Choosing a backpack

Hello everyone! I'm a newbie here who will be backpacking Europe this summer. I'm currently looking for backpacks to use on my trip and was hoping to garner some advice, so here's some background:

I'm going with a friend for 2 months beginning in early June. We will be travelling in Spain, Italy, and France. We will only be staying in hostels in major cities so we will not be camping. The bag will simply be used to hold our clothes, toiletries, accessories, etc.

Our primary concern in selecting a backpack is price as we're both broke, recent college grads. We just want something that will hold up, fit our stuff, and preferably come with a daypack. We have about 10 travel days over the course of the two months so it's not like we'll be lugging it around every day. Most of the time we will be carrying around a daypack.

I've been doing some research and this pack seems to have what we're looking for. It's very cheap too, but I'm a bit worried that I'm missing some major reason why it's so cheap.

Any thoughts on this bag or suggestions for others?

Thanks!

This site is actually about backpacking as wilderness trekking, the standard American definition of "backpacking" and not budget travel. While most of us have traveled at one time or another, that is not our primary concern here.

There are some articles on the home page of this site, left-hand column about selecting and fitting backpacks. Note that the most important aspect of a backpack is fit, fit, fit! A poorly fitting pack means a painful journey. For your purposes, the pack must also hold up against the assaults of airline baggage handlers, who are NOT gentle. The lightweight backpacks most of us here use would probably not qualify.

As for a daypack, there are a number of those around whih are basically lightweight nylon sacks with shoulder straps, which work just fine for day trips while traveling but can be rolled up into a tiny wad in a corner of your backpack. Those will be less expensive, less bulky and lighter than trying to find a backpack with attached daypack.

I suggest you consult budget travel sites such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Let's Go and Rick Steves. The last site has excellent articles on packing light and taking only carry-on luggage.

My apologies. I'll check the sites you suggested.

Thank you.

Despite your question not necessarily fitting into this forum, I think your trip could open a new world to you as far as traveling and backpacking. That's how I got into backpacking to be honest. I fell in love with traveling when I was young and it has increased from there. Good luck with your trip! Wish I could go with you!