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deuter packs

gsweet

Monkey
Dec 20, 2001
733
4
Minnesota
i've recently been getting ready for some field work abroad and decided i could use a replacement day/weekend pack. i was looking for something with a nice suspension/airflow system because a lot of my work will be in tropical/subtropical areas and will involve carrying 15+ lbs of rock samples. it's been up between the osprey stratos 32 (which is obviously fantastic) and the lesser known deuter futura 32 ac. last night i found the deuter for under 70 bucks and just decided to go for it and give 'er a shot. anybody have any experience with the company? reliability? functionality? i read a few online reviews and they seemed very positive.
 

Lexx D

Dirty Dozen
Mar 8, 2004
1,480
0
NY
I've had a pack from them for 5 years now. Many snowboard trips, bike trips, and every time i ever travel it's been on my back. It's a sweet bag with a unique design and great comfort. No issues at all, I say go for it.
 

henrymiller

Monkey
May 4, 2002
290
0
Denver-A-Go-Go
I have had a Deuter pack for a few years and am still very happy with it. I plan to replace my camlebak with a Deuter in near future. The only limitation for my bag is the size, but that was my fault as I should of bought a larger bag. I would purchase a new Deuter bag in a heartbeat.
 

spocomptonrider

sportin' the CROCS
Nov 30, 2007
1,412
118
spokanistan
I've had several Osprey packs in the last few years, they have always been comfortable and long lasting (albeit expensive). From what I've seen of the Deuter packs they look great and have the same nice construction as an Osprey or Gregory pack.
 

amateur

Turbo Monkey
Apr 18, 2002
1,019
0
Orange County
After through hiking the John Muir trail, I'm sold on Gregory as a sturdy, reliable, light weight option. My Deuter before was nice, but the Gregory is nicer.
 

JRogers

talks too much
Mar 19, 2002
3,785
1
Claremont, CA
Here is a review of the Deuter. Not mine, but nice and detailed from a good site:

http://www.backpackgeartest.org/reviews/Packs/Frameless%20Backpacks%20and%20Day%20Packs/Deuter%20Futura%2032/Owner%20Review%20by%20Chuck%20Kime/

I've heard good things about Deuter, but never owned one. Only thing I can say is I love my Osprey. I have a Talon 44 and it's pretty much the best piece of gear I've bought. Aside from it being ever so slightly big for me, it is absolutely perfect for what I wanted. Light, durable, tons of usable features (hip belt pockets, shoulder strap pockets...), super light and very breathable. Definitely would buy an Osprey again.
 

Heidi

Der hund ist laut und braun
Aug 22, 2001
10,184
797
Bend, Oregon
I've had the Deuter V20 for about 3-4 years now and love it. It's traveled to France and Switzerland with me, been boarding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, riding.... Works awesome.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
I just bought an Osprey aether 85 yesterday. So far it looks pretty nice and should be able to hold tons of gear, but thats all I can say about it. Its got some nifty pockets
 

gsweet

Monkey
Dec 20, 2001
733
4
Minnesota
i figured i'd post a follow-up on this. i picked up the deuter futura 32 ac just a few days before i took off for my field work, and let me say this was a fantastic purchase. i spent a week field mapping in the northern philippines (think hot, humid, sunny and dirty) followed by a month in southern tasmania. i've included a quick pros/cons below for anyone else looking for a hydration bladder-capable large daypack/smaller weekend pack.

pros:
1) the perfect amount of space! my days in the field usually lasted about 10 hours and the required quite a bit of gear. the bag held pretty much everything i needed during this time period with some space left over. this included a rain jacket, bag lunch, small rock hammer, small map board (12" x 11"), gps unit, digital p&s camera, plethora of pens, pencils and erasers, larger knife (6" blade), multitool, backup topo maps, first aid kit and 1.5 liters of water. the left over space was quickly filled up by rock samples.
2) a built in rain cover seemed rather goofy at first, but was priceless in the field. in the tropics it tends to rain a lot in a very short amount of time, the outcome of which can be a very wet, destroyed geology map. the maps i created were on 3' x 3' topo sheets so they were already quite unwieldy without the rain/wind. once it started raining though, i could just fold the maps up and pop them in the bag. an hour later, i was soaked but everything in the bag was dry as a bone (including the gps, camera, etc....thank god).
3) the mesh back panel was fantastic in the heat; i've never used an "air system" on a back pack but i can safely say that i'm now excessively spoiled. the increased air flow kept me cool (cool being a relative word for the tropics) and dry throughout my field work while still somehow maintaining a very comfortable and stable fit. deuter did their research on this one...
4) the layout of the pack is pretty intuitive and very useful; the fact that the interior can be quickly converted from one large storage space to two smaller ones is excellent for organizing samples, supplies and/or separating wet clothing from dry. the top pocket was spacious and easily accessed, as were the side pockets. the small belt pocket provided me with a more manly version of coin purse, thus enabling me to avoid most (not all) very skeptical stares while jingling down the street in tasmania.
5) this is a very adjustable bag; it took me about half an hour of fine tuning while on the trail to get this thing to fit like a flippin' condom, after which i was confidently rock hopping across sewer-filled streams with minimal worry about the pack shifting on me.

cons:
1) the side pockets were easily large enough to accommodate a 1 liter nalgene each, but it took some time to get them in and out.
2) the mesh side pockets were too small to hang on to even a water bottle, thus they became rock sample holders when i ran out of sample bags.
3) using a hydration bladder takes up a bit of room within the pack, leaving the remaining space very oddly shaped and less than ideal.
4) the bag became significantly less comfortable after i had loaded about 20 lbs of rock sample into it. the resulting 25-30lb load led to the lower back/upper hip supports digging into me a bit. while this wasn't by any means unbearable, a full day of this would most likely leave you sore and unhappy. perhaps even chafed.

the bottom line here is that for less than 70 bucks a pop (at stp currently), this is by far and away one of the better bags out there. it's made of pretty tough material for people who like to redefine the word "durable". i beat the sh*t out of this bag for the better part of a month and a half, lugging rocks and sloshing through jungle, and it was more than happy to take my (and the climate's) abuse. i unfortunately can't speak of the deuter's long term durability, but thus far i'm very impressed; the zippers, mesh, etc. have stood up without a problem, as has the suspension system. basically if you're in the market for a good day/weekend pack (or you think you will be in the near future), pick this fella up. they only make one size, but it's quite adjustable. for the record i'm 5'10 with rather long limbs, about a 20" neck to hip measurement, and i'm fairly thin at ~150lbs.

the pack in action!
 

pdawg

Monkey
Feb 27, 2006
310
0
Espoo, Finland
I might need to pick me up one of them packs... my woman is about to throw me out of the house. I blame it on the bad weather, laziness, and high-availability of cheap beer.

Nice review, btw.