Need a HEAVY duty backpack!

Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch

Joined
Feb 6, 2000
Messages
3,021
I carry a lot of books....say thirty or forty lbs. I keep breaking normal backpacks.

I need a heavy duty backpack....pretty big one too. Not huge though. Price cannot be more than $50....probably.

Any ideas? :D
 
For heavy loads backpacking I use a Dana Designs, way too big for you and way too pricey, BUT, I just saw a small Dana on ebay today. You might check it out and see if it meets your needs, price should end up way below retail.
 
LL Bean makes some of the toughest back packs bar none. I've got one at home still in use by my brother that I got eight years ago. Still going strong, and I used it to carry ridiculous numbers of books too.
 
At ~$50, you get what you pay for in general. My suggestion, get something with a good warranty and send it back when it breaks.

Myself, I have personally carried a Lowe and discovered that at 62% of my body weight, my knees would give out. Back off a bit and I could walk all day with it. Some of the best money I ever spent but, way out of your price range. That cordura stuff took everything I could dish out with ease and still performs great today.

Almost any of the $200+ hard core backpacking packs can take the usage you will inflict. If saving up isn't an option, think warranty service ;)
 
I've had a Jansport camping backpack for the past 7 years or so, and I'm still using it as my schoolbag. Extremely durable, doesn't look very worn at all. The only problem is that the zippers are somewhat easier to open, and zip open under very heavy weight.

I'm somewhat puzzled by this because the bag wasn't too expensive, and I've been actively trying to kill it for half of those 7 years. Also, it's not waterproof, as I found out when my papers were soaked from a sudden downpour. I'll probably treat it with water repellent again.

BTW, I've been carrying 30-40 pounds of books for the past 4 years or so.
 
In all seriousness, I haven't been able to kill off my Jansport. It's just a normal bookbag, three pockets, no compartments -- I intentionally got the most basic model I could find. Was like $40 max.
 
Originally posted by Sid Post
I have personally carried a Lowe and discovered that at 62% of my body weight, my knees would give out. Back off a bit and I could walk all day with it. Some of the best money I ever spent
Click to expand...

Totally agreed. Lowe's are great backpacks. A bit expensive for your actual budget, but if you can find a used one, go for it!!! I've had my Lowe for over 10 years now. It travelled a lot. It looks awful now. All dirty and scratched. I brought this pack on canoe trips (it has been in water for a total of over two months, now), in airplanes, it cooked in the sun and froze in the snow, and had oil spilled over... it never gave up. I even put 200 pounds of weightlifting weights in it, once, for a Kung Fu demo. It did the job perfectly. Finally, it was still good but I got so fed up of seeing it that I gave it to a friend. I bought a new one... I got myself another Lowe ;^)

Best regards,

David
 
I second the LL Bean backpacks.

I've used mine to carry auxilliary ammo to plate shoots.....had in excess of 60 pounds in there, crammed in well beyond design capacity. Still running great years later. No split seams, zippers working.

If you DO manage to kill one, they fix it. Repair policy is unbelieveable.
 
The $50 price limit may be a problem. Normally I'd recommend a McHale or Kifaru for the big pack, but they are very spendy.

I'd check out www.reioutlet.com or maybe e-bay and hiking boards for used packs.

I find most packs reasonably comfortable. In college, I carried a similar load in a frameless Lowe Contour day pack. I carried a Medium ALICE in the army, too, and it never bugged me. That was pretty tough. I regularly threw it in and out of vehicles and it never ripped or blew out. Good hunting... :)

P.S. I can also vouch for Bean's general quality, although I have no experience with their packs.
 
The best packs that I have used have been by tactical tailor. wonderful packs with a lifetime. They have thick pads, tons of room, and more attachment points than you can use. Best pack ever I think.
 
Too bad about the price. Maybe you should get surplus ALICE pack and put some good straps on it.
 
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