Gear

Right then, I'm going wildcamping in Scotland for the first week of august, my usual source of kit (the outdoor pursuits store at school) is shut due to school holidays so I need to get myself a rucksack. I've got a maximum budget of £85 but i've got to go and buy it in town with my gran. I'll be using the rucksack for this hiking/ wildcamping trip and for weekends away in the cheviots (then again we can get away with a large daysack if needs be).

The shops I can visit in town with her are as follows:

Tiso- www.tiso.com

Blacks- www.blacks.co.uk (number of times I've mistyped that...)

Wildtrak- www.wildtrak.com

Nevisport- www.nevisport.com

Army surplus shop with civvy kit too- http://www.adventureproducts.co.uk/

John Lewis

Fenwick (these two have nowt on their websites)

 Sportdirect- www.sportsdirect.com

LD Mountain Centre- Their website has nothing listed, just directions to the shop, full berghaus range is there at RRP though.

Now for the list of ones which I'm considering:

 Berghaus Verden 65- http://www.wildtrak.com/product.asp?ID=2130

Pros: Uses the Biofit back system which I've found to be comfortable

Permanently attached raincover (won't fly away, YAY!)

Proper Hydration bladder arrangement

If it's similar to the C7 packs comfortable hip belt

Sternum strap is included

Deuter Futura 50+10 http://www.wildtrak.com/product.asp?ID=1562

Pros:Integrated rain cover

Comfy hip system (according to a friend who used it for DoE silver

Deuter ACT Lite 50+10 http://www.wildtrak.com/product.asp?ID=1580

Pros: Same as above

Cons: Only one buckle, if it breaks I'm screwed

Karrimor Bobcat 65-http://www.nevisport.com/catdetail-4-catdetail1_id-78-catdetail2_id-129-product_id-833415

Pros: Cheap

Reasonably comfortable hip pad, the back system is comfy too

Cons: Hydration system ends up in a side pouch usually, bit of a pain

Lowe Alpine TFX Ridge ND 65+15- http://www.sportsdirect.com/Products/SD/PID-Lowe+Alpine+TFX+Ridge+ND+6515+Rucksack-718011.aspx

Karrimor Cougar 65- http://www.sportsdirect.com/Products/SD/PID-Karrimor+Cougar+65-718044.aspx

Karrimor Panther 65- http://www.sportsdirect.com/Products/SD/PID-Karrimor+Panther+65-718041.aspx

Pros: Good all round rucksack, the outdoor pursuits store at school has a bunch of these though so it's gonna feel a little pointless if I get this.

Right then, which ones would you guys reccomend? If you know John Lewis has a good one I can get 20% or so off there (my gran is a retired partner)

Thanks in advance

Spen

Ok...what size are you going for and what are you going to be using it for?

Once you are armed with the anwers to those questions...off you go...and here are my thoughts.

Blacks..mmm...depends on the staff and how knowlegable they are (likely not too knowlegable) the others...I have no personal experience so cant comment.

Rucksack...no matter how "good" the pack is, if it doesnt fit, it will be a pain in the back...and side! Put it on...get it loaded (a good shop will stuff it with heavy things)..check the adjustments (if they are fully tight or fully loose to make the sac fit...its the wrong size...a fit should see adjustments at about 1/2 way) , walk around for a bit...then try a few more for comparison sake.  Your Gran will understand the need for this process. Tell the shop what you are doing with it (they should ask)...

Set your budget at £80.  Leaves a fiver for taking Gran for coffee and cake!

Edited...yes, of course you know what size and what you want it for...silly me!

That fiver's already set aside...

I'll be using it for Cadet hiking and camping weekends up in the cheviots, we do about 10 miles over two days on them. Wildcamping for a week in Scotland. DoE Gold (Ideally I'll be able to keep it until then).

Blacks has a dodgy rep with my friends, I'll be trying them all on on Monday (I'll go round town first and then meet up with my gran to buy it).

Apparently I can also buy from Amazon (no idea why I'm not allowed to get it from other places).

Size has to be roughly 65 litres, I don't mind it being slightly bigger but I'll have issues fitting all the kit into a smaller bag (have to carry two stoves and other silly business for this trip).

I keep recommending Deuter packs, because I really like my ACT lite 35+10. I like it because I find it comfy, and it fits, and everything on it makes sense to me... I'm pretty sure everything wouldn't fall out of my pack if the buckle broke because it has twin toggles to tighten them up.

Might be worth asking if you can get student discount or DoE discount as well.

Is that 10%? That gives me a budget of upto say £88 then, I can probably extend it to £90 if needs be, then again I should be fine with one of these ones.

Wildtrak also don't have any Deuter ones in my budget apart from the two I posted but they may be a bit small.

Quick tip on the buying front (because always going with the rucksack that's most comfortable is best advice I ever got on packs), try and avoid buying from Sports Direct or other places that don't specialise. Most of the packs you get for that cash should be pretty good quality and should all come with guarantees, but in a smaller store if things do go wrong there are usually just a few staff members, so things are less likely to go wrong in the returns process.

There have been a couple of times in places I've worked where things have sat round in the stock room after being returned faulty for a couple of weeks before being sent off. Lot's of part-time staff who don't know squat about the bags or what to do when things do go wrong.

...and make sure they have a 28 days exchange / refund policy so you can try the bag with your gear at home before taking it out if it's OK. 

Right then, will do just that. I don't know if Sports Direct will actually have that wide a range in stock anyway (never seen them there before but I've not been there for quite a while).

I'm leaning towards the Verden in terms of features. 

Don't forget that more features = more weight. It's all about choices.

And I find that hip belt pockets (purses) are very useful for lip salve, tissues, compass, keys etc.

I've got one of those Deuter Aircontacts, Spenser, and am very happy with it. It's a bit heavier than some other packs out there, but like you I've found mine extremely comfortable. It's pretty tough too and will take a bit of kicking around. You should be able to remove the pack cover (in a slit pocket at the bottom) if you want to to lose a few more grams, useful for me as I use drybags to keep my kit dry.

Hope you have a great time in Scotland, and take some nice photies for your gran!