If you can find it. Has been out of production for a few years, but still occasionally available on eBay from Japanese sellers at reasonable price (around $250 for the shell).
Note that this is VERY different from the Mamut Trion 50. It is water-proof. And it has a much better adjustable harness. ICUs fit absolutely perfectly in it. Front access. Collapses to (mostly) airline legal size despite the 50L designation - 24" if you don't use the expansion tube under the brain.
Only downside is no water bottle pockets, which is not too difficult to resolve.
At my age...nearing 68, and with all the work I've done in my life my back suffers. I'm near Terminator ready when they eventually take over with 2 knee replacements, both shoulders worked on (no replacements thankfully) and both thumb joints and my L4-5 vertebrae starting to compress I have a difficult time carrying my Lowepro Flipside 300 AWIII even with just one small lens in it.
So I'm trying to get the wife onboard with getting a proper hiking backpack to go out and about with. Looking at a Gregory Citro 24 or Osprey Stratos 24.
If you can find it. Has been out of production for a few years, but still occasionally available on eBay from Japanese sellers at reasonable price (around $250 for the shell).
Note that this is VERY different from the Mamut Trion 50. It is water-proof. And it has a much better adjustable harness. ICUs fit absolutely perfectly in it. Front access. Collapses to (mostly) airline legal size despite the 50L designation - 24" if you don't use the expansion tube under the brain.
Only downside is no water bottle pockets, which is not too difficult to resolve.
Yes, I now own yet another backpack... Sue me! ...Show more →
I have the 35L version. Great pack. Though it is on the heavier side....
AZHeaven wrote:
At my age...nearing 68, and with all the work I've done in my life my back suffers. I'm near Terminator ready when they eventually take over with 2 knee replacements, both shoulders worked on (no replacements thankfully) and both thumb joints and my L4-5 vertebrae starting to compress I have a difficult time carrying my Lowepro Flipside 300 AWIII even with just one small lens in it.
So I'm trying to get the wife onboard with getting a proper hiking backpack to go out and about with. Looking at a Gregory Citro 24 or Osprey Stratos 24.
The best weight transfer, IMO, is the Osprey UNLTD series. I have the smaller 32 version, and it is great. The larger version had great feedback from people with vertebral issues.
I also have some Osprey packs and like them a great deal. But in addition I use Mountainsmith (an old Auspex model) and Gregory (also an older model with a very light design).
A factor that I think gets overlooked when comparing packs is the importance of how individual models fit the user’s personal physique… and then setting up and adjusting the pack to their anatomy.
I remember learning this a coupe of decades ago with a pair of Mountainsmith packs. I’ve forgotten the specific model names now (though I still have one of them hanging in my garage!) but I had tried one model initially and was unimpressed by the comfort of the carry. I was about to give up on the brand when I tried a different model from them and spend some time fine-tuning all of the various adjustment straps… after which if felt great!
gdanmitchell wrote:
I also have some Osprey packs and like them a great deal. But in addition I use Mountainsmith (an old Auspex model) and Gregory (also an older model with a very light design).
Factors that I think gets overlooked a lot when comparing packs are the importance of how individual models fit the users’ physique and of setting up and adjusting the pack to each persons anatomy.
I remember learning this a coupe of decades ago with a pair of Mountainsmith packs. I’ve forgotten the specific model names now (though I still have one of them hanging in my garage!) but I had tried one model initially and was unimpressed by the comfort of the carry. I was about to give up on the brand when I tried a different model from them and spend some time fine-tuning all of the various adjustment straps… after which if felt great!...Show more →
Yup. Mystery Ranch packs are very well built, but have never fit me well. Osprey does not have the features I want in their 45-50L packs. Gregory used to be a great pack and in many ways is still the best tradeoffs for my needs, but since the Samsonite buyout quality has taken a hit.
I am also a bit of a backpack freak... currently using mostly the following:
- Gregory Zulu 40: great for general use, light, comfortable, the front opens for easy access, superb build quality
- ZPacks 55: super light (<600gr), water proof, pretty conformable but no zipped pockets at all, a small tripod fits at the bottom which is great
- [New] Yama to Michi One (50): super light (<600 gr), one large zipped pocked, pretty comfortable but not water proof from an innovative Japanese brand. I just did a 1,500+m vertical and 25km over 3 days (14+ hours walk total) in the Japanese Northern Alps around Hakuba with the GFX kit (GFX-100II, 20-35mm f4, 120mm f4, RRS pano head and RRS travel tripod) and the Yama to Michi this weekend. A few hours heavy rain and river like rocky trails. A bit on the rough side.
The pack was a bit heavier than I would like, around 15kg. And this was a bit too much for the Yama to Michi. Manageable but not very comfortable as I ended up with a painful back on the 3 days (perhaps a mismatch with my back shape, hard to say). Not unexpected as it is several kgs about the recommended weight for this super light design. Overall it is still a very nice concept. It should be great for lighter trips without heavy camera equipment.
- various others from Osprey (Unlimited 60), Mammut, Gregory (75l), 3 from Aarn packs from New Zealand (most comfortable with chest bags)
- [New] ULA Ultra Circuit SV. I love this pack. No zipped external pocket outside the belt is its practical downside I can see. In a way it is a more comfortable, and slighly heavier and sturdier, version of the ZPacks able to deal comfortably with higher loads (they quote 35 pound as the comfort limit, around 16kg). I tested this pack in a +1,500m vertical walk in the Japanese Alps on Sept 23-24 and it was perfect. I was carrying a Z8, 20mm f1.8 S, Zeiss Otus ML 50mm f1.4 and Leica 180mm f2.8 APO + an RSS travel tripod and pano head. Around 15 kg.
To highlight how we are all a little different physically, I tried the two Trion 50 packs a few years ago. Love the design, but I couldn't get them to sit comfortably on me.
The pack that I hardly notice for miles and miles of hiking is the Atlas Athlete (the larger Adventure fits even better, but I rarely want that much space for a day hike).
