Advice: buying Ruck Sacks

Captain Corelli

I am planning to buy a ruck sack in Dublin City; I was wondering if anyone had advice on where to go.
Security is an issue for me; having a massve sack on my back, I feel is an open invitation to mess with the pockets.
capel Camping on capel st seem to have great value; can any1 reccommend shops? i want one sized from 50-70 letres at E70-E120
cheers

bleary

I downgraded to a smaller rucksack a couple of years ago from 70 to 50 and everywhere i go people still seem to have smaller and smaller ones.
Makes a change from the girl I met in OZ with a suitcase we could all fit into .

Anyway mine was a cheapie (about 40 euro) from the road that joins capel st area, with a day pack that zips on the front which has proved really handy
50 litres is big enough and its just about small enough to keep it on when you are getting into Taxis which is my criteria (and not top loading also) .
It was a world traveller brand and has lasted the last couple of years abuse.

pixiearoo

53 degrees north in carrickmines is good. I got one there, with wheels, and day bag, not toploading, full cover for airports ect. adjustable back support and great padding. it was €180, any of the other ones i looked at including places on capel street looked as if they'd break v easily and were very unconfortable no adjustable back system...

happy hunting

Dizzy Lass

I got my rugsack in a shop on liffy street lower,
It cost me 60euro on sale from 90euro
It's 70litres which includes a day pack which zips off.
Has good padding & adjustable back system, waterproof cover.

PunyHuman

Millets on Mary St has a good range at good prices At least, they did eighteen months ago.

kelloggs

i got a 60L highlander one (which includes a day bag) called a Traveller or something in Ramblers Way on Mary st and i'm thrilled with it! lads in shop really seem to know what they talking about and give you best bag for your needs instead of trying to pitch you the more expensive ones.

it cost €50 and apparently like all highlander bags comes with a lifetime guarantee! things i like most about it is:

1. it has handles on side so you dont have to out in on your back all the time

2. you can cover up the straps so they aint all over the place going through stations/airports

3. the bag opens via a zip which goes around end of the bag so you can open it up like a suitcase instead of having to dig down into it!

maybe this all seems academic to most people but the last one i had was pants!

Evil_Bilbo

Jeez I'm impressed.

I went to the great outdoors and priced a decent one there - has the zip off day pack, 70 litres, zip all the way around so you can open it like a suitcase, adjustable straps and back support system and padding, a waterproof cover and a flap to contain all the straps etc - 130 quid - and this was the cheapest.

I was told to get a decent one from a good shop (coz I'm backpacking for 6 months). I thought this was a good deal - but ye say I could probably get one for around 60-100? (down around liffey st?). Are these good quality? Any guarantees with em? I will be living out of this thing for 6 months solid, so I dont want any straps or zips breaking on me.

D'ye reckon a 60-100quid one would hold up or should I go for the dearer option? (I'm trying to save as much as I can before going away, but this is one thing I dont really want to skimp on unless its definitely viable)

kelloggs

afraid i'm not an expert, one I got on mary st came with lifetime guarantee and lads said it was made out of some material that meant it wouldn't rip easily, and that it a hole was made it wouldn't rip whole way down bag. look highlander bags up i suppose, do they do bag reviews? someone must!

can appreciate the point re: 6 months though, an extra €40 or even €70 bucks ain't that much spread out, so long as it does actually buy you better quality. maybe i'm a cynic but i always imagined that in great outdoors and millets you were paying extra for the privilege of buying in a nice big fancy looking store with a marketing budget! my claims have absolutely no justification for this though!

BopNiblets

Man, rucksack shopping, that takes me back, is "Army Bargains" still around these days?
Haha, what a great shop for nutters to browse in.

My old 45l Jack Murphy FTW!

bleary

Mine is the highlander one as well
It got dogs abuse over a couple of months in south america .It was dragged on and off the top of buses under waterfalls and survived. It was from mary st too so reckon it was the same shop as above

peeps78

i got mine from the great outdoors too. it sounds very similar to the one you looked at for €130. i travelled with it for 16 months and its still in perfect nick.
you could always take note of the make etc and head round all the other stores and see if they have the same one cheaper. or you could always try haggling them down a few euros.
what ever you do, do not get a top loader. they might might be more secure but they are a pain in the ass when you have to find something that is packed the whole way down the bottom.