View Single Post
Old 02-14-12, 08:52 PM
  #5  
cpach
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Mt Shasta, CA, USA
Posts: 2,143

Bikes: Too many. Giant Trance X 29, Surly Midnight Special get the most time.

Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 533 Post(s)
Liked 312 Times in 236 Posts
I use a Osprey Stratos 24, but at $80 it's not especially cost effective. The big feature over less expensive packs is that it has a frame and the pack is suspended off your back with a mesh that is both comfortable and very cool. It's also got an integrated rain cover. It's a little small sometimes, but there are larger versions. I bought it because I do a lot of work as an outdoor educator and thus use a daypack a lot. There are lots of options out there and I'm not saying Osprey is the best, although they do have pretty much the best warranty (they will fix it, no matter what, forever).

I do think there's a real advantage to a pack with both waist and sternum straps because they help stabilize the pack while riding.

My experience is that dedicated laptop compartments are not very useful. Instead, I recommend you keep using your current Tom Binh thing, or possibly a thinner neoprene sleeve. I use the inexpensive neoprene incase sleeve for my Macbook and while I don't baby it and it shows, it works fine for me.
cpach is offline