High Sierra Appalachian 75 Backpacking Pack

First thing's first: People need to realize that you can't expect this bag to be as light as a top-brand bag like Kelly, etc. You get what you pay for, and personally, I didn't want to spend over $100 or so on a bag that I may end up using a few times a year - for the following reasons: 1. I'm in college, so I don't have money - 2. I personally don't understand why people would pay $250+ for a backpack that is maybe a few ounces lighter than this $100 backpack. I just don't get it. Really? Spend over $100 extra for just a few ounces less? Whatever, not a big deal. 3. I could care less what brand my stuff is. I just want quality products for an affordable price - and this bag is just that! It's worth every penny, and then some.Pros:-Very durable material and good quality zippers. Zippers are important to me, because cheap ones will break and have your gear spill out. So, this bag has some nice zippers - and hold well together under pressure.-Location for water bladder. This was important for me, because I don't want to take off the pack every time I want to drink some water. So the bladder was a must, and the space for it is huge! You can easily fit 2 2-liter or 2 3-liter bags, with double nozzles on your shoulders, if you really wanted to. But one bladder is sufficient for me.-Somewhat spacey sleeping bag compartment. I was able to fit my 0-10degree sleeping bag in the compartment. It took a little to figure out how I would go about stuffing it in there,... but with a little pressure on the bag, it fit fine and the zipper closed nicely and kept it snug. I would say my sleeping bag is medium-large size when rolled up. So I was afraid it wouldn't fit - but it did! Awesome!-Straps were adjustable enough. I'm a waist 36, 5'11", 200lbs, somewhat built (is what my eharmony profile says, but its debatable). The belt fit fine, and actually felt a little big. It could easily adjust to much bigger waists if needed. So don't worry about that.-Straps on the bag were a tad long... but acceptable. Its better to have extra cordage than to not have enough. :)-Straps on the bottom of the bag, under the sleeping bag compartment, were awesome! I was able to fit a roll-up foam sleeping bad and a 3-person tent just fine! Both were snug against the bag, and felt stable.-Water resistant cover located under the sleeping bag compartment. Throw that over your bag nicely if it rains - works well!Cons:-The bag isn't as lightweight as a $300-$400 bag, but I'm not complaining! Personally, I'm trying to build up leg muscle, so a heavier bag helped me work out the legs better - had to take more breaks, but it was worth it personally. If you aren't used to carrying heavy stuff, don't put too much in your bag. It definitely adds up. And if you aren't able to handle the weight, you will suffer on your trip, rather than enjoy your time.What I fit into the bag:-1 0-10degree sleeping bag (forests in high altitudes are awesome. cold, secluded, and cold)-1 foam sleeping pad attached to bottom of bag (ground floors are not my friend)-1 3-person tent attached to bottom of bag (what can I say, I like the space)-small portable cooking grill, small fuel oven with extra canisters (hard to cook over a wood-fire, better with canisters)-medium sized first aid kit (for whenever I feel like spraining my ankle downhill)-small container of batteries, multiple flashlights and small lantern (one flashlight is never enough)-bag of cooking pots, utensils-multiple knives (medium sized, bear grylls ultimate knife, etc. one knife is never enough)-2 egg containers (2 dozen eggs total) (Note: Because sleeping bags expand after being removed from original packaging, re-inserting the sleeping bag into this pack ended up taking slightly more space than anticipated, at the bottom of the pack. The egg containers would no longer fit securely at the top of the pack, so I removed them altogether)-2 liters of water + 2-liter bladder (wish I could fit more) (Note: On my extended trip to Lincoln National Forest, I removed the 2 liters of bottle water to reduce weight. I still, however, kept the 2-liter