VAUDE Updraft 28 LW Backpack

Great deal at $23 for a cool backpack. Its 5 stars if you look at the deal here and its only 3 stars at the much higher retail price IMHO.The good points (and there are many of them) are the legitimate 28L size and the ultra light weight and feel of the pack in your hands or on your back. Its got acceptable zippers and zipper pulls with a lot of storage options on the inside and on the outside. I love the zippered mesh pocket in place of the right side water bottle open pocket. It also has a little zipped pocket on the left shoulder strap in front that I store my house key in. Its secure and easy to access. I wouldn't put anything heavy or bulky in there but for cash or key types of things, this is great because you don't have to take off the pack and your hands are both free this way. I wish all packs had something like this frankly. A lot of other manufacturers used to try and make these big enough for a cell phone (and some still do this) but its never felt right with so much weight in that spot to me and its never looked right there to me either. This Vaude Updraft got it perfect with the pocket being smaller, zippered and very subtle. I didn't even see it in the pictures before buying so this was a very pleasant surprise!I also like the sunglasses pocket on the outside front by the top.Too bad its not felt or scratch free lined but it is big enough to hold goggles or my iPad mini even. It looks like this is a length of the pack pocket with double zippers in the picture here on Amazon but its actually broken down into two pockets, each with single zippers in front there. This is great for organizing and not something I've seen before. I like the concept a lot but the stitching gives me a little concern between these two pockets. No problems yet but it looks a little flimsy to me. I also wish at least one of these was lined with scratch proofed material.The Updraft is also a very comfy pack to wear with nice simple, breathable padding and straps and it cinches down from the back once you find where you want it cinched. The green straps on the back are thicker than typical nylon straps and have solid buckles. They can hold skateboards or skis and I'm sure that they will but I like them a lot for trekking poles. The description suggested this was a pack for skiers but its just as good for Summer hiking, maybe even better because its so light weight.Some last points to note are the hard plastic insert (which could be removed if you want) in the back that gives it structure & helps with the loads. There are load lifter straps at the shoulder tops that help secure the pack closer to your back, too. There is a hydration sleeve with loops on the straps if you want to put a bladder in. You can also easily carry a MacBook Air 13" but it doesn't have a padded laptop area so I suggest a sleeve for protection if you do.On the negative side, although I like the concept of compression, Its hard to cinch it down with the system on this pack without taking it off (unless you are double jointed). The place where you adjust the compression for the entire pack is on the top of the pack behind your neck. I suggest that you just don't play around with it often because of this. The compression system also gets in the way of the little grab handle. That may not sound like a big deal but I like to grab that handle quickly when I want to pick up the pack and I don't want to have to navigate through the compression clip system to reach that little handle quickly. It would have helped to place the grab handle about an inch higher to avoid congestion in that spot. Another negative is with the waist strap. There are nice light hip hugging pads but the strap system of the waist belt is awkward to use. I just tuck the straps in the back and don't even bother since they just help keep the pack in place and don't really help with a load anyway. I've never had it move around on me and I don't run with this but I had to run across the street quickly the other day and the pack stayed in place perfectly.Overall, its a very light and useful day pack that is a fabulous buy for $23 shipped. If its still at that deal or even a little more, I recommend that you grab one fast.Hey Vaude, if you are reading this...you could make this pack absolutely fantastic with just a few modifications, as follows:1. Offer more colors than just blue or red. Also make your grey color darker as the lighter grey will show dirt and sweat faster.2. Scratch proof the lining of one of the front pockets and do a box-stitch between the two pockets there. Use the material Osprey does.3. Add an inch to the waist strap width, make it easier and neater to wear it, and add a little zipper on one of the hip-hugging pads there.4. Make the waist strap a removable option.5. Either include a bladder for hydration or add some padding in that bladder slot for laptop protection. Its stuck somewhere in-the-middle now.6. Consider making this like your Wizard packs with a superb zip-out option to add another 4 liters if needed.7. Consider adding a little key clip inside the shoulder strap pocket to secure keys even more there.8. Use a better material for the plastic insert than can be shaped and reshaped better so it would be custom fitting to anyone.9. Charge twice the $ for this pack if you make these upgrades because it will be one of the best packs ever made then. :)

Zaino cui non manca nulla per le gite di una giornata: leggero, comodo e ben strutturato

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