I'm about to spend six months travelling in Central America and i'm gonna need a new bag to take with me but i'm not sure what I should be looking for in a bag or any good makes.

Any suggestions anyone? I'm travelling light and staying in hostels so I don't need to take along sleeping bag and stuff like that, I just need a comfortable, reasonably big bag to take with me. No limit on price really

Id Say

1) comfort
2) material - something hardwearing
3) Plenty of useful pockets

I have a berghaus c7 pro which i think is the most comfy sack i have ever worn ...and it can now be picked up for under £100 (i paid £130 i think)

Other brands to consider would be macpac and osprey.

My advice is definately to try lots of different sacks on with different ammounts of weight in so you can see how they feel when you have little or lots of gear in.

cheers
Andy

Ps might be worth looking at http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/3447/v/2/sp/

Aha, I should have looked for articles first rather than diving straight into the forum!

lol i wouldn't worry about it, you will hopefully get a lot of infor from both the forum and the articles.

lowe alpine frontier 65 done the biz for me when i went to SE Asia, very comfy, but try loads on for size

If you are travelling on buses etc, being able to zip the back system away is a real bonus, have a look at the Macpac travel packs.

I used their Gemini around NZ for 4 months and did loads of trekking with several 5 dayers with that pack.

Is basically a backpacking pack with a great harness with a couple of extra features.

I agree with Mali. I think the Lowe Alpine Frontier 65 will be perfect. I have several friends who have this same pack which they have used for years around around India. Its bomb proof apparently.
I use a Deuter 75 litre these days. I prefer the extra 10 litres so I can bring loads of extra things back. However, it can cause a problem on local buses. So I would advise on going as light and small as possible.
In terms of price. Personally I would buy one only in the sale. I bought the deuter for £65 half price at a local Mountain warehouse shop.
I certainly wouldn`t pay full price for any because there are some bargains to be had! Have a good look around for last years models.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Lowe Alpine. The Frontier is excellent, but also look at the cheaper Skyline (I've just added a brief review) - the back system is less adjustable but this makes it even more bombproof, and if it fits why worry about extra adjustability. My previous large Lowe Alpine sack is still going after about 15 yrs of use, I passed it on to my stepson and it survived his trip through Dubai, India, Thailland, Oz and New Zealand.

Hello Dave

I am in the same position as you and have left myself just 8 days to find the perfect back pack for my South American adventure. I would also suggest - if you get the chance - to zip around your local area and try on a few packs. I did this around Covent Garden today and am now trying to decide between the Osprey Median 75 (£180) and another Osprey 60 litre capacity pack (£130) as recommended by the nice & very patient man in Itchy Feet but can't remember the name. The great thing with the Median is that its a backpack with wheels - so you can tug it or lug it ;-) Although I'm not sure how suitable it would be to travel around with for 3-4 months - plus at a capacity of 75 I may be overloading myself and end up like a beetle with all legs flailing in the air. Maybe I should stick to the Osprey 60 litre lady pack - it was soooo comfortable. Ooo - but the Meridian had wheels!

However I have decided on Osprey as they were the most comfortable brand of all the brands I tried on. Good luck in choosing Dave!

My advice would also be to go for something blue, red or yellow. Basically, no olive green or military style. You do NOT want to be mistaken for a soldier/merccenary etc.

For Central America you want:

1) Something that looks cheap and bashed about so it won't be stolen. Anything obviously branded or new will be a target.

2) A cover for when it's on top of buses to discourage light fingers.

3) Something high visible so you can keep your eye on it/see when someone is running off with it.

4) One of these beauties to stop casual theft:

http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/htm/security/mini-cable-lock.htm