My trusty LL Bean pack was showing its age after 7 years of weekly use as well as becoming somewhat of a joke amongst my hiking friends. It has served me well and I feel sad putting it out to pasture after being my faithful companion for so many adventures. Truth be told it was becoming a bit on the small side for the type of hikes I was doing. 15-20 miles and over 6000 ft gain average required me to carry more water food and clothing straining the capacity of my old friend and causing a zipper to fail.
I decided to get a larger pack to meet my needs. I do a lot of off trail and desert hiking so am very hard on my equipment. An ultra light pack would not do. I also carry up to 25 pounds so the pack would need to be comfortable. Strike two for the ultra light. I am not one to spend 200 dollars for so was looking for one 100 dollars or less. Strike three. 40l was the size I decided on so I started looking at that range. One thing I noticed is the stated sizes and dimensions among packs do not correspond. I had to physically measure my old pack to get a ballpark dimension for shopping. The admiral 40l looked big online! I choose it after comparing ones made out of recycled material, several name brands and several Chinese knockoffs that looked good but that I have heard tales of them coming unraveled due to poor construction. It was surprising that the name brands had very few models in this size.

On to the review!

The pack itself fits well and is very comfortable. It can carry a heavy load without the straps binding. My first hike was the leatherneck ridge next to the Palms Springs, CA tramway. This off trail hike is 7000 ft of elevation in 5 1/2 miles, a 9-hour hike total (up only we took the tram down). I was able to take 5 liters of water, lunch, jacket raincoat emergency kit etc. The pack was heavy but felt comfortable the whole time.

The pack is 300d nylon and feels very sturdy. There are two side and two belt pockets and a zippered bottom compartment that can be accessed separately from the outside or combined with the main compartment by unzipping an internal zipper. This zipper was difficult to open as it is tucked way inside. The outer compartment zipper is also difficult to operate due to the width of the hood. This is good for water diverting and I assume it will get easier or time. In fact, all of the zippers are well protected from the weather. If you are a pocket person there are not many pockets, two on the belt (one open and one zippered) and two on the side. The side pockets are integrated into the pack and open from the sides. You can stuff them but they will intrude on the main pack volume. They are best for maps, gloves, thin jacket etc medical stuff or candy. I would not use them for valuables, as the vertical openings would allow things to slip out. I would prefer the belt pockets to both have zippers so you don't lose things or inadvertently litter. The main compartment lid has a zippered mesh pouch with good volume for those things. There is a key fob inside that is handy but it is too long and is always swinging around when you are trying to access the pack. Moving further into the pack there is a bladder compartment and a compartment for the frame sheet and that is it. About the frame sheet, it consists of a fitted piece of plastic with two sleeves sewn onto it for the curved aluminum stays. The stays are arched enough to keep an air space between the pack and your back though you will still sweat where the pack touches. One thing I noticed was that the frame sheet was fitted very tightly in the space, too tightly for me. It looks like the corners will become frayed prematurely. My solution was to pull out the sheet which is rimmed with piping sewn on and cut about 1/4 " off of the corner radii and then glue the piping back on. This gave just enough space for the corner fabric to move and not get rubbed from the frame sheet. There are two pouches for water bottles and they will fit a full size nalgeen or a 1-liter Gatorade bottle. They also have a strap to hold the bottle in if you need to secure them from falling out. There is a convenient and simple attachment for hiking poles and a couple of compression straps on each side although it doesn't seem they would be that useful.

Overall, this is a great pack with the perfect combination of simplicity, weight, capacity, comfort and durability. I also like the uncluttered look. I will rate it fours stars against all other packs regardless of price and five stars for value. I ordered mine online from the company and it was actually cheaper than some other online retailers were. It was under seventy-five dollars delivered to my door due to a sale. This pack at 3000 cu in could also be used for a 1-2 night summer backpack.

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