If you’ve read my Eye & Pen for a while now, you will probably notice this post as being something more of a rarity – and to be honest, you’d be right... I’ve not focused much on gear reviews, however that will slowly, but surely be changing. I think it’s important to be ever expanding and offer as much information as possible – for what might not help you really, will likely help a few other individuals, and in that, makes these worth my time and research.
So there I was... I ran to the reception desk of my hostel in Kinsale, Ireland, like a child on Christmas morning. I knew today was the day and I couldn’t help but feel a building anticipation, as I had been following the progress of my shipment to this day. A large grey plastic bag had arrived with my name on it, so I gathered it up, skipped to my room, giggled a little and tore into it. My new rucksack had arrived from the good ol’ folks over at Blacks. My new rucksack was the Montane Torque 40L Rucksack.
Up until this point, I had a small rucksack/backpack hybrid, with an additional side bag – they had received a bit of a beating after 6 months of constant travel on the road, through 10 countries, so it was fitting time to upgrade my gear a bit before heading off through Ireland to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Iceland.
A 40L rucksack isn’t exactly a massive pack, and it wouldn’t service me well if I was on a long camping trip, loaded with gear packs, a tent and a sleeping bag, but for what I had ahead of me and how I prefer to travel, with as little as I carry, this size was perfect. My initial thoughts on the sack were that it was definitely quality made, and It felt comfortable on my back. The materials are solid and the hardware and attachments seemed to be made well enough to last a good while. It’s black and sleek, rather nice looking, with neon yellow-green ascents – I wouldn’t say no to an all black pack though.
However, I felt that it had two minor drawbacks with its design... #1: I thought that it needed to have more compartment sleeves, to organize some of my smaller gears, wires and papers – it has two small zip compartments in the hood of the pack and a backing slit, designed for a laptop. I made it work and that was fine, and that didn’t hurt my overall happiness with it. #2: The way the rucksack’s compartments and openings and latches are setup, makes it impossible to fully secure your pack from slippery thieves and wandering hands – it has a cloth loop that latches to a hook on the front, which makes it impossible to put a legitimate lock on it that no one could tamper with. It’s so easy, that you could pull the hood of the pack to the side a bit, untie the drawstring loop that encloses the main compartment and grab whatever you want out of it.
I received my rucksack over a month before writing this, so that I could have some time to test it out and travel with it, so that I could offer my true thoughts and feelings on it. And I have to say that I love the thing! It’s the perfect size, high quality and is comfortable to trek with, even with some heavy weight on your back.
Up until this point, I had a small rucksack/backpack hybrid, with an additional side bag – they had received a bit of a beating after 6 months of constant travel on the road, through 10 countries, so it was fitting time to upgrade my gear a bit before heading off through Ireland to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Iceland.
A 40L rucksack isn’t exactly a massive pack, and it wouldn’t service me well if I was on a long camping trip, loaded with gear packs, a tent and a sleeping bag, but for what I had ahead of me and how I prefer to travel, with as little as I carry, this size was perfect. My initial thoughts on the sack were that it was definitely quality made, and It felt comfortable on my back. The materials are solid and the hardware and attachments seemed to be made well enough to last a good while. It’s black and sleek, rather nice looking, with neon yellow-green ascents – I wouldn’t say no to an all black pack though.
However, I felt that it had two minor drawbacks with its design... #1: I thought that it needed to have more compartment sleeves, to organize some of my smaller gears, wires and papers – it has two small zip compartments in the hood of the pack and a backing slit, designed for a laptop. I made it work and that was fine, and that didn’t hurt my overall happiness with it. #2: The way the rucksack’s compartments and openings and latches are setup, makes it impossible to fully secure your pack from slippery thieves and wandering hands – it has a cloth loop that latches to a hook on the front, which makes it impossible to put a legitimate lock on it that no one could tamper with. It’s so easy, that you could pull the hood of the pack to the side a bit, untie the drawstring loop that encloses the main compartment and grab whatever you want out of it.
I received my rucksack over a month before writing this, so that I could have some time to test it out and travel with it, so that I could offer my true thoughts and feelings on it. And I have to say that I love the thing! It’s the perfect size, high quality and is comfortable to trek with, even with some heavy weight on your back.
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