Vaude Astra II Backpack - 55+10

I was a little nervous ordering this pack. But it was so cheap I just had to. There are very few reviews or information online about it. I thought it was just too low of a price for it to be high quality. I was wrong. The zippers are great and do not snag and the compartments while not plentiful are well laid out. Except for the two side pockets I'll get to in a minute. The lid has a very high capacity, and in fact seems bigger than the +10 they advertise. It probably is not, but it seems like it.

I stuffed about 30lbs in it for the first hike and spent ten minutes or so setting the size for my torso. I have trouble getting a good fit with some packs because I am short, chubby, long in the torso and short in the leg. This Tergolight system is the bomb. In 10 minutes or so I had the weight right on the hips and completely off the shoulders and neck. It is very intuitive and that is good, because the directions are a little sketchy.

The pack stays compressed and does not shift on the trail and I had no trouble with the straps loosening. There are lots of loops and attachment points, a hydration compartment and waist belt pockets big and strong enough to use. The clips are solid and easy to work, The shoulder straps are very comfortable but not super thick. It is not hot enough here to really judge the pack for ventilation but it seems more than adequate. I will update that if we get some warmer weather.

The color is much more red than the picture looks. It really is the color of salsa although it looks orange in the picture. The rain cover is included free and is orange. This pack would do for any weekender summer or winter and would do a week summer and three or four days winter easily for me. My guess is you could put forty pounds in it pretty easily and carry comfortably if you are a strong hiker. I am an older guy and thirty is my upper limit. If you want to carry much less than thirty, this pack is probably a little big and more than you need. It is clearly designed as a heavy load pack, not for ultra light hikers/campers.

Now the one knock. Although stretch pockets are adequate for a Nalgene, they are tight and when you fill the two long side pockets the water bottle is almost impossible to get in. If you put your tent poles or trekking poles on the sides the two side pockets are almost unusable and can only hold small soft gear you don't need in a hurry. But lots of packs don't have these pockets anyway so I didn't care. I threw a bandanna, some extra socks and underwear in mine. I won't need any of that in a hurry and my rain gear is in that huge lid.

At $200 I would say it would be an OK deal. At $150 it would be a very good deal. At STP deal flyer pricing under a hundred, this thing is a steal. I have been to BPS, Cabellas, REI and lots of independent outdoor gear shops and have never seen a pack like this for under a hundred. STP is the bomb for gear if you don't mind slightly out of date or odd colors and this one is no exception. I don't review much of the stuff I buy on here, but this was a good enough deal I took the time, because I know it is a hard pack to research.