There’s no way I can justify paying five times more for something that might carry just as well. I plan to pick up another if/when this one wears out. This pack has no extraneous features, save for the small front zip pocket and an internal hydration sleeve.
The entire trail is open to hikers and offers easy and moderate hiking conditions. Much of it is also accessible for mountain ozark trail backpack biking and horseback riding. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top daypacks.
Keeping the load under 15 pounds seems to be the key. I really wanted to use it for our fall two-nighter on the AT, but was unable to fit my bivy with a 20 degree Kelty Cosmic down bag inside. I contemplated stepping down to the 45 degree bag, but thankfully, did not. For the second overnight hike in which I used the pack, I left the hammock at home and stuffed an REI Stratus insulated pad and lightweight bivy inside. I was a little concerned with how the straps would distribute weight.
A perk of hiking lesser-traveled trails are fewer (or non-existent) permits and parking fees. The Ozark Trail does not have permit, parking, or registration requirements for its trail sections. We’ve scouted the best routes, from easy day hikes to epic overnight bike-packing.Find detailed itineraries, directions, and maps right here. Before purchasing this pack I used a more traditionally styled, and heavier, backpack for daily walks. I recently attended a seminar that explained the major difference of carrying lighter gear while outdoors.
For these styles, it seems most people want their head at the door side and so they have a constraint for which way the tent is set up if the ground is not flat. On the other hand, accessing the tent from the middle, or on the long side, gives one more degree of freedom. Assuming a symmetrical tent, like the Ozark Trail, my head could be placed at either end and both options would feel equally comfortable. In fact, my particular tent spot wasn’t completely flat so I quickly rotated my sleeping bag so that my feet weren’t above my head all night. It was pretty easy to make adjustments from the side door access. Having a separate rain fly for a 2- or 3- person tent makes sense because multiple people can split up the weight a little easier on longer hikes.
For the water bottles I just use Platypus .5 liter and 1 liter flat style bottles, which you can fit in the main body of the pack on top of your other gear. I’ve carried it in bad weather, including rain and snow. Some days this bag was heavier than I would have chosen it to be. However, it took a pretty good beating and has held up.
I’m also an Appalachian Trail Maintainer & Trail Crew Member – it’s not uncommon to see sledge hammers, picks, buckets, bow saws, etc. strapped to this pack while hiking to and from trail work details. I’ve had this pack for 2 years and I’ve beaten the living daylights out of it and it still performs just as well as the day I bought it. The set-up was understandably a few steps shorter, which is always nice when setting up in the dark. More than once in the dark I’ve attached a rain fly upside down and we had to restart that particular step.
Fit and finish were pretty good — no loose seams or stitching. Stitches appeared evenly spaced and of uniform distance from the fabric edges. There is a lack of reinforcement on the pack’s taffeta bottom, though. Shoulder straps are lightweight mesh-lined with very little padding.
Has a hip belt to displace the load off your shoulders. I priced other internal frame daypacks before my trip and this was by far the cheapest. I took this pack on a 5-day mountain bike ride from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Washington, D.C., and it performed very well.
Some 1-person tents will have two major spars or spines that cross for the main support structure. In the Ozark Trail tent, it has only one spar traveling down the center lengthwise with a single rib to open up the area in the middle. The four or six tent pegs hold the structure down but are crucial for the tent to stand by itself.