bladder - it fits nicely in its special area)-matches, fire starters, rain ponchos, other minor accessories in the small pockets-couple cans of beans, bags of instant rice/potatoes, mac n' cheeze. (I treat myself quite well, if I do say so myself)Total weight came out to nearly 50lbs. This forced me to pace myself, and I'm a runner and workout daily. So this "vacation" was more like a spartan race training exercise. But I didn't mind the weight... the more the merrier!Anyways, if you're looking for an affordable backpack of excellent quality and lots of space for your gear, I highly recommend this Appalachian 75. I eventually want to grab the next size up, the 90L. And maybe buy the next size down, a 45L or something for day hikes.I absolutely love this pack and wouldn't trade it for anything else! Get one! :D**** UPDATE 7/21/2015 ****My update is a little overdue, my apologies.So my family and I went camping at Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico, quite a drive from Texas but worth it! Its definitely a beautiful forest - I highly recommend you visit it. Lots of things to do during the day too. There are a few night sky observatories in the forest itself, run by the U.S. Air Force, NASA, etc that you can publicaly tour and see how they work and what they hunt for in the skies etc.. very cool stuff.Anyways, I of course had this pack with me on this trip. As I mentioned in my first review - this pack is just unbeatable for the value, quality and price that you get for it. Friends have Kelly and big brand "lightweight" bags running $250+ that are thinner in quality but sport the brand name that some of my friends like, and I'm over here with a $100 bag that is much better quality, holds the same amount of stuff as their big brand bags... but I saved tons of money.So the bag held well throughout the hikes we did, and the zippers worked great! I've always been cursed with zippers breaking, snapping, falling off their tracks, etc on luggage and backpacks. For this pack, it was not the case - zippers held well even under extreme pressure of increased elevation and very tight packing of gear into the bag itself. The bag performed well, much better than I did - no thanks to Whataburger.On the trip, I fit everything listed above except the egg containers. Because sleeping bags require a miracle from the Heavens to reinsert in their original packaging, the sleeping bag took up extra space in the bottom of the backpack, thus forcing the egg containers to be omitted from this trip. As I tested the bag fully loaded prior to our hike, I also removed the 2-liters of water that I had. This is because it just added unnecessary weight that I was willing to give up - I forced my younger brother to carry them in his High Sierra 65L pack... this is why younger siblings exist, to carry older siblings' snacks.Aside from no eggs and less water, everything else above fit well in the bag. I may end up ditching the foam pad in the future though, as I felt like it was interfering with my walking as it hung from the bottom of my pack. Though it could have been user error on my part - its debatable.A side note: fuel canisters for cooking purposes are not as effective at colder temperatures. Our family learned this the hard way the first night as we waited 30 minutes for water to become slightly hot, in 25 degree weather. Note to self... use a wooden fire in cold temperatures to cook your food and heat your water.Other than that, it was a great trip and the bag outperformed my expectations just as in the past. In the next few weeks, my brother and I will embark on a kayak/camping overnight trip. I'll be sure to take pictures of my bag to use when I update this review soon.I hope this review is still helpful to those on the fence about choosing this bag - so if anyone has any questions, please comment on this review and/or ask and I am more than happy to answer them. When I find great products that I believe deserve recognition for quality/price, I do my part in recommending them to friends. This bag, is that type of product and then some.My rating remains at 5 stars. Thank you for reading.

