REI flash 62 on sale for $93 - worth a hard look?

[ATL Backpacker]

Much of my backpacking is with our young kids so I normally carry an 85L osprey aether. Have been looking around for a 2nd pack in the 50L range for my solo trips, mainly just to shave weight (the aether is 5lbs+ by itself).

Tonight I see REI has the Flash 62 half price @$93. Reviews on the web seem a little mixed, mostly regarding comfort at heavy loads. I haven't weighed my gear in a while but I think I'd fall well below 28lbs including food,water.

Does this seem like a great buy for a 3lb pack? I don't have any experience with the Flash series.

[yellowsirocco]

I had one but returned it. I couldn't get the hipbelt to connect with my back to transfer the load so it was all on the tension of the belt. It would probably work well with a 20 pound load, but you don't need 62 litres for a 20 pound load.

[colorado_rob]

Buy it. Load it and wear it around a bit. Don't like it? Return it. REI= Return Every Item (if you want)

[Wise Old Owl]

Yea I have an older smaller version... I love beating it up!

[Starchild]

I used it for my thru, I knew it was the pack for me the moment I put it on and I have no doubt it was the right one. Generally comfortable and had the fit me like a glove feel, so it usually felt 'good' putting it on.

The weight known that I carried was 13lbs at the lowest to 27 lbs at the highest - this is not baseweight but the actual weight at the time I found a scale to weight it. Pushing the 27 side it was feeling a bit heavy and perhaps a different pack would have distributed the load better, but that top end was rare as their is plenty of resupply.

2 modifications, one is I added a frame strap that would come across my chest just under the arms - this was for personal reasons that any shoulder strap tends to cause me pain, and after a few weeks it started to get bad, this strap allowed me to totally eliminate that pain, and under light loads actually take off both shoulder straps off the shoulders. Secondary modification is the waste belt tended to loosen at the buckle causeing one to have to retighten it often, sometimes tie a knot in it - I got 2 plastic strap retainers, one for each side and that solved the problem, but it was now a little harder to adjust - I didn't see that as a issue, and it still was adjustable - just harder.

Skinny hikers also found that they could not tighten the belt small enough and resorted to creative solutions such as adding a ridgerest section around their waist.

Due to the 'kangeroo' pouch back you have extra space if you really need it, and also a convenient place to place items to reach while hiking, however you nee a good reach ability even to get the water bottle, it is not a 'easy' reach, but generally reachable.

My informal poll on the trail is either hikers liked this pack or they didn't, nothing inbetween.

[bigcranky]

That's a great deal on a very usable pack. Of course, like any pack it needs to fit YOU, but if it doesn't REI is very good about returns.

[pnkwolfe]

I've section-hiked about 500 miles with it's earlier cousin, the Flash 65, and it held up well. Now have the 62. Carries about the same. At the max total weight at the start of one 10-day section of about 32-33 lbs, the 65 was a little but of a pig (sloppy, hard to control lateral momentum/motion, heavy on shoulders, slipping on waist despite cinching). Once at or below 28 lbs it evened out and carried very nicely.

I think it's a good value-pack. YMMV

+1 on the waist belt slippage problem on the 62

[no-name]

I say go for it. My Flash 65 has worked very well for about 2 years and 500 miles over 6 trips. After that usage, it is still in great condition so I cannot justify another pack, otherwise, I would jump on this one. For me, a 3 pound pack is good. I have loaded the Flash 65 up to 35 pounds, and it worked, though now I am about 10 pounds lighter and poorer.

[HooKooDooKu]

The REI Flash is not a perfect pack... after all, there's a reason why this pack is less expensive than others.

But having said that, the REI Flash is currently my main pack, and at a price of < $100, it's a no brainer... it is totally worth it at that price.

[tarditi]

I have a flash 40 and it's great - a little big for a daypack, but plenty for a 1 or 2 night trip.

Agree with the other posts - if you don't like it, you can return it. This is not abuse of the policy - you are buying it in good faith and they have a 100% satisfaction guarantee on the product.

[double d]

Flash 62 is a great, great pack, I would highly recommend it, and I've put a lot of hiking miles on it!

[Trebor66]

I carry the Flash 65 and love it. It fits me right and has held up very well.