Deuter Futura 28 day pack

I was in the market for a new day pack for a while and being the picky shopper that I am, I wanted to make sure that I was getting the most value for my money. I looked around for quite a while before settling on the Deuter Futura 28.

There are numerous features that I found truly well designed and worth mentioning, including the best part, the ventilated back.

The entire bag is essentially suspended off the wearer's back and covered in ventilated mesh to let the air flow. I can vouch for the comfort level of this bag in hot weather. Other interesting features include the attached silicone nylon rain cover, the water bladder compatibility, the zipped internal divider and a host of smaller features. The bag is incredibly well made, with quality fabrics and sewing throughout.

Of course, it is not a heavy duty bag in any sense of the definition. This is a lightweight, day hiking bag with several technical features. If you need a bombproof bag, you'll have to look elsewhere and it will be heavier and warmer to wear, guaranteed. Otherwise, take a look at this line of bags by Deuter and hike in comfort!

The pretty good but not quite perfect laptop bag

I had already decided on a laptop bag when I purchased my Macbook, but since I could only order the bag I was looking for (a Booq Taipan Shadow S), I opted instead to find a bag locally that I could get my hands on before purchase. I just like to be able to visually inspect any item that I plan to purchase, if only to let me gauge the quality before handing over some money.

On a weekend trip to MEC, I decided to pick up a very nice bag by Onsight, the Saigon Micro.

There are three sizes for this particular bag and I hesitated a bit before the purchase as I wasn't exactly sure that my Macbook would actually fit in the smaller size. The interior includes a padded computer pocket and that was the crux of my dilemna; the pocket looked a little small, but I figured that if it was, I could always use a sleeve to protect the laptop and slip it in front of the laptop pocket. I asked the MEC staff, but no one had tried this size.

After looking over the bag, I decided to make the purchase anyway, as even if the laptop did not fit at all, the bag was still of fantastic quality.

Well, for clarification, when I did get home, I determined that the laptop pocket was in fact too small for my Macbook, but the bag was large enough to fit the laptop in a sleeve. Quality materials, several well designed pockets, strong and easily adjustable strap and excellent stitching really makes for an outstanding product. Even the interior lining has been thoughtfully designed, with a lighter colour fabric to make finding contents easy.

If you are in the market for a new bag, why not take a look at Onsight; they offer several quality products are very reasonable prices. A lot of manufacturers could learn a thing or two from them.

A new camera bag

Although I originally purchased a camera bag for my wife, I have to admit that it was not the greatest bag ever made. I'm not trying to say I got her a cheap bag (perish the thought!) but I've always thought that bag selection was truly a personal thing. There is no such thing as the perfect bag for everyone and armed with this thought in mind, I decided to shop around for a new bag for her. I headed over to Vistek, in Ottawa to browse through their pretty impressive selection.

One of the options my wife had commented on in a positive manner, at least with regards to my own camera bag, was the correct orientation of the bag's opening when worn as a sling. We both agree that any type of sling bag should be able to rotate from back to front, with the bag's open end facing up. I looked through the various sling bags that were available and eventually settled on a Kata Bags DT-213.

Although not strictly a sling bag in the traditional sense (it's designed as a torso bag to begin with, but that does not prevent it from being worn as a sling), it performs remarkably well in this regard. Very solid construction, from fabric cut and selection, to stitching and fininishing, lend this bag a very professional feel. Some thoughtful details, like the yellow lining material, which lets you see to the bottom of the bag for those lost accessories, really set this manufacturer apart from many others in the same field.

Since I gave it to my wife for Christmas, she hasn't had a chance to use it to its full potential yet, but I have absolutely no doubt that it will make more than a worthy replacement for that first bag!