A Wilderness Equipment Breakout 70 Litre Canvas Hiking/Trekking Backpack. Was retailing for $349, now online for $269.00.Although the Breakout lies towards the budget end of the WE classic Australian canvas pack range it is the perfect entry-level and institutional-use WE pack model. It has been in the range for almost 30 years and, as result of this long experience, continuously refined to optimise durability and comfort. It incorporates WE's original, efficient, zip-free back pocket, our wide-mouth throat, high-cut bag with heavy-duty draw cord closure, features frequently copied these days. The strong, quick-change, dual-back-length system is unique. It provides for teenage growth and solves the problems of best fitting a range of body sizes in any youth group. Perhaps surprisingly, the Breakout includes the sophisticated Synchro-FORM harness system. Its adaptive fit is an important advantage but so too is the possibility of simple repair. This is a perfect first backpack for young people beginning a life of outdoor adventure.It's also one of the number one packs for Australian Rainforest walking. No other Rainforest has Wait-O-While. If you're not familiar with it, step into the Rainforest, you soon will be, when you're torn to shreds, by long thing vines, with fish hooks that run the length of the vine. They're virtually impossible, like a fish hook, as they're barbed, to back out. It's a painstakingly slow process and if you don't stop walking instantly, the barbs rip material, flesh, and anything else they touch. The early explorers, on encountering this bastard scrub, named this plant Wait-O-While, which in Aussie tongue, is actually pronounced 'WaitAWhile, not sure why the O, and not an A. But the bottom line is the only thing that can withstand Waitawhile, is Canvas. With nearly all packs now coming in light Nylon, they're destroying their market for Far North Queensland Australian walkers. Wilderness Equipment (WE), because they're Aussies and for now still listening, are one of the few who still put out Canvas, and for me, as for many FNQ walkers, we only ever use WE packs still the longest lasting pack, on the World Market.
Single-compartment, wide-mouth, high-cut canvas bag with fixed back and top pockets. Wider fit range with two, strong, quickly selected back length choices built into three bag sizes: XS/S, S/M and M/L Designed for highest durability and easy maintenance. Bag Fabric: Heavy-duty cotton-polyester canvas Reinforcing Layers: 1000d nylon Kodra, PU coated. Colour: Navy / Grey AX internal Frame System: High-tensile, aluminium, asymmetric cross Shoulder Harness: 3-D contoured Synchro-FORM. Hip Harness: Synchro-FORM Hi-Load with 3-D multi-laminated hip pads Harness Face Fabric: Tough, soft, 640d spun polyester Back sizes: XS/S (350/400MM), S/M (400/450mm), M/L (450/500mm) Bag Capacities: XS/S: 65, S/M: 70, M/L: 75 litres Pack Weights: XS/S: 2.6, S/M: 2.8, M/L: 2.9 kgMANUFACTURER'S LINK:
http://wildernessequipment.com.au/detail.php?Code=BreakoutPoint of Note: Most franchise retail outlets now do not have experienced people working in them and I've seen customers stroll in, grab a pack and walk out. Be warned, packs, absolutely require the correct size. Everyone has different length bodies, and no, a pack is not a pack. An incorrectly fitted pack, means the load will not sit on your hips, however instead will all be taken by your shoulders. Alternatively, go the other way and all the weight will be on your hips with a giant gap between your shoulder and the top strap, meaning nothing on your shoulder and an unstable shifting pack, which will both aggravate you on a long trip, to the point you'll wish you never got talked into trekking or it might screw up your back.Packs are NOT an absolute science like shoes, but you'll either be a Men's or Women's, and you'll be somewhere within usually a Small, Medium, or Large. The packs themselves, then have a series of adjustments available to get it just right for you. But get it wrong to start with and no amount of adjusting will get a Small to fit you for example, if you need a Medium. Some packs are a one size fits all, and only come in Men's or Women's. But you need to know, which that pack is.NOTE, that no pack is ever 100% waterproof is this category either. Not even fresh from the factory will packs be waterproof as the seals or seams are not lined and the stitching is not waterproof. Nor are Zips ever waterproof. So these packs are never marketed as Waterproof nor would I ever tell a customer that a pack is anything more than slightly water resistant.
There is some useful additional information I wrote below for anyone new to camping or hiking who might be thinking of buying a pack. If you're not sure about what's a travel pack and what's a hiking pack? They are not the same at all.WHAT IS A TRAVEL PACK vs A HIKING PACK
What is a Travel Pack? as opposed to a Hiking / Bushwalking / Trekking or, just for the Kiwis (New Zealanders) - Tramping - Backpack/Pack/Rucksack?
Well, Backpacks, or Rucksacks which are designed for rugged, serious and long distance heavy duty walking; are in no way designed to sustain the unique requirements and riggers of Airplane Travel. That is, a normal Hiking Pack, places it's emphasis or focus on a complex Yoke, Harness, or 'the Straps'. It's all about comfort designed for sustained heavy weights and difficult terrain. It's all about straps and attachments on the external parts of the pack for things like Trekking Poles, Tent Poles, Ice Picks, Ropes or other technically targeted genres of 'Hiking Rucksack.Travel Packs on the other hand. Although in recent years they have developed much much better strapping systems, harnesses or yokes (the carrying straps) than they had in the early years; The straps do sacrifice some ability to get serious due to the main feature and easy identifier for a Travel Pack - the straps have to be retracted, or zipped up, and/or packed away. Because airplane travel, seriously wrecks any strap that is exposed when traveling on airplanes. Baggage handlers at airports, it appears, go out of their way to destroy buckles and straps. The turntable machinery in airports also, seriously wrecks the straps on normal hiking packs. For that reason, people with Hiking Packs, go to serious lengths to tie up and lock down their bulky straps, or at least the smart ones do.Another major feature in Travel Packs, is a detachable Day Pack, or in more recent times, a mechanism of holding a daypack (not necessarily part of that pack) as the detachable zip out daypacks, lacked litres or capacity and the day packs were not traditionally robust. Travel Packs have usually more access points or methods to get into the gear (bottom, side, top etc) than a Hiking Pack has traditionally. As you tend to want to get to your stuff more, when traveling, or backpacking (the backpacker). However when seriously mountaineering or hiking, generally, access to gear is only necessary when making or striking camp (unpacking everything or packing everything). Travel Packs often have side straps to go over one shoulder, they have straps to hold down clothing like suitcases do, which frankly is often useless. Where as people who hike seriously, would normally never utilise these options. Travel Packs are great as base point packs. Once you're in a backpackers, or hotel, you can detach the daypack or zip up the backpack straps and leave some gear, to use it over your shoulder.Travel Packs normally don't come in seriously robust materials nowadays either (actually Hiking Packs are not coming in serious material either) such as Canvas, which is generally now only reserved for Hiking Packs. Canvas is the only material that will survive Australian Rainforests due to a plant we have called Wait-O-While. Which seriously destroys Nylon like wet tissue paper. If you're purchasing a pack for walking in FNQ Australia, only buy Canvas. If you're just a general traveler or backpacker, or do occasional hiking, the travel pack is for you. If you're going to be predominately hiking, with everything you have, with you constantly, on your back, also consider a Hiking Pack.