Call it whatever you wish, but there’s something unsettling in most of us when it comes to picking up a backpack that claims to possibly be, our last buy. Well, the last set of my Lowepro Photosport AW200 didn’t really fair well to even last me thirty days in Europe. Its straps broke. I guess it was overloaded. A new, but smaller Lowepro Photosport AW100 got destroyed too, with the manufacturer replacing me with a new one. Strap issues too.
They simply don’t last, of late, these bags. And perhaps, that’s what kept us looking, for one that, perhaps, will meet that need. Yes, the Crumpler series performed exceptionally well nevertheless for me thus far, with them all hanging solidly composed no matter what and how much I stuff things into them. I guess the Australian knows a thing or two on how to really make a good bag.
Osprey has gotten pretty popular recently, and perhaps, the Porter 46 or Ozone Convertible 36 both have what it takes to finally makes check-in baggages an unnecessary hassle, though not completely convinced. Thule did not put up a real fight anyway. Arcteryx was fine but severely overpriced and not worth the time. Manfrotto was in the mood of copying others. Think Tank was as flat as a melted ice cream. Lowe Pro remained status quo in 2016. Kickstart bag projects all demanded high but unproven price points.
In all, nothing exciting.
Or perhaps above all, should we just pay a revisit to our existing mountain of bags that you already owned, and giving it a good wash, to re-equip them for your next trip, be that solution to get you off the hook of another impulsive purchase?
I did the latter and gladly recommend that to those who are in the same boat as me, just a week ago.