Why should I buy a backpack that's over 200 dollars?

[beebessd]

I hiked 1500 miles with a $60 pack made in chna. Not the lightest thing but the material was good quality.

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[egilbe]

https://www.sixmoondesigns.com/

I just paid $110 for a good quality backpack.

[tauwillow]

I just went on a backpacking trip in the Seven Devils Mountains & Hells Canyon and got to use Teton Sports Escape4300. It's 70 liters, well designed and comfortable. (even in the 107 degree temps we got) It runs $94.20 on Amazon. I spent a lot more than that on my Osprey, and I'm hard pressed to decide which I like better.

http://www.tetonsports.com/Backpacks...m#.Vd1OACvUsno

[Offshore]

The other big thing I don't think anybody else has brought up is about how that $40 pack came into being. For the most part super-inexpensive gear like this is going to be Chinese made (or in Asia somewhere, or South America, or Africa, etc.). The design is going to be stolen from one pack, or from multiple packs where they take a bunch of design elements and smush them together. Tons of intellectual property stolen stolen right there from hard working engineers and product designers (even blatantly faked like YKK emblems on the knock-off zippers and such).

It's also most likely (even definitely I'd say) made by a factory worker who is housed in warehouse-like conditions, working super long hours, chastised for even simple things like bathroom breaks, and only allowed to visit friends and family once a year (usually over Chinese New Year). I'm completely generalizing here - but you know for a fact the working conditions aren't anywhere near as good as they are in the USA.

I basically agree but have to note that this is probably true for anything made by manufacturers chasing the lowest labor costs around the globe - from iPhones to $20 packs. Labor costs in China have reached the point where factory work is being moved abroad. It seems that almost very piece of gear that I bought in the last couple of years has been from Vietnam - heavily marketed brands like REI, Gregory, Marmot, Black Diamond etc. Couple the chase for lowest labor costs with the globalization of brands (for example, Black Diamond sold Gregory to Samsonite - maker of luggage and High Sierra packs so your $200 Gregory is probably coming from the same line as the $20 High Sierra) and the supply chain gets complicated very quickly. I don't think the cottage makers are necessarily the answer either. Its nice to support the little guys, but there seem to be a lot of issues with availability, prices tend to be higher, and there are a lot of "personalities" to deal with. I also ran into a lot of thrus this season having the same issue with a particular model of cottage brand pack and getting horrendous customer service. So there are plusses and minuses to large and small vendors. As far as expensive vs. cheap, I've got both and tend to like the higher end stuff but wait for sales and end of season buys. As for the gear that I'm not in love with, I keep it for loaners for friends who are starting out or can't afford to buy their own. Its more important to just get out there.

[rocketsocks]

I generally buy what I like, am not much concerned with labels and trends. If the item I want is well made (integrity in the workmanship, and quality materials) I'll bite, if it's American made, great, all the better.

[Casey & Gina]

Garlic brings up some good points that every hiker should take to heart...what do you do when you're 5 miles from the nearest road and your shoulder straps rip off the pack? It happened to me just outside Hot Springs with a name brand pack. If you can't rig something to get you to town you're going to be in big trouble. Luckily for me the outfitter was able to hook me up with somebody local that had a sewing machine and knew how to use it.

I have an old Quiksilver pack that I bought knowing nothing. In addition to being hugenourmous and heavy, it is absolute Rubbish. The internal compartments have all ripped apart (I have resewn new material in many places), the "rugged" rubberization on the bottom has flaked off into a million pieces, and of the shoulder adjusters now has a knot instead of an adjustable clip, and the shoulder strap which failed utterly (due to there being a break in the webbing where they decided to add a cell phone pocket on one side only) is still holding up years after I repaired it by stitching it together with dental floss, surprisingly. I still have it and use it when I want a spacious pack I can toss around without caring what happens to it - there is a value in cheap! But there is no way I would take it on a long hike where weight and durability are concerns.

[RED-DOG]

Some of my favorite packs has been dirt cheap ones but some of my best packs has been expensive ones.
you get what you pay for.

[earlyriser26]

If you can find a high quality pack for $200 buy it. I wish I could have, mine cost $400. At the time I thought I was paying too much. The last 10 years have proved me wrong. I got a bargain.

[Another Kevin]

With a backpack... well, we all go through an evolution in gear, and mostly move to lighter and more compact. I typically tell my newbie friends to get the cheapest thing they can find that holds all their stuff and carries OK. That usually puts it in the 60-70 litre range, because they've got too much stuff and the stuff they have is also cheap (and therefore bulky). Once they have managed to whittle down the weight and bulk, they'll have enough experience to know what they want in picking out their next pack, which may be considerably smaller depending on the hiking style they settle on.

[Mikenet7482]

Well I finally got the backpack I ordered when I made my opening post, it had gotten lost in shipping and they had to resend it. I like to be a smart shopper and try to save money where I can but often you do have to dish out the money to get good stuff. My first impression on this pack is that it's too small and the materials look cheap compared to something like an Ospray pack. It fits my tent but without much room to spare, although it does have extra room in external pouches. On the plus side it's very light and the straps are padded and comfortable, and it has padding on the back for ventilation. The drink holder is better than what it appeared to be online, it's adjustable after all. When I give it more use I may update, I'm not impressed but for 40 dollars it could be worse I suppose.

[Gambit McCrae]

If you are in need of a good backpack that is reliable I have 2 for sale depending on your size, Ill give you a great price on either

Gregory Contour 60 L
ULA Circuit XL

[Mikenet7482]

If you are in need of a good backpack that is reliable I have 2 for sale depending on your size, Ill give you a great price on either

Gregory Contour 60 L
ULA Circuit XL

Thanks for the offer, my price wouldn't be at all fair right now though, those are good packs. The one I got should work for some longer hikes for a while, it's for practice basically until I can get a better one.

