No, that is not always the case and any outdoorsmen, gear junkie, or general abuser of products will tell you the same thing. Every so often a brand will fly under the radar producing products that are not only a great value but also great quality as well. Ultimately, the good design for this product was that it was sized right for what I needed, both in dimensions and weight. Not too small, but not too large (and thus wasteful) – a Goldilocks design.
Fast and easy to adjust and all buckles and webbing are in good quality. I saw this pack at Wally World and figured, $19 ozark trail chair for a 28-liter pack, I’d give it a shot. If it doesn’t suit my needs, one of my daughters would be able to use it.
I plan to pick up another if/when this one wears out. For the second overnight hike in which I used the pack, I left the hammock at home and stuffed an REI Stratus insulated pad and lightweight bivy inside. I was a little concerned with how the straps would distribute weight.
This pack will make great for a day at the beach with an extra change of clothes, flip flops, keys, tanning oil, towel and a iPod or stuff your lightweight sleeping bag and a jacket. I spend a great deal of time on the water every summer boating and fishing in Northern Michigan. I will often load a large cooler up at the beginning of the week and leave it on my Pontoon packed with drinks and ice. If you have a boat and bring kids or friends on the water, you know that once you leave the dock the requests for drinks start rolling in fast and furious.
The bag stayed in place on my back using the sternum strap. The first good design feature is the placement of the door on the side, and more specifically on the long side of the tent. I’ve tried tents with the door on one end and it is cumbersome. For the end-door variants, one has to toss their sleeping bag down the tent when getting ready for bed. Other items that you may want to keep at the foot of the sleeping area are also hard to access or reach if your head is near the door.
For these styles, it seems most people want their head at the door side and so they have a constraint for which way the tent is set up if the ground is not flat. On the other hand, accessing the tent from the middle, or on the long side, gives one more degree of freedom. Assuming a symmetrical tent, like the Ozark Trail, my head could be placed at either end and both options would feel equally comfortable.
The front and hip straps make it very comfortable and takes alot of the pressure of your shoulders and back. Most parents and grandparents dream about sharing their passions with their kids. But what happens when your passion includes schlepping 30 pounds or more of gear through the tick-infested woods and sleeping on the ground for days on end?
More than once in the dark I’ve attached a rain fly upside down and we had to restart that particular step. This tent was close to foolproof when it came to the rain fly because it was already connected. If you need a large pack, or are heading on a days-long adventure, this pack won’t work for you. While this is made of a lightweight water resistant material, it does not have a built in rain flap.
Some days this bag was heavier than I would have chosen it to be. However, it took a pretty good beating and has held up. If you’re looking for a daypack, or a ozark trail backpack carry-on that fits everywhere, this is the deal. I sweated just a bit but not too much since the walk was short (and I didn’t want to sweat after a shower).