Over the past couple of years of walking I’ve gone through a fair amount of gear, so I thought I would share some feedback for stuff that’s tried and trusted. Hope it helps.

What is it?: Deuter RaceX knapsack.

How much?: about $90 CAD + tax

Where, when, how do I use it?: I bought this in 2017 to use on day walks around town. Since then I’ve also used it as a light office laptop bag – the hydration sleeve fits a Macbook.

It’s probably been on at least 1000km of walks with me, and carried its share of weekly shopping too. BTW you can get 4 bottles of wine into it no problem, 5 in a pinch if they are the long slim Alsatian style bottles. I use it quite a bit, especially in summer when you need lots of water.

It’s about a 12L bag, pretty small yet big enough to hold water, sunglasses, a light rain jacket, and some snacks for a day hike. It’s got lots of pockets, including 2 side mesh pockets for water bottles, plus a small and large compartment, and 3 pockets inside the large compartment of which one is for a hydration bag. There’s a hydration port and a little Velcro support on one of the straps to keep the hydration tube near your mouth. Even if full to bursting, it easily fits as a carry-on bag for airlines.

I like that it features mesh straps as well as raised mesh cushions on the back, so that air can circulate and it doesn’t cling to you. It’s pretty light weight, only around 550g empty, and it can carry a few kilos with no issue. There’s a waist strap and a sternum strap, and a decent amount of adjustability in the shoulder straps.

I have a relatively long torso, and on me I have to extend the shoulder straps to almost full length in order to get the waist strap sitting on my hips, so if I am not carrying much I just let clip the waist strap behind my back and hitch it up a bit higher for more comfort. At the same time, it’s adjustable enough that my wife can wear it too even though she’s shorter than I am, by just cinching the shoulder straps. That was a big feature for me – I didn’t want this particular pack to be mine only, since there are times when we are both out for hikes and I can take my bigger daypack and give her this lighter one.

Finally, it comes with a decent rain cover that’s easy to put on/off, and tucks away easily. If the bag does get rained on without the cover, it still keeps things pretty dry unless it’s been soaked for hours. The outer cover has some good florescent flashing on it, so it shows up well against headlights at night, which is good because I got a grey/silver one. The rain cover itself is a dayglo yellow so that works well too.

Would I buy it again?: It’s been pretty hard-wearing and looks near-new after 3 years of use. I assume I will get years more out of it so by the time I wear it out, Deuter will probably have come out with some new model. That said, I like the Deuter products and would definitely look at their line in future.

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Disclaimer: This is not a “review”. I don’t go around sampling things, instead this is a summary of my own experience with a product I have used a lot. All opinions contained in this post are my own. I offer no warranties or assurances for your experiences with the same product. I bought the gear with my own money and have not received any form of compensation from the manufacturer. Take my feedback as given – caveat emptor.

Over the past couple of years of walking I’ve gone through a fair amount of gear, so I thought I would share some feedback for stuff that’s tried and trusted. Hope it helps.

What is it?: Osprey Talon 22 daypack

How much?: $150 CAD + tax, plus $35 + tax for the rain cover

Where, when, how do I use it?: I bought this recently, in spring 2020. Partly this was because I wanted a bigger pack for day hikes than the Deuter RaceX 12L pack that I also use. Partly it was simply because the Osprey was on sale, so I ended up getting it for about $60 off the combined price of the pack and the rain cover.

I’ve used it multiple times in just the first few weeks, for hikes as well as shopping runs, where BTW the extra bottle wine capacity (6-8 bottles versus 4-5 for the Deuter) is a useful feature. I’m planning to use it as my go-to day-hike pack. I like it for several reasons:

1. It’s the right Goldilocks size, not too big nor too small.
2. It comes in sizes, so I was able to get the long one that fits my long torso.
3. It has a semi-rigid frame-like structure, meaning it’s stiff enough to feel like it’s got a frame but it doesn’t actually have one which keeps weight down
4. The waist belt has side pockets, useful for little things like COVID-19 essentials (face masks and hand sanitizer), Clif bars, Swiss Army knife, etc.
5. The outside mesh pockets are big enough to hold a 1L Nalgene bottle
6. There are lots of pockets inside and out to organize your stuff, and it’s got a hydration sleeve with a port for the tube as well.
7. It will hold a laptop no problem in the hydration sleeve.
8. It’s relatively water resistant even without the rain cover, and really good with the cover on.

Compared to the smaller Deuter bag, the Osprey bag is heavier of course, but not by as much as you’d think. The Talon holds 22L in volume versus 12L, but it weights only 810g versus 550g, a decent tradeoff of weight for load, and you can carry up to around 8 or 9kg with it.