[Dogwood]

Glad the backpack is working for you so far.

It's hard enough for others to determine what is individually gear OK for their backpacking and finances. Attempting to do so for others with a decent degree of reliability in this forum is full of pitfalls. Even more so with the info you provided Mikenet. Easier when asking these questions in person while at an outfitter. You'll get more appropriate personally targeted responses if you had visited some qualified outfitting professionals than going through the internet or buying without first doing that.

I thought I knew something about backpacks after 20+ yrs buying backpacks/daypacks for myself ranging in price from $20 to $450 + and others and advising others about backpack purchases from a wide assortment of backpacking manufacturers and being something of a gear head. For the life of me, after reading the Product Features descriptions of the backpack links your provided Mikenet, I'm left making many assumptions wondering what the heck they were talking about.

As copied directly from the Product Features Descriptions. WHAT do these things mean?:

3, the bottom shoe warehouse to warehouse isolation using principal

4, the top plug device can bundle of moisture-proof pad and other items

5, the main warehouse capacity regulation system can adjust the capacity of the knapsack

6, close the ventilation net by thickening the sponge, play a good protective ventilation function

What language or tech talk do I need to understand to absorb any of #3 and #4 with reasonable accuracy? What is the top plug device they refer to? What sponge are they referring to thickening? What is ventilation net? Brrrrrr?

From the other link:

Description

Product features 1, Material for advanced grid nylon + light abrasive resistant nylon fabric 2, multilayer bulkhead outfit, more items: the main warehouse, warehouse, sundry goods warehouse, warehouse, can extend the top positions 3, rich external systems 4, with intensive zinc alloy resin zipper 5, 3D resin reticular ventilation air bearing system 6, suspension strap design 7, the design of transfer weight belt

What does this mean in #2?: the main warehouse, warehouse, sundry goods warehouse, warehouse, can extend the top positions. LOL. I've never seen advertised anywhere other than in this backpack's Features Descriptions "intensive zinc alloy coated resin zipper" as a backpack feature. Wow. What is so intensive or special about a zinc coated zipper? Wow. For the love of backpacking, and the WIN Alex in the backpacking Gear Category, PLEASE tell me 100% correctly with no assumptions or Googling or posting on Backpackinglight.com what the heck is a 3D reticular ventilation air bearing system referring to in a backpack?

????

[Another Kevin]

[QUOTE=Dogwood;2004981]What language or tech talk do I need to understand to absorb any of #3 and #4 with reasonable accuracy? What is the top plug device they refer to? What sponge are they referring to thickening? What is ventilation net? Brrrrrr?/QUOTE]

Wow, that's some of the most perverse 'translate by looking up words in a dictionary out of context' prose I've seen anywhere!

The Chinese phrase for 'storage compartment' can also mean 'warehouse'.
'Bottom shoe' -> 'reinforced base'
'using principal' -> I *think* that's a misplaced modifier.
So 3: the reinforced bottom compartment is separated from the main compartment.

'Plug device' -> 'cover' or 'closure' or 'lid'
'Moisture proof pad' -> 'waterproof fabric' -> raingear
so
4: The lid of the pack can store your raingear or other items.

'Main warehouse capacity regulation system' -> 'compression straps on main compartment'

6, close the ventilation net by thickening the sponge, play a good protective ventilation function

That one's harder. It's something like "the ventilation netting (that goes against your back) is attached to (or padded with) thick foam that allows air to circulate, protecting you from (???)."

I've seen worse translation jobs, where it turns into utter gibberish. This one at least I can sort of figure out. 'Sundry goods warehouse' -> 'accessory pocket'. 'Bulkhead' -> 'separator.' 'Intensive' -> 'heavy duty'. 'Warehouse can expand the top positions' -> 'expandable collar on the top compartment'.

Doesn't sound like anything that would interest me. It sounds like one of those ridiculously heavy multi-compartment packs that you pick up at XYZ-Mart.

[Professor Paul]

This. I find the best way to get gear is to spend a lot of time researching everything, learning the key variables for each kind of equipment (although weight is a variable for pretty much everything), then identify a handful of options that meet the criteria. And then I wait for sales. I would strongly recommend doing things like getting a membership at REI, because then you qualify for more sales. While this won't lead to getting $40 packs, I will often enable you to get $250 pack for $175 or even $150, if you are patient and can spread your purchases out over a long period of time.

I think I paid 70 bucks for my Granite Gear Virga. It was on clearance on the Granite Gear website. It is pretty nice. My advice is to find something that you like and then find it on clearance.

[Professor Paul]

Quick follow up: as others have mentioned, one of the bonuses of gear buying is that a major part of the research process is actually getting out there and experiencing what works and what doesn't work. (Well, the "what doesn't work" part isn't always so fun, but still.)

[Fireplug]

Spend the money and get a Zpacks Artic blast. Mine is waterproof and weights 1.6 lbs not bad for a 60 pack. All me gear is Zpacks. Very durable and super light weight

[shelb]

To see a comparable example, buy your next tennis shoes at Walmart. Get the cheapest brand (I think they actually have $10 or $20 shoes). Record the date you purchased them and see how long they last. Next, purchase the cheapest pair of tennis shoes from Dicks (about $59.99). Record how long they last.

My experience with Walmart shoes - through 3 boys - is that they will be falling apart and almost unusable in about a month. We could get about 6 months out of the Dicks brand name shoes...

You get what you pay for!

[LIhikers]

........................you get what you pay for.

Not necessarily, but you can be pretty sure that you're going to pay for what you paid.

[LIhikers]

Not necessarily, but you can be pretty sure that you're going to pay for what you paid.

Correction...you're going to pay for what you get.