Afternoon, all!

I found the BCG (military lingo flashback) website as I've started my 'gear search.' My fiance and I are outdoorsy types in a basic sense of the word. I've been hunting since I was 13 (I'm...old, now) and she's an avid fisherwoman. Since we've gotten together, we've moved a lot and now we're finally settled here in west Texas. We've both decided that being outside and doing the things we love is something we want to dedicate more of our time and money to, but we want to be somewhat specific.

Kayaking and backpacking is the name of the game for us. We sat down to make some lists of things we'd need, and after kayaks, we settled on article 1 being backpacks. And, of course, we ran into trouble.

Here's the thing. We both want packs that are comfortable over long hikes, but that will back or cinch down to be carried on a yak. For me, I need something that'll be reasonably comfortable as a day pack, but also something that'll tote 5 days worth of lighter gear up a mountain for hunts out West. I don't want to spend 4 or 500 dollars on a pack, though. I've looked at Osprey, RedHead, Alp Outdoorz, EMS - a bunch of packs. I'm wondering if there is such a thing as a reasonable 'do it all' pack for someone who takes care of their gear.

The community seems great and I look forward to any advice. Thanks all!

-PC

There is no do-it-all wonder pack. A pack is one piece of gear that people will rarely give specific recommendations. The only thing that is important is fit, fit, and fit. How the pack fits you, how the pack fits your gear, and how the pack fits you with the gear.

The standard recommendation here is to get all your other gear first, then bring it all into a shop during slow periods of the day and try on packs with your gear inside. That could get a newbie into a bit of trouble, because newbies tend to bring too much stuff initially. If you follow the standard advice you could end up with a massive 85+L pack that's really comfortable for the first 10 minutes of the backpacking trip. There is some advantage of getting a smaller pack first and then being forced to only pack the gear you need in it later.

I can only second what BZH has said so well!