The biggest thing for me is the adjustability of the strap system. While I like my Deuter RaceX bag too, the Osprey just fits me better because it’s longer. I took it out for a 4 hour hike the other day, carrying 2L of water plus snacks with an ice pack, rain jacket, sun glasses, a seat cushion, and COVID-19 masks and hand sanitizer, so pushing 4kg with the weight of the bag itself, and once I had it adjusted it rode well up and down hills and stairs feeling light and comfortable the whole time. And that was on a 30C day when I was perspiring a lot – the mesh back system really helped.

Would I buy it again?: Yes, I like this bag. Since it’s new and I’ll likely get years out of it, by the time I’m ready for a new one Osprey will have some other model out. That said, I’d definitely look at their products again.

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Disclaimer: This is not a “review”. I don’t go around sampling things, instead this is a summary of my own experience with a product I have used a lot. All opinions contained in this post are my own. I offer no warranties or assurances for your experiences with the same product. I bought the gear with my own money and have not received any form of compensation from the manufacturer. Take my feedback as given – caveat emptor.

Over the past couple of years of walking I’ve gone through a fair amount of gear, so I thought I would share some feedback for stuff that’s tried and trusted. Hope it helps.

What is it?: Gregory Paragon 38 backpack. I think this model is being discontinued however, as the Gregory website has it on clearance. There’s a bigger 48 model still available I think.

How much?: about $200 CAD including tax

Where, when, how do I use it?: I bought this in the spring of 2019, because I was planning to start doing some long multi-day walks. By multi-day, I mean anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of months. That said, this pack is more for walks with accommodation along the way than it is for pure backpack wilderness hiking. Think of things like the Camino de Santiago.

To date, while I haven’t taken it out of Ontario, it has been used for my 200km Niagara-on-the-Lake to Toronto walk. On that trip, I booked B&Bs and hotels for each night, so I was just carrying clothes, rain gear, shaving kit, first aid kit, an iPad, sundries, snacks, and water. Even so, my full pack weighed in at around 11 or 12 kg for the 6 day walk. I could have been more economical in packing, and with more planning and experience I am sure I could make it work for longer trips without adding too much if any weight.

I picked it because it fit well. Gregory packs are sized by length, and since I have a long torso I needed the medium/long model. When I tried it in the store, with a couple of 5 kg weights tossed in, I was able to adjust it easily to my frame and get the weight sitting on my hips. The belt system is good, and the straps allow you to adjust it pretty much however you need it.

This has an aluminum internal frame to carry the load and the material is relatively heavy nylon for durability. The back is meshed as are the cushions, and properly adjusted it will float a bit off your back so that there is some air circulation.

I like the storage. There are side pockets on the waist belt that are big enough for multiple Clif bars. The side mesh pockets can hold a 1L Nalgene bottle. There’s a big stretch mesh exterior pocket on the back that I used for my rain jacket and the rain cover. Inside, there are multiple pockets including one for a hydration bag, and the top cover has multiple pockets too that worked well for handy access to snacks and the first aid kit. I like that you can get into the main compartment from the top or from the bottom.

Another plus is that there are multiple strap and clip-on points. I used the ones on the bottom of the pack to strap on my walking poles, but I could still reach around and unclip the straps to get the poles while walking if I needed to. With a couple of bungee cords, you can use the exterior tie-down loops to hold other stuff too.

The pack kept my stuff dry in light rain, though I did have moisture inside the pack from sweating through the fabric. The rain cover works well in heavier downpours, and it’s a nice bright dayglo yellow so if I’m walking along a busy road I’ll use the rain cover just for the visibility.

The biggest con is the weight given the size. This is a 38L pack after all, yet it weighs nearly 1.5kg empty. There are lighter ones on the market that hold more, though they are also more expensive than this one.

Would I buy it again?: Not sure. I like the fit of the Gregory packs, and the versatility of the pockets and straps. However, if I could find something lighter with the same or greater volume, then I think I’d go for that as long as it wasn’t too much more expensive. All that said, if this model is discontinued then I’d have to look for a new bag anyway. I’d probably start with Gregory to see what they have, and if I couldn’t find what I needed then since I have an Osprey and a Deuter daypack, I’d see what those manufacturers had.

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Disclaimer: This is not a “review”. I don’t go around sampling things, instead this is a summary of my own experience with a product I have used a lot. All opinions contained in this post are my own. I offer no warranties or assurances for your experiences with the same product. I bought the gear with my own money and have not received any form of compensation from the manufacturer. Take my feedback as given – caveat emptor.