Pack cubes work, but instead of buying them, I roll my clothes instead. It prevents wrinkles and saves space. Ziploc bags are very necessary. I always take extras to seperate dirty socks, hold shower shoes, store bottles that could leak, keep food in, etc etc. You can even put clothes in the bigger ones and squeeze the air out, and they cost a lot less than cubes

I roll stuff but I also own a couple of pack cubes. No need to splurge for Eagle Creek ones, the cheaper brands like Asolo work just as well. They’re of course not necessary but I like them cause I can roll up pretty much all my clothes in two of them and it makes it easy to keep my pack organized.

I agree with Buckley that Ziplocs are essential. Murphy’s law of packing: if it can leak, it will. Take extra ziplocs in case stuff does leak and you have to throw some out.

But packing cubes are easier for organizing clothes than ziplocs cause they’re less slippery so they’re easier to stuff in your pack. Just a personal preference thing.

Do you really need a 70L pack? Unless you’re campign, you’re a big guy, or you’re a glutton for punishment, I can’t think of too many travel circumstances that argue for more than 50L. But hey, whatever floats your boat.

well, 70 litres eh….u may b right, but its my first trip so i am not quite sure what to expect. and honestly i thought 50 L is pretty small. i know i need to pack light, thats my intention. but id like some room in order to bring back some stuff and just in case shit happens, yknow wat i mean?

anyone ever use the vacuum pac bags? they had some in this outdoor store where you could just roll the air out (two valve system) and it squeezes the air out..does this work..supposes to save a ton of space

oh and its meant for clothes

Yes, vacuum bags work, but the stuff still weighs as much and it doesn’t really make all that much difference for basic clothes like pants and shirt. Vacuum bags are nice for something bulky like a jacket or sweater. Even most fleece will roll up almost as small without the bag.

Everyone’s different… but I tend to feel that if you can’t fit your stuff in a 50L bag, you probably have too much stuff. You may not think that right now, but after your trip you’ll probably realize I was right.

If you’re travelling in winter or to cold places where you need bulkier clothing, if you’re bringing specialized equipment for sports or other uses, if you’re just a really big guy whose clothes are giant-sized… then I could see going to 60L or 70L. I’m a 5’1" woman so my view may be a bit biased, because I think I’d find it very difficult to carry more than 50L on my back. But then, I’m not the world’s lightest packer, and I still have room for souvenirs and extras even with my 50L bag. I can’t think of what else you’d want to pack that would take up so much more space.

Remember: smaller bags are lighter, more comfortable to walk in for longer periods of time, easier to manoeuver through crowded places, and they help you avoid the temptation of packing too much. You can always ship home bulky souvenirs.

Okay, okay! Enough about the downsides of a 60litre backpack! (Im starting to regret buying mine….)
To be honest I’ve never had any bad experiences with my supersized backpack, but then again I didnt buy it spescifically for summer-backpacking trips either.
I guess I’ll be fine…

hey, yknow wat i am happy i got the 70 L, my shoes are size 13 so they take up a lot of space, as does the rest of my clothes b/c im 6’2…so now ive got a real excuse

When you speak of backpack size, are you referring just to the main pack, or to the main pack and day pack?

When you speak of backpack size, are you referring just to the main pack, or to the main pack and day pack?

djo, I think you will like that pack. I have the Asolo Navigator 70 pack myself and I think its great. Taken it on a couple of trips now and it has stood up really well. I’m tall also a 6’ and I tried on a lot of packs before I found this one. I found with the smaller packs that it was difficult to get the straps adjusted properly so that the weight was resting on the waist straps instead of my shoulders. That said if you more than half fill this pack for your trip you have way too much packed.