We have our Backpacks!

When my time off was officially approved and we made the decision that we would travel to the other side of the world for multiple months the talk turned to how we should travel.

Kathy and I have both traveled overseas before, Kathy to Europe and parts of Northern Africa and myself to the UK and New Zealand.  We both agreed that we need to travel with a backpack vs luggage and that we should try to be as light as possible.  Our ultimate goal is to travel carry-on only.  Here are the requirements that we both have for our packs:

• Be carry-on compliant
• Ideally be a travel backpack vs a hiking pack (pack like a suitcase)
• Be comfortable to carry for at least an hour
• Be of high quality with great reviews from other travelers
• Be weather resistant if not waterproof
• Have some security measures (lockable zippers, maybe slash proof)

Kathy's backpack:  

We visited REI in Minneapolis over spring break and tried on just about every backpack that would qualify as carry-on.

Kathy ultimately decided that the Osprey Farpoint 40 litre fit her the best and with the use of packing cubes will allow her to carry everything that she needs for 3 months in Asia









Dave's Backpack:

So apparently I`m a bit of a backpack junkie; I currently have 5 backpacks and I`m picky and want the best bag to meet my needs.  On our trip I plan to have not only my main pack, but also a day pack so that I can carry our electronics (camera, gopro, tripod, possibly a gimbal, water bottles, wallet, sunscreen and other goodies for our day.) so I am really searching for a backpack that will allow me to attach a day bag to it.

After countless months of research on blogs and you tube videos I narrowed down my list to 5 possibilities, two from Osprey, and three from lesser known companies, Pacsafe, Tortuga and Peak Design.

In the end I've purchased two Osprey bags from REI, an identical Farpoint 40 Litre to Kathy's and a Farpoint 55 Litre that includes a detachable day pack.

The big drawback to the Farpoint 55 is that it is not officially carry-on compliant even with the detachable day pack removed.

Ideally I`ll use the smaller 40L bag, but realistically the 55L will probably work out the best as I need to carry clothing for both Evelia and I plus the electronics for our trip.






Evelia`s Backpack

We don`t expect our girl to carry all of her stuff, there is no way that she would manage a 1 to 2 km walk from a subway or train to a hotel carrying 10lbs of gear.  Instead our goal is that Evelia is responsible for carrying all of her non clothing items including stuffies, electronics, games, books and anything else that she needs.  We want her bag to offer more support than her school backpack along with additional weather proofing.  In the end she choose an REI branded bag, the Tarn 18.

She is stoked to carry it, it fits her better than the Deuter bag that we bought in the spring (gotta love REI as they let us return it for this bag even know we she hiked with it when we visited the Hunt family.)

So in case you were wondering, what are the Reece`s carrying all of their gear in, you now know. Now lets just hope there isn`t a new kick-ass bag released in the next 2 months that I can`t resist....