Advice of Rucksacks please

Here is something I know remarkedly little about, I'm used to military webbing and small pouches.

I seek advice and guidance on buying a smallish Rucksack of say betwen 30 and 50 litres, preferably black in colour, well compartmentalised, and with plenty of places to clip stuff to.

I intend to develop a cut down or minaturised Bug Out Bag for myself, Its going to have to be suited for tactical use so I dont want , spec cases, lights, carabiners,flashlights, compasses extra pouches attached to the outside tattling around attracting unwanted attention.I have never yet understood why so many BOBs, Inchs and GOOD bag owner appear to be so keen to display for all to see their tools, kit and expensive gadgets clipped to the outside of their rucks, they are just saying " Please Rob Me". A properly assembled but is very low profile, boring and unattractive by design as we dont want to attract unwanted attention, its part of the grey Man process.

I am looking for affordability not crazy trendy bags with huge price tags, I want this concept to work out affordable for most people.
I am looking for durability, the back needs to have more in common with 1000 denier cordura nylon, than thin school bag nylon.
It needs to have decent quality stitching and zips.
Can we please start a thread on this and keep on topic until we attempt to develop a commonly agreed standard?

Once we have reached a general consenus we can start debating about what to put in it .

Cheers
NR





[edit on 5-2-2009 by Northern Raider]

That's like trying to decide what boots to wear. There are too many opinions to get in one style.
One thing you might do is to purchase a military surplus bag. It is proven and durable. If you want black, dye it.
For those with money to spend, look into something like Mystery Ranch. They design and produce the same rucksacks as the military use in the US. Very good packs with lots of options.

[edit on 5-2-2009 by badgerprints]

I personally have experience and like the Kelty backpacks. They have a good selection of internal frame backpacks. There can be pros and cons to internal verses external frame backpacks. I will suggest this. For tactical use, I assume you are meaning you will be moving fast paced probably. You may need to be nimble. This would mean that you would want lower and centered, center-of-gravity backpack. One that will not slosh and move around on you as you are jumping or running around. The internal frames are a HUGE plus for accomplishing this. Most rock climbers prefer internal over external frames. No, you cannot strap down large amounts of items externally meaning you have to take time and choose your items wisely. These backpacks made by Kelty are durable. They have a broad price range depending on what you want. They even have military grade packs, but they are expensive. My two cents.

Cheers!

Strangely enough I've been looking at upgrading my rather old 65litre Regatta. There seems to be quite a few at 65 litres and lower ranging in price anywhere between £25 and £100 (I kid you not!).

I'm hoping to get something of reasonable quality that holds at least 80 litres with hopefully no more than 10 of that in the side pockets. Hoping to get away with about £50 English pounds which could be stretch.

Regatta still seem a good reliable bet and I've been recommended Vango as a mid-price route to go down.

If I'd seen this before going out I'd have been more thorough in L'pool Street.

IMO, it is better to stay away from the Military ones and go for the well established Civilian brands that are well proven in the Adventure/Mountaineering/Expedition type scenarios - Berghaus, Karimor, Highlander, etc.

Personally, I have several sized ones, depending on what/why I need them for. All of mine are in low key Olive Drab. They have a separate 'camo' waterproof cover and a yellow dayglo waterproof cover should I need either, dependant on situation - covert or overt (rescue).

Again, like most things, is the need to make them multi-purpose and multi-situation, hence my choice of plain old Olive Drab - Not too military looking but again not too Civilian looking - non-descript. The switch would come from the use of either waterproof cover.

You have to be realistic here - When are you going to use it? How are you going to use it? How often are you going to use it? Where are you going to use it?

I personally like to stay away from the military look as much as I can, but try to still have a subdued look without raising a second glance from other outdoors type people.

I am a big fan of Maxpedition packs. They have many options in regards to pack style, size and carrying mode(left or right handed) as well as a multitude of attachments and just as many attachment points.

Many of the bags like the Fatboy Versipak, my bag of choice, can also double as a CCW rig.






www.maxpedition.com...

NR,
I too like maxpedition. I myself carry a Kifaru E&E. As we would say "it ain,t cheap, but you can count on it". Both come in a variety of subdued colors and are bombproof, with lifetime warranties. [I always wondered how you would make a warranty claim in the post apocalyptic world]. Kelty also makes astrong pack and our special forces have used them off the shelf for some projects. The problem with top quality is of course price. You might even try Condor Outdoor I have used some of their kit with good results and they are more reasonably priced.

respectfully

reluctantpawn

[edit on 5-2-2009 by reluctantpawn]

Hello NR.

I recently made a purchase of this bag.

Click here

It cost £20 from the shop linked ( I have no expressed interest in this shop chain )

There were 3 colours at the time and I chose complete black.
It's great, you can clip stuff all over has a bottle carrier part on the side, two grab handles and there is so much space.
It is very well made and I thought a snip at the price.

I currently use this as my work / EDC bag.

My bergen / Rucksack ready to rock and roll on the BOB trail

It's a 100 litre PLCE Infantry bergen (it would be 120 but I've removed one of the pouches to fit the sleeping mat).

I've yet to own anything surpassing this.

I carry one while biking in SE Asia with gear in it and It's a lot more comfortable than the civvy ones.

For a UK mid price but durable rucksack I would recommend (as a long time backpacker) Vango. I have a Sherpa 50+10 Litre Vango sack in dark blue and black which is virtually bullet proof, very comfortable (adjustable back) and has served me very well over the past 3 years

Thks

It's a website I co-own and help run.

I agree the Maxpedition is a great choice. Considering what you were
asking for I think this bag would fill your needs -
www.maxpedition.com...

I would still get the olive drab version. it doesn't look military at all
and there's no outside gear storage.