The chest strap goes right across my boobs. It is adjustable, but only to go below them, which looks silly and uncomfortable. I don't think it will make the bag non-functional to me once I have on several layers and a sports bra, mostly because I am not top-heavy and it does hit above my nipples, just on cleavage. The straps have space where they could have made the up and down adjustment go higher, it just doesn't. The waist strap has to be cinched almost as far as it will go, which is hard to get it to cinch that far. I emailed quite a bit with the company and they assured me that this was a unisex bag, and by unisex they meant it is a man's bag. This is a pity, because I love their women's bag that is 50 liters. I just need a bigger bag than that. I am 5'9 and 160 lbs. I am going to take it out in a few days fully loaded, and will try to remember to report back how it functions out in the wild. I do like that there are two separate compartments on the very top of the bag. This is great because now I have separate slot for my funnel and toilet paper. Finding a place for funnel storage away from food while keeping everything easily accessible can be difficult. This bag has lots of great compartments. The bag seems to be built well for the price, and I like the compartments on the front as well, perfect for navigation gear. My goal is to find a cheap bag for off-trail search and rescue training to last me until I graduate in about 4 months and can get prodeals. Honestly though, the 50 liter women's bag I really like, and plan to use it for a very long time. It is very comfortable, and other than the laughable rain cover is great. I will probably just use this bag to graduation, then give it to a man.UPDATE:I took the bag up McClellan's Butte and Mount Si this past weekend and am upping it to 4 stars. The bag turned out better than expected. Yes the chest strap was annoyingly too low. It wasn't however annoying to the extent I had suspected it might be when I initially tried it on and realized it didn't go up high enough. The hip straps were difficult to get cinched, since I had to cinch them almost all the way, however, once I got a system down for getting them cinched super-dooper tight and got rolling with my ridiculously heavy bag, the hip straps became a redeemer for this bag. They were very large and cushy, well worth any extra weight they added to the bag. Also, the weight seemed to be more on the sides of my hips than across my abdomen, which was GREAT. It was easy to stand up straight with the bag on once I got the straps that pull the bag to my body adjusted right. I am very particular about how bags fit to my back, since I have a reverse curve in my neck and a curve in my upper spine, and the many adjustments on the bag got the bag to where I wanted it. I also realized the opening on the front to access the main compartment from the top and front was very helpful. I am annoyed that the side compartments are just a little too small to stuff my midlayer or softshell. Just the tiniest bit too small. My hardshell fit, but as it is winter I rarely take it off now. The shoulder straps didn't annoy me, they were bulky, and I don't know why, but they didn't bother me. The clip I put my water bottle on worked out well. It was to the side enough so that the bottle wasn't swinging into my stomach very often. The bag was also easy to get on and off, remarkably so. Once I had this sucker full to the brim I was wondering how easy it would be to swing on and off, and it slid on very easily. It would be nice if it was a little wider and a little shorter. I went off trail a few times, and kept having issues getting stuck on branches. I am not sure how much this is going to hinder me for search and rescue training since I will have a sighting pole anyways getting tangled in everything. After this weekend, I was very pleased with how sore I wasn't, so I believe the bag is distributing weight as expected. One of the great things about this bag is that the back adjusts up and down, so you can buy it without trying to figure out what size you are for this brand. For the price this is an excellent deal.UPDATE:I have now had this bag for over a month. I have decided that the more I wear this bag the more I like it and am upping the review to 5 stars. Having worn this bag and switched in-between the women's 50 liter explorer bag that they make, I must say I feel like the women's bag doesn't adjust to as high as I want it to. Again I am 5'9", and the manly man bag is definitely tall enough for me. The more I wear the women's one now it just doesn't feel like it adjusts tall enough. I think I liked the pink bag when I started wearing it because it was more comfortable than the previous bag I was using, but the black bag adjusting high enough makes this now my favorite bag. It is still annoying that I have to cinch the waist straps almost all the way in, and it is hard to do, but the added padding on the hips is great for wearing the bad ALL DAY. Plus the opening on the front that let's me have access to the main part of the bag is proving great since I am not very good at taking things out and getting them back in. It is like once I pack the bag if I unpack it everything doubles in size or something. Opening the front allows me to help pull things down into the bottom of the bag without having to squash everything.UPDATE:Having had this bag for a few months, it has now survived the worst weekend for Search and Rescue training. I must say, putting this bag on typically seems to slide on easier than I see other people getting their bags on. But that might just be because I'm so burly. Well I have officially put this bag through hell. I must say, I have become quite attached to this bag. It still frustrates me sometimes that I have to tighten the waist cinch before I clip the bottom strap or it won't tighten, and I have to wiggle the bands around that are supposed to keep the strap flaps from flapping because they clog the tightener and do nothing to stop straps from flapping since I have to tighten them so much. The too low chest strap I have gotten used to. It could certainly be better but it doesn't piss me off as much as it used to. I worry sometimes because the clasper things come apart if they are pulled on not terribly hard, but they have always gone back together so far. The front unzipping has been the most helpful feature of this bag so far. Other than my complaints about this clearly not being tested on women I recommend this bag. I have thrown it all over, fallen into swamps, fallen onto rocks, fallen into culverts, fallen down hills, fallen into rivers, exhaustively flung it onto roads covered in sharp rocks, snagged everything on thorns and just pushed my way through until branches were breaking and those thorny chain things snapped, worn it in the rain for days at a time, screamed and it and kicked it because I was miserable and wet and angry, run for miles with it, stored not at all contained microspikes directly in the front pouch, and somehow it still serves me well and the fabric hasn't torn. I don't think you can ask for more for the price. Except of course a bag designed for women. Because yes women can carry a bag this big on grand adventures.UPDATE: I got this bag in October. It is now April, and I have graduated search and rescue training several months ago. I had assumed I would dump this bag once I graduated and get something with prodeals. Honestly I will probably carry this bag until it breaks down. As much as I despise it for not having a female version, this bag and I have suffered through a lot together, and I can't seem to retire it. As I carry it to Rainier, Helen's, and other places I never expected to take a High Sierra bag, I must say I really love this bag.UPDATE: Someone asked for action shots with different levels of clothing on.

