Posts Tagged daypacks
Ultra Sil Pack Cover from Sea to Summit
I was pretty disappointed to find out that the pack cover that came with my Kata Digital Rucksack (reviewed here) didn’t stay put when I any kind of active with the pack on. While the pack keeps my gear safe and is made of sturdy enough material to keep my electronics dry in most conditions, there are times when it’s just pouring rain or there’s crazy over-spray from the water. The pack cover is supposed to add extra protection, right? But it’s got to fit right do so.
Sea to Summit makes pack covers that fit but good, stay in place, and act like a rain jacket for your pack when the weather is just too wet to rely on the pack material alone. The covers are made from waterproof ripstop material that’s lightweight and tough. It’s got a stretchy cord that pulls tight for the best fit. The little stuff sack is sewn to the cover so you can’t lose it (a nice touch). The larger sizes have an additional strap that keeps the sides in place — mine is an XS so I can’t say how well that works or how much of a hassle it is to deal with. There’s a little hook on the end of the cinch strap — I used that to attach it to a loop on my pack just in case it did come loose, but it stayed in place during all kinds of outdoor foul weather activity.
You do have to pull the cover away to get in and out of your pack, but because there’s plenty of stretch, it was easy enough to manage, and I liked the extra protection for my electronics in those wet conditions. The pack covers come in four colors — gold, grey, green, blue and red — and four sizes. The XS fits your standard day pack and the measurements given on the Sea to Summit site are correct; I checked and measured to select the right size for my camera gear pack.
Sea to Summit makes lots of “keep your stuff dry” bags and pack covers and more. The pack covers start at about 35 dollars for the small. Replacing a water damaged camera costs a lot more. Keep your gear dry and get a pack cover at Backcountry.com.
Posted by Pam in Adventure Gear on April 22nd, 2011
Eco-friendly Haiku Travel Bags for Women
My new favorite everyday bag is the Haiku Hobo in chocolate brown. It’s got this great rounded-corner, trapezoidal shape that is surprisingly roomy — the top compartment opens wide with a clever diagonal zipper (see photo below). There’s tons of space to put all the crap stuff I seem to need to carry around on a daily basis, and then some. (Seriously, I’ve fit a set of workout clothes, a water bottle, legal pad, wallet and giant cosmetic bag in here, without it bursting at the seams.)
Besides its cool design and voluminous space, I adore the Hobo’s pebble-texture faux-leather accents, the magnetic-closure front pocket and two exterior slip pockets. The inside is lined in easy-to-wipe-clean nylon with Velcro and zip pockets. Double straps are adjustable and come with a removable Velcro cushion (which I removed). Straps extend so that I can sling the bag across my chest — convenient for hands-free sightseeing and souvenir shopping.
Style, function and attention to detail are key for Haiku, a woman-owned company, as is the environment. So much so, Haiku will stop making bags in its original, petroleum-based primary fabric (like the Hobo style I have), and use solely eco-friendly cyclePET fabric moving forward. CyclePET is created from 100-percent post-consumer PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage bottles.
Now, the good news is, each bag that Haiku creates out of cyclePET material keeps 22 plastic bottles out of landfills. Bad news — that cool pebble fabric I love so much in the Hobo won’t be in production much longer. Alas, I’m confident that the updated eco-friendly Hobo will be equally as lovable, also with textured fabric and new recycled aluminum hardware.
Haiku’s current Rumi collection is already made out of cyclePET. Designs include a backpack, messenger bag and a little skinny-strapped shoulder bag. As soon as my 11-year-old daughter got a look at the little Rumi Pouch — basically a multi-faceted wallet with a bunch of little zipper pockets, credit-card slots and a detachable shoulder strap — she claimed it as her own. She likes that it also holds her cellphone and chapstick. She uses it as a purse when she goes to the movies with friends; but it could also be used as a wallet within a larger bag. That detachable shoulder strap makes it easy to use on its own when you really only have to carry some cash, lipstick and a hotel-room key.
The Rumi Pouch retails for $42; the Hobo is $78. Shop for many styles on the Haiku website. Browse offerings and check prices on PlanetShoes.com or Backcountry.com.
Posted by Kara in Travel Light on April 5th, 2011
Packable Ultra-Sil Sling Bag is Tiny but Strong
We’ve reviewed a good number of Sea to Summit products here because they make a whole lot of practical travel gear and gadgets that won’t bust your budget. Since we also like to bring your attention to travel items that can pack up small, it’s time for their latest Ultra-sil product, the Sling Bag.
Once again, this packs into a tiny little pouch that you can wrap your hands around—that’s a USB thumb drive next to it in that photo. It’s small enough to hook onto a loop on your bag or it can easily stuff into a corner of a backpack. Pull out the insides though—magician’s dramatic flair optional—and you’ve got a useful messenger bag for shopping or sightseeing. Opened up it’ll hold a bunch of fruit or the day’s needs around town: guidebook, camera, journal, and some gadgets even.
The official capacity is 16 liters, and it just may actually be strong enough to hold multiple liters of your favorite beverage, but I wouldn’t recommend testing the limits. The seams are reinforced, but your shoulder is not.
It’s made of strong siliconized Cordura nylon and has a real zipper along the top enclosure so you can close it to keep the snow or rain out. But it weighs all of 2.2 ounces.
The Sea to Summit Ultra-sil Sling Bag is available in Green, Black, Blue, Red, or Yellow. The zipper, strap, and connected pouch are all the same color. The list price is $30 and I’d love to tell you what you can get it for on sale at retail, but it’s new and still hard to find. The only places I can find carrying it online so far are smaller outlets like Summit Hut and Moosejaw. Watch the Sling Bag product page at Sea to Summit for availability updates at other outlets.
