Small daysack advice

I'm looking for a small everyday rucksack for three main (pretty lightweight) uses and given that you are all out an about quite a bit, I wondered if you have any recommendations? This may be more than one bag. I'd prefer a rucksack over a messenger bag and smaller rather than fully featured.

I'm also 6ft2in, 46inch barrel chest and a long back (and yes that does mean stumpy legs).

Uses is order of frequency
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A) Day to day commute (bus, train, walk) bag to carry a Kindle, moleskin, pen, soup, fruit, wind shirt, gloves, torch - we have no street lights in the village or by the river. I don't need to carry a laptop or A4 folders, I have a big formal bag for client visits etc.

B) Dad bag (A couple of nappies, drink, wipes, change of toddler clothes [they are small], toddler coat, snacks, bear [well a small giraffe], post-its, pen, chalk, wind shirt for me). Basically a small bag I can take with me everywhere when I'm out and about with my toddler daughter.

C) Basic small daysack for walks / beginning trail running (wind shirt, keys, hydration bladder, snacks, torch, phone, and when cold - hat, buff, gloves).

I would suggest going to a good shop that has a range of rucksacks from various manufacturers that you can try on. Some rucksacks are also available in different back lengths, so again, good to try on.

 They should also be able to add items to the sack so you can feel what it is like loaded.

My brother found Deuter good for a day sack with a long back, not sure about the chest size, but might be worth trying.

But as Milhouse says, worth going to a good shop and trying on lots!

Depends how you mean by what you count as small. My daysack I use is a lowe alipne airzone 35, brilliant bag imo very comfy, light weight, the airzone really does help prevent your back from sweating, and has a built in rain cover. Would easily accomodate everything you need with spare room for anything else you need, though might be a little bigger then what your after.

Something like a 20litre Alpkit Gourdon could fit the bill. Cheap and waterproof, too.

The smaller OMM packs are nice too.

I've used a lot of different small packs and never had any real fit issues with any of them. I'm sure someone will contradict, but fit/backlength etc has never been anything like the same issue as with bigger packs carrying more weight.

I'm very pleased with my Osprey Stratos 26. packed with features, very light with a 2- 3 litre pocket for water bladder.

Just tested it out on Helvellyn, Great Gable and Haystacks

Passed with flying colours

No back ache!

I'll with Kate on Dueter, spent the entire day with my AirContact and its a great multi-use pack for either around town or even a summer bivi weekend.

Will swallow my climbing gear when going to the climbing wall, or my running gear for an after work de-stress. Perfect for day rambles with my partner and picnic lunch i.e. today.

Has proved itself to be well made and nicely rugged. Fit is O.K but could be slightly better for taller users (I'm 6ft 4/5")

Got it at the F&T concession in the Lillywhites Sports Direct for about £20 a year ago. didn't want anything too light as I need for it to stand up to a certain amount of "abuse"

Would also say in general that I've had good experiences with Osprey packs as well.

My Dad bag was a OM Classic 32 with a Duomat in it (for changing on).

My current Dad bag (now he's older) is a Black Diamond Instinct. 28ltr panel loader and great for travelling.

I use an osprey talon 22 as a day sack, but wouldn't want to go trail running with it. I'd go for something smaller like a camelback 5 - 10 liter capacity.

I agree with Mrs N about fit not being much of an issue with small packs.
Personally I like my Salomon pack for running/daywalks/bike.

I don't think C is compatible with the other two; for running, you need something that will stay close to your body, and be just the right size, otherwise things will shake about madly as you run.  So either you stuff it with unnecessary padding, or it will need good compression straps.  I take a small MTB pack skiing, and I'd reckon that would be about the right size for running.  It's also very stable.

Ah, I see I'm chiming with Dylan's comments...

I've been using a couple of Berghaus Rhythm 20 sacks for daily use (one as cycle-to-work bag, one as weekend shopping bag) for the last ten years, and the zips are finally starting to give up.  Bought discounted at £10 each, I reckon I've had my money's worth...  Not much good as a recommendation, mind, as they're long obsolete...

Thumbs up for what Dead Dodo said about the Lowe Alpine AirZone 35 - it's brilliant. Build, price, volume, back system comfort is all top notch, and I think it's always better to have too big a pack than too small.

You can get it for around the £50 last time I looked.

I'd agree with Mrs N about the Alpkit Gordon 20 for options #1 and #2. Drybag, so good for the kindle and commute in any rain. Two Mesh bottle pockets, and elastic on the back where you could stuff the windshirt or kid's waterproofs. There is a removable pad for stiffness in a pocket down the back, outside the drybag. This is supposed to fit hydration bladders, which I don't have, but I do sometimes put maps there.

It costs £22.50, and Alpkit are pretty good on customer service.

I owe rucksack from Tumi luggage which I recently bought from MonsterBags online store. I was also searching for a bag which would be used in multi-ways. My bag dimension are 18" x 11" x 6.5" which provides plenty of space to store daily stuff. It is extremely light-weighted allows me to commute easily in public transport. Some of the features involve front and back zip pockets for quick access, side zip access to interior sections of the bag. It is made from nylon fabric with distinctive, custom-made hardware giving a hybrid look which can be used in multiple ways. I’d recommend you to check out the store for detailed features.