So, you’re going on a trip to Europe. 7 months you say? That’s a long time away from home. You must be packing ALOT of stuff!
Ah, no.
In fact, after reading website after website, it’s pretty much a universal truth that LESS IS MORE.
Something about lugging a huge, heavy backpack through crowded streets, buses and trains, surprisingly isn’t that much fun.
Most backpacks are either 55L or 70L. Daypacks are usually in the 15L range.
I knew I wanted one of each.
The daypack will stay with me all the time – when I go out, I’ll carry it around and when I travel it’ll be my carry-on. Inside, I’ll have stuff I need for the day (obviously, duh!) as well as my valuables and important documents.
The backpack, on the other hand, is going to stay at the hostel 24/7. It’ll pretty much only have my clothes and toiletries. When I’m going to the train station/bus depot/airport to get to the next city is the only time I’ll walk around with it.
So, I decided the best thing was to find a backpack that also had a daypack attached to it. After checking around, I had it narrowed down to these two:
Of course they both were in different stores so I couldn’t see them side by side. Mountain Equipment Co-op carried the Deuter brand while Atmosphere carried the Osprey. So, I bought them both! I brought them both home, tried them on and while very similar – the Osprey is not only about $70 cheaper but also a few pounds lighter, which, in the end, was the deciding factor.
I brought back the Deuter and my Osprey will be my new home for the next 7 months.
