I’ve spent a lot of time gathering bags (as my family will attest), to fill some odd need to carry things. In the end, I’ve realized multi-use (when possible) and lightness as major factors in gearing up for the road. I want a bag that’s lightweight, flexible, and offers smart storage.
The North Face Solaris 40
- 22″ x 13″ x 11″ (56 cm x 34 cm x 27 cm)
- 2450 in3 (40 liters)
- 3 lbs. 2 oz.
This seems large, but for a day pack, I love the size; it’s large enough for a long haul or short trip, but much more compact than the larger internal-frame back-country top-loaders. Not appearing here is the highly-adjustable, fully padded hip belt, which is the ideal place on which to rest your carry weight. I know not why this particular one I got has orange highlights, and not the typical all-black treatment like the typical North Face black colorway.
The neat thing about this particular pack is its bottom compartment, which allows for myriad items such as a charger, and other things that can be nudged around a bit, but separated by a trampoline (two clasps hold the divider in place). This area was designed for sleeping bags and the like. Though there’s plenty of room in the main compartment for a few days’ worth of clothes, footwear, and other miscellany for a tropical to semi-tropical environment, I don’t need much more than this.
Within this compartment, I store other goodies, like an extra foldable bag, a first aid kit, and some technical tools and gear. Some of this I assume can be bumped around a little better than say, delicate camera equipment and other precious goods. A softcover book would probably be perfect here. More things can certainly fit in here, so keep in mind that if you were going to utilize this area, I recommend keeping few items grouped together for better visibility and retrieval.
The neatest gear I carry may have to be the Solio Magnesium battery/charger, which conveniently takes iGo tips. Click on the images for more info on flickr. The cool thing about the charger is that it can be charged from the Sun for free, or plugged into the grid to be charged like a battery. It’s rated to give an iPod a full couple of charges. Another neat aspect as mentioned before is its ability to use iGo tips, which probably has the largest market share of universal chargers for multiple accessories and small electronic devices, such as iPods, phones, and the like. The USB adapter just makes it that much more compatible with USB-based chargers. The only drawback is that it doesn’t charge custom batteries from camera manufacturers, which means adding weight with another charger or packing extra batteries.
You can see a lot more in my flickr photostream, and read detailed info in the notes I’ve taken.
Overall, there’s a good sense of balance and my back thanks me for not carrying a shoulder bag every day with a backpack. As a bonus, the compartments are ideally placed for my usage, and I can find everything very quickly. Especially for the day, getting to and from the office with lunches and variable items is a lot easier with a high-capacity bag. It’s not Prada, so fashionistas need not apply. But it’s not from a 1980s outdoors catalog either, so while the styling is high-tech, it’s not overly, and tastelessly outdoorsy either.
