Osprey farpoint 40 arrive today. Honestly it seems bigger than expected. Feels very comfy to on back. One I don't like is that the cover to cover the shoulder straps and the belt straps is hard to fold away. Otherwise is pretty solid bag. I order the black one but instead it looks very greenlish with the light on.

Have the arcteryx altera 65L

Used it for a month on recent trip to Europe, was worth every dime.

One of the few backs that has the "sack" style bottom but also a zipper that opens the entire front like a suit case. At first I tgought 65L would be a little big but it enabled me to pack more than I needed as wel as the purchases I made along the way

Is pick pocketing a concern with any of the bags that have many pouches/openings, besides the usual of being aware of your surroundings? I've been to Rome but I was only using a messenger bag which is easy to manage. But with a full backpack, which I will have this summer, it's not as easy to swing in to the front.

Personally I lock my bag when I check it with those little TSA combo locks and they stay on until the bag makes it to the hostel. No real way a pickpocket is going to discreetly get past those without me noticing while I am transiting to the hostel.

Mark

Yea thats a good thing to do if you dont plan on digging through your bag. Just keep things that may be needed more accessible. The only other way to pick pocket would be for them to cut the bag open, but not sure how often that would occur.

Need to start gathering supplies including a backpack.

Yeah I wouldn't suggest it for a day pack but I am assuming OP is not going to be carrying a 40L around town during the days. The pickpockets are good but if you get your bag cut open and don't notice, you have bigger problems... :)

I plan on carrying on my farpoint 40 around but I have E-bags and other type of bags to seperate my clothes (I got some Laundry bag from Diaso which I can put my clothes in). So when I got travel I can just take the clothing out and leave them in the hotel.

Amazon.com: eBags Packing Cubes - 3pc Set (Eggplant): Clothing

Don't get them online coz they are expensive as hell. I got to Daiso and dollar store. It won't look as nice but it just the job just fine. I got
3 small size for charging cable, charger, batteries, toothbrush, lube, shampoo, body wash, glasses, mouth guard, nose hair trimmer, nail cutter and shaver.
2 Medium for socks and underwear, T-shirts(I roll them lol)
1 large for shorts (can't really roll them up) and a light jacket)


Yes if you do this with cotton shirts it will be wrinkle so best to do with shirt that have other material as well.

Basically if you roll your clothing correctly it will save you a ton of space

im gonna have to learn those packing methods. flying to India next saturday...

Do you think it'll be enough for your trip? Any pics?

It will be enough. You can always wash your clothes when you are at the hotel (shampoo works best.)

I am going away for 16 days in total planing to carry
5 to 6 T-shirt
4 to 5 pairs of shorts
6 to 8 pairs of socks
8 to 10 pairs of underwear
a cap
pair of flip flops
charging cable, charger, batteries, toothbrush, lube, shampoo, body wash, glasses, mouth guard, nose hair trimmer, nail cutter and shaver.
Ipad Mini

that's most likely it. I will wearing a pair of jeans and a windbreaker when boarding. I am sure I have more than enough room.

EDIT on and a belt too. Don't want to wear a belt when I am boarding coz then I have take it off and put it back on.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1A...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1A...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1A...ew?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1A...ew?usp=sharing
I pretty much pack all my clothing in. Still have a ton of room left. I am sure if I try I can even get more space.

any feedback on MEC backpacks (looking at the Eos model)? Looking for something under $200 and they seem pretty decently built with good features.
Ill be using it for a 3 week SE Asia trip so I think a 65L would be good enough.

^^65l you will have to check the bag, too bag for carry on.....

to me the MEC ones felt pretty cheap compared to other similar bags. The price is right though

MEC Supercontinent 45 Travel Pack - Mountain Equipment Co-op. Free Shipping Available
I was thinking of getting this bag but end with the farpoint 40 because the farpoint 40 have internal straps and also 2 pockets for water bottle. Other wise I think MEC bag pretty decent.

Edit: Decided to return the farpoint 40 and got the Pacsafe Venturesafe 25L and mention earlier. Really like the Farpoint 40 and the only reason I return it is because I decided to to have a check in luggage with me. Got too many things to carry with me so best to have check in.

Pacsafe Venturesafe 25L seems to be a good choice as a day pack with security features that I really like. Seems small enough to be a good day pack and I don't have worry about the bag being slash.I also order a Pacsafe Luggage Cashsafe Belt Wallet

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Been look for something to hide my money in but all the places I been doesn't seem to have these type of belt which is what I was looking for.

Just an advice. My sister in Italy and plan on traveling Europe. She just text me and said someone try to steal from her at the metro fail and start fighting with her husband then another guy approach them pretending to ask for directions and try to take my sister necklace but fail. So be extra careful!

Stuck between a 55L and a 65L. 6 weeks aroudn Europe, but only plan on like 4 sets of clothes.

^^ I ended up returning the farpoint 40 and getting the pacsafe 25. Turns out I have more stuff to bring back so I need a to check in a luggage.

i'm going away again with my wife and we want to get a new camera bag (our current one is a sling type and my wife hates carrying it for long periods of time) so i found this one....we use the bag to store our passports when changing destinations etc and it looks great but wondering if anyone knows of one slightly smaller??

http://www.amazon.com/Pacsafe-Luggag...rds=camera+bag

both are far too small for my trip

Honestly for a 2+ week trip where you're moving around I would always go with the 60L now that I've used one

I ended up buying a pair of shoes and a bunch of other souveniers and the 60L allowed me to adjust my packing and have the flexibility to constantly add into the pack rather than carrying additional bags or jamming a day backpack.

It really depends what you are doing.

I spent 4 months traveling across 3 continents in temperatures that ranged from 2C to 44C with my 50L and that included carrying a sleeping bag inside the bag, a full set of dress clothes - pants, shirt, belt, dress shoes, etc.

It required smart packing (I also used packing cubes like an above poster) and a really efficient mix of clothing to cover that type of range, but it was totally doable. If I had have only been traveling in one temperature range or or didn't need the sleeping bag and dress clothes, 50L would have literally been overkill and I could have done it with 40.

I find people constantly fill what they have... buy 40L, you will make 40L work, buy 60L, you will fill (and then have to carry) 60L.

Just my $0.02.

Mark

I was hoping to just use a large backpack as well. However since I have a bunch of stuff to bring back (including wine and some other liquid that require check in) I went with a 25inch luggage for check in and a light 25l pacesafe as carry on.

Luggage shouldn't too big of an issue since I can carry just fine.

looking for a packsafe day bag....not bringing out DSLR anymore so just need a safe bag to keep our passports, phones etc in while we transition

local stores??? leave monday morning so no time for shipping

I think they don't sell them local....... you can try amazon prime one day shipping.