See more reviews of Sea to Summit products.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on February 10th, 2011
Kata DR-467 Digital Rucksack for Photography Gear
If you’re carrying around a grand or more in camera equipment, you probably want to keep it protected, right?
Today we have a guest review from Pam Mandel, best known as the woman behind Nerd’s Eye View. See her bio at the end for more and…take it away Pam!
Laptop, DSLR, cables, water bottle, snacks, keys, wallet, maybe a sweatshirt… it’s hard to find a bag that transports a full kit from A to B and back again. I want a bag that’s versatile enough to use as a day pack when it’s not lugging camera gear. And for general security and peace of mind, I want a bag that doesn’t scream “There’s an expensive camera in here!”
There are great laptop bags, great day-packs, great camera bags, but this is my favorite combination of all three. The Kata DR-467 holds my complete collection of travel gadgets and a lot of other odds and ends, and it’s no larger or showier than the average day-pack.
The lower compartment of the bag is a padded camera bucket with dividers. It easily accommodates my DSLR with the mounted telephoto lens, my secondary flash, my video camera, an additional lens, and a handful of cables, chargers, batteries, and flash cards. The dividers are removable, so if I don’t want to carry all my gear once I’m at my destination, I can take out the protective dividers and use the lower bucket for other items.
The laptop sleeve easily accommodates a 15″ laptop — Kata makes larger bags for other sizes, too. The sleeve is on the outside of the pack so I don’t have to open the bag and root around to pull the laptop out — it’s always easily accessible. If you carry a netbook, like I do, there’s plenty of room in that same pocket for your laptop cables and a folder with your travel documents, maybe even your e-Reader. The back of the laptop pocket is the flat, reinforced support for the pack, so not only does your laptop stay put, the pack holds its shape.
The upper compartment has pockets and dividers that will help you keep your cell phone, pens, and other odds and ends organized, plus it’s big enough to hold your sweatshirt or lunch. There are lots of zippered pockets on the outside to hold small items — lip balm, sunglasses, that sort of thing. The zips are sturdy and secure; there’s no danger your items will fall out. The zipper pulls all hide neatly under hoods when they’re closed so they don’t catch on things.
The bag has some other nice details too — a stretchy but secure band across the back allows you to slide it over the handle of your roller bag. There’s a rain cover that folds into its own pouch when it’s stowed — the pack is water resistant, but the extra protection is reassuring if you’re hauling your gear in heavy rain or other inclement weather. There’s a mesh water bottle pocket that can be zipped out of the way when it’s not in use and there are D rings and ties on the outside of the bag if you want to carry a tripod or your sandals or a bike helmet, for example. The bag has both waist and chest straps to provide extra support if the bag is fully loaded or you’re doing some scrambling.
There are two minor issues with the DR-467. First, the bottom compartment, when fully loaded, had a tendency to want to spill open when it’s unzipped. The last thing you want is to pour your expensive camera gear out unexpectedly. Open it towards you, you won’t have a problem. The other issue is with the rain cover — it doesn’t stay put as well as it should. A drawstring to tighten it or some other system to hold the cover in place would be an improvement.
I’ve tried a series of other backpacks in search of the perfect solution to hauling my gear. The other options I tried didn’t protect my camera equipment, were too bulky, or didn’t address my need to carry both a laptop and a DSLR. The Kata DR-467 is the one bag I’ve found that holds everything, neatly and securely, and still keeps a low profile. It’s a tough bag, versatile and easy to carry, and it does exactly what I need my travel backpack to do. It sells for about $80 online. Check prices online for Kata Digital Rucksacks or go straight to the product page at Amazon.
Pam Mandel is a freelance writer, photographer and lifetime traveler. She likes long road trips with her Austrian husband and has an uncanny (and unhealthy) ability to find the best bakery in town, where ever that town may be. She plays the ukulele with more enthusiasm than skill and chronicles her obsession with things Hawaiian on Holoholo Wale. She’s been blogging for more than a decade at Nerd’s Eye View. Follow her on Twitter: @nerdseyeview.
Posted by Tim L. in General Gear, Travel Light on January 7th, 2011
Don’t Call It a Fanny Pack: Eagle Creek Tailfeather
There are two kinds of people in the world: those who love fanny packs and those who don’t. I’m firmly in the latter category, but my mother is not, so I let her do the honors in trying out this Eagle Creek Tailfeather in the real world.
I do recall one instance where I wore something like this around, however. I spent a few days at Red Mountain Spa in Utah for a big 10th wedding anniversary vacation and they gave us a waist pack with two water bottle pouches. I used it on a few desert hikes there and one mountain bike ride. Hey, I didn’t know anyone there who was going to tell me I looked like a dork and it was just sitting around my room anyway…
I do understand the utility of this, hands free and nothing making your back sweat. And if I were the type who liked to have my belongings strapped around my waist on a regular basis, I can’t imagine a better one to strap on than this.
It’s got the two water bottle holsters, two separate zippered compartments, mesh facing the body, and a strong adjustable strap. Even a carrying loop on the top for when you take it off—or don’t want to wear it.
And it’s made by Eagle Creek, a company I’ve been trusting with my money and my belongings for close to two decades now. They make great, functional products that deliver and keep on delivering.
My sixties mom tester liked this larger version of the venerable fanny pack and plans to take it with her on future trips. She likes how it holds pretty much everything she needs for the day—money, camera, smokes (haven’t managed to get her to quit), credit cards, lip balm, and sunscreen. She’s the type that constantly leaves her keys or money in odd places and has trouble finding them, so this Tailfeather solves that problem when traveling. Everything in one place.
You’re either going to love this item or recoil at the very thought of it. If you’re the former, get it here:
Posted by Tim L. in Travel Light on November 11th, 2010
