Day Packs For Ladies — CalifOregonia

When you find a person or group of people that you can go explore the backwoods with, you soon find out the hiking, backpacking and camping is not the cheapest hobby in the world. Good quality gear can cost a pretty penny, so that’s why it’s important to really take your time, do your research and find the item (whatever that item may be) that is right for you.

When I started hiking with Dylan I had a simple Osprey Hydration pack that I had inherited from my dad. While this pack is wonderful for short hikes like Mount Pisgah or Spencer Butte it does not work well for day trips. It holds your water, a light snack and has room for keys and ID. Once Dylan and I got more comfortable with one another as hiking partners, I figured out really quickly that I was either going to have to have Dylan carry extra items for me, or I needed to get a day pack… I decided to go with buying a day-pack.

Time to go to REI!

Some things to consider when buying a day pack:

What’s your Budget?
What brand do you like?
How big of a pack do you need?
What extra features might you want with the pack?
How well does it fit/How comfortable is it?

For myself, I needed a pack that was big enough to hold water, lunch, 1-2 extra layers, and basic emergency survival gear.

After flipping through page upon page of day packs and reading every review I could find, I settled on 3 that seemed to fit my needs on paper. They were all Osprey Women’s packs that were within my budget.

Now ladies, trying on backpacks can be the same as trying on jeans, the same size jeans in a different cut do not fit the same so therefore you need 3 different sizes of the same type of jeans. I normally wear a size small for Backpacking Packs in the day pack that I purchased I wear a large and in the other Osprey I was considering I was a medium…This can be a frustrating process, I highly suggest having a consultant check the fit of your pack before you purchase it. I also recommend placing weight in the pack and wearing it around the store for a while to make sure it doesn’t hurt your back.

I ended up purchasing the Osprey Sirius 24 Women’s Pack in Summit Blue for $119. It also comes in Stealth Grey and Purple Orchid. It is a 24 liter pack with the breathable mesh frame. It distributes weight very nicely on your back, making a 10-15 pound pack feel like a 5 pound pack. The first time I used this pack was on Dylan and I’s Mink Lake 16 mile adventure and it was absolutely perfect for a very long day trip. It did not rub anywhere awkwardly nor did it cause any back or shoulder pain. The only downside to this pack is that the waist side pouches are a little small, they hold most conventional items well, they do not hold an IPhone 6 (with a case on) easily. While this might seem like a first world problem, for those of you who like to have easy access to their phones, these pouches are not the most compatible for larger phones.

Over all this is a very nice pack that is not exorbitantly priced. For those of you that are REI members it returns nicely in dividends when those come out in March!