended up buying a trolley to pull it along on Taking less next time

I still have time to return it for a full refund (thankfully!).

Do you think this 34L one would be big enough?
http://www.amazon.com/Deuter-Futura-Pro-34-Backpack/dp/B00116O0P8/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I3UGMPQLNXJ7CY&colid=1UI8U7PUTHGF3

And I'm thinking this for my DSLR:
http://www.amazon.com/Lowepro-Fastpack-250-Black/dp/B000YIYQ30/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I2859BEOY68Y7R&colid=1UI8U7PUTHGF3

66 l is pretty big, BUT if you pack it lite, you can have plenty of space for souvenirs, not to mention good clothes to have fun after your work exchange. If you won't be hiking all over the place, it means you might as well just take a rolly case if you're working in a city area.

I really think that a 34 liter bag is way too small for two months, when you need work-type clothes, shoes, etc.

50-55 is probably more like it, considering you'll want to bring fun shoes, work shoes, etc, not to mention some waterproof clothing.

Personally, I'd go with:

- a pack big enough to fit everything
- a daypack that folds away and can be put in the main pack
- a small padded bag for just the camera and lens and if you have a second or third lens then an additional lens bag for each.

That gives you the most versatility for any situation and is how I generally travel. Now, you certainly wouldn't need that flexibility on your current trip but if your buying gear for long term use and various trips and only want to make one luggage purchase that is how I would do it.

Carrying (typically heavy) camera gear on the front and a regular backpack on your back may get old if you're a small woman.

A carry-on sized travel pack should be all you need. You can get something like an MEI Voyageur, with a suspension system, that would still meet carry-on requirements and packs about 45L.

Generally, hiking packs are not good travel packs and vice versa. If you're going to be hiking, the bags at REI are great. But if you're going to be traveling, staying in hostels, mostly urban areas, etc. then the only bag REI has that I recommend is the REI Vagabond.

I think there's a link in my sig, but here you can see the details of what I brought for 5 weeks in South America.

And the important part:

What would I do next time?
My next plan is to find a camera specific backpack and a medium-small duffel bag. I want three things of my camera bag: quick access to camera, comfort when carrying all day long, and enough extra space to fit extra items. Every time I had to travel with both bags, I found myself carrying my clothing on my back and my camera on my shoulder. I’d rather have a light, rugged, easy to open duffel bag over my shoulder, and my camera on my back.

The key is having the ability to comfortably carry the camera and extra water/clothing all day long. Hours and hours of walking around every single day. Splurge on the camera bag, especially if you're taking long and heavy lenses. I know the duffel isn't super popular here, but it's only once in a while that I wind up walking for hours with all of my belongings on me, and I'd rather be a touch uncomfortable in those moments than feeling the shoulder strain of an uncomfortable camera/daypack all the time.

halfnine wrote:Carrying (typically heavy) camera gear on the front and a regular backpack on your back may get old if you're a small woman.

I couldn't agree more with this! By the looks of it that's the same camera bag that I have for home use & there's no way I'd lug that thing around for 2 months. I'm just a bit shorter than you @ 5'2 & if I were to have my main pack on my back & the camera bag on my chest I'd topple over.

I purchased the deuter speedlite 10. I know it's not meant to be a camera bag, but it's light & I can easily fit my Nikon D40x (DSLR) into the bag & wrap a thick shirt/sweater around it for extra padding and still have room for other stuff, including an extra lens, journal, ipod, ect.

Have fun!!!!