if you really want to save money buy used, watch the for sale here, post a wanted to buy (include what you are willing to spend - many wanted to buy postings are more like "I basically want it for free")
if you really want to save money buy used, watch the for sale here, post a wanted to buy (include what you are willing to spend - many wanted to buy postings are more like "I basically want it for free")
Agreed that the pack isn't where you want to skimp. You can still use the cheapie, but probably keep the discounted quality pack on your immediate radar.
I just picked up a new daypack (REI Trail 40L) at REI's garage sale yesterday for $22. Normally retails for $109. Came with a free rain cover!
Many WB members use the Osprey Exos 58L. You could get one right now for under $150 if you needed one in a small size:
https://www.google.com/search?q=ebay...20502321994995
Or you could spend $175 to buy this one brand new, size M, off Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Osprey-Exos-...YAAOSw4YdYyczl
I waited and waited for the Osprey Exos in my size to get down to around $160. Regular google searches. I found it within 6 months. Love it!
Keep hiking with what you have and keep looking for the right pack at the right price.
AT: 695.7 mi
Benton MacKaye Trail '20
Pinhoti Trail '18-19'
@leonidasonthetrail https://www.youtube.com/c/LeonidasontheTrail
zig zag man , check boreas buttermilks on sierra trading post.com
its a steal @ $70.00
introduced to backpacking on my 21st in the red river gorge, KY (2012)
2015 salkantay trek - Glamping
16'-17' amicalola--> Fontana dam
7 days solo on Huayhuash circuit!! 9/17
Eddie Valiant: "That lame-brain freeway idea could only be cooked up by a toon."
https://wayne-ayearwithbigfootandbubba.blogspot.com
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I'm of the "discounted quality pack" mindset. I started out early this year with a list of three packs I considered serious contenders for next year's AT through-hike: the Gossamer Gear Mariposa ($260), ULA Circuit ($235) and Granite Gear Crown V.C. ($200). Immediately there was a discrepancy of $60 in list prices of packs I consider roughly equivalent. Then the Crown V.C. went on sale for $150 and I almost bought one, until I learned this sale was because the Crown 2 (pretty much a replacement for the Crown V.C.) was introduced at the same list price. The Crown 2 fixed the biggest drawback of the earlier pack by including hip belt pockets (also a removable lid standard rather than as an add-on). And it added something new and improved: an adjustable hip belt so I wouldn't need to order a smaller replacement (an extra $45 at Gossamer Gear) as I got skinny on the AT. As I see it, this pack is superior to all my initial "quality pack" options, and generally cheaper. When the Crown 2 went on sale for the first time I bit at $159.49 (no tax, free shipping).
Is this the best or cheapest backpack available? No on both counts. But it is new rather than used, fairly light (2 lbs. 2 oz. with the lid removed), and a good match for my needs. It's pretty much half the price of the Gossamer Gear pack ($305 with a second hip belt). And in comparison to a high-end specialty pack, here's what it would cost to have the same features as my Crown 2 in a ZPacks Arc Haul: $299 base price + $45 belt pouches + $10 ice axe loops + $10 roll-top closure straps + $10 v top strap + $15 lumbar pad + $45 spare belt + $10 shock cord lashing = $444: that's roughly 3X what I paid. (Plus ZPacks only makes their belt pouches in black, which is a stupid choice. Who wants their chocolate snacks melted in the sun?) The ZPacks configuration would be 6 oz. lighter for that $284.51 price difference. Of the included standard features of the Crown 2 pack, I'll be using all of them on the AT except for the ice axe loops. (And those may come in handy later on the PCT. )
If you can come up with a pack that satisfies your needs and is cheaper still, more power to you!