For reference I am 6’ 1” and 175lb, waist size 32. I got this pack to replace an old external frame pack I had. In the past I have also used an Osprey internal frame pack and they both preformed similarly. So far this pack has endured three 30 + mile trips and has held up pretty good. It has good support and a lot of places you can externally attach stuff. The hip straps took a little time to wear in but as soon as they were, they were very comfortable (same goes for shoulder strap). The rain cover is a nice accessory which I had to use once so far, the pack material is also fairly water resistant which is also nice in a snowy environment. On my last trip I synched the lower draw strap too hard and the stitches tore out, unfortunate but it happens with any pack if you synch too tight (nothing a little needle and thread can’t fix).Pros:- The material and zippers on the pack are very durable- Water resistant and rain cover- Comfortable hip and shoulder straps- Large carrying capacity- Good back ventilation- Adjusting torso length was very easy- Easy access to items in the bottom, middle, and top of the pack through compartmentsCons:- The pack was a bit uncomfortable for the first two trips. Be sure to use it a few times before going on a long one- The stitching on the strap did tear out but was easily fixedAll in All:I love this pack and plan on using it for at least another 4 years. I would recommend this pack to anyone looking to buy an affordable well made pack. It does the job and more.

Looks great but material is too thick for what I needed. It lasts for sure but ended up returning it

After looking at and comparing backpacks online and at a high end outdoors store, I decided to go with this 75 liter pack. 1. Cost and 2. Volume.

I was invited on a backpacking trip and really wanted to get a good backpack. The first time I went on a backpacking trip was over 20 years ago and it was an external frame pack.

Pros:+Materials are durable and zippers function very well+Comfortable to carry+Shoulder harness adjusts quite a bit so you don't have to worry about sizing...

Great design and very good weight distribution. The padding on the waist belt is thick and firm enough to do an excellent job of weight transfer.

Ive had this pack for about a year. Did not want to spend $200 on something I'd use maybe 3 times a year. Well, a year in, 3 uses and around 100 miles... It is great!

This is a well-made, fantastic very large capacity camping/backpack. It is well designed easy to adjust and is durable and sturdy.

Awesome pack!i have a long torsal ,and i can adjust the pack to fit perfectly ,and comfortablely. I'm sure that its going to give me what I need in a backpack to go on my...

Took on a week trip. Worked great and pretty comfortable. Front sinch strap snapped off, but for the price, the pack is perfect.

Perfect pack