We've taken 6 trips to Europe over the last 12 years or so. The first was a cruise, so luggage handling wasn't an issue. The second trip we toured much of Tuscany and Umbria by train. It was during this second trip that we decided we were done with rolling luggage. We won't ever again be the tourists who drag rolling luggage over cobblestone paved sidewalks and streets, drag them up and down stairs (many of the small hotels and B&Bs we stay in don't have elevators), and heave them on and off trains. It's backpacks for us from now on.
Now that we've completed 4 other trips of from 2 to 5 weeks with just backpacks, we have enough experience to know what works for us. Our first 3 trips with backpacks saw us using inexpensive, army surplus store packs. They weren't particularly light, or comfortable, but they got the job done. For our latest 5 week trip through Northern Italy, we decided to splurge and upgrade to Osprey Kestrel 48 (his) and Kyte 46 (hers) backpacks.
We chose these after spending time talking to the helpful backpacking experts at REI. We gave them our requirements of packs that would serve us well on the Camino de Santiago, the John Muir trail, and general gallivanting around Europe.
The folks at the REI backpack department are true "outfitters". They have a selection of pads and weights that they can load into a pack you are considering and then a detailed process for adjusting the fit of the pack to your body. The trick was to choose packs with very comfortable, padded hip belts and suspension systems that will allow for airflow between the pack and your back. Once correctly adjusted, the majority of the weight is distributed to your hips and the upper straps only prevent the back from moving front to back. The difference in how the weight feels with a quality pack versus the inexpensive ones that put all the weight on your shoulders is remarkable. With these packs, we never found ourselves having to lean forward while walking, nor did our backs and knees ache after taking them off after a long walk.
These packs have sleeved areas where you can slide in a hydration bladder, storage for the included rain cover, and separate storage area for a sleeping bag. They even come with straps for hauling a tent, a loop for an ice axe (hope we never need one of those), holders for hiking poles built into one of the shoulder straps, and the ability to access the main compartment through either the top or side.
They also have a nice stretchy pocket on the back where we stored our raincoats for quick access, and side pockets of the same material for water bottles.
We were able to walk on and store these backpacks in the overhead stow bins easily on an Airbus A-318, Boeing 767, and a Boeing 737. The men's version, if the top compartment was fully stuffed, might be a challenge on some of the CRJ planes that some of the airlines are still using. Knowing that could happen to us, we purchased some tyvek zip up shopping duffels from Ikea called "Frakta" for $4.95. The backpacks fit perfectly in them. The makes them perfect for backpack travel. They weigh next to nothing and fold up neatly and fit into the area where the hydration bladder would normally go. Most of the backpacks we considered at REI had areas where the bladder would be stowed internally. That would mean at least partially unloading the pack to retrieve the bladder to refill it or to get at our Frakta bags. We didn't use water bladders for our vacation because we never had far to hike to get to our hotel. Water bottles in the side pocket served us well for staying hydrated on long train rides. These two Osprey packs have the bladder sleeve mounted behind the breathable suspension area, but external to the pack. It's the best possible option.
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| Frakta bag partially inserted in water bladder sleeve |
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| Pack fits easily into the Frakta bag |
As an experiment, on our way home from Italy we packed both backpacks into the Frakta bags and checked them through to our final destination. Both arrive unscathed.
Here's what we liked and disliked about our experience with these two packs during our 5 weeks of living out of them in Italy:
Pros
1. Tons of adjustability
2. Totally comfortable weight distribution
3. External water bladder sleeve.
4. If you pack light, and strategically, they are plenty big enough
5. Seemingly countless straps for compressing the contents. Smooshing everything down well after you've packed it makes the overall outer dimensions of the backpack good for fitting in overhead storage on planes and trains.
6. Quick and easy access via a side zipper to the main storage compartment.
7. The include rain covers worked well in a torrential downpour in Padua.
Cons
1. Virtually impossible to reach water bottles in the side pockets with the pack on. If we were doing longer hikes, we would absolutely incorporate a water bladder.
The Osprey Kestrel and Kyte backpacks proved perfect for our style of traveling by train in Europe and we suspect they will serve us well on our upcoming trips on the Camino de Santiago, and the John Muir Way in Scotland. If you through in the Osprey guarantee, these may be the perfect travel backpacks. Hereweeeego....
