UKH

Following on from my thread on refugio poqueira can anyone recommend rucksack brands for mid price  range. Looking to get a pack for 16 year old daughter, thinking around 35 litres. Osprey seem everywhere in shops but priced than others. My wife and I have Lowe apline bags but daughter doesn't like the look!! Any recommendations? Women's fit a must have?

Hi, I have a North Face terra 40 I've found comfortable enough for refugio hiking. Don't think it's specifically womens fit but as I fall within the 'short female' category, I  would be fairly confident about it fitting a teenager. 

Is a camel not more traditional?

When it comes to the  hike i think i will be the pack animal!

Vaude used to do adjustable back sizes, not sure if they still do or do them in your price range.

Deuter, Patagonia and Arc’teryx are a few other brands you might want to look at.

The Patagonia Blackhole rucksack is phenomenal and comes in a variety of good colours. It can be used as a school rucksack aswell. The new teal and cherry versions look nice. Look on amazon or eBay for older versions which should be cheaper now (they still have cool colours).

http://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/product/black-hole-backpack-30-liters/49300.h...

Unfortunately all the stuff with features beyond a basic sack with hood and a couple of arm loops ends to be £80-130. 

Take a look at the Rock and Run website, they had some good deals recently. Also, Alpkit have a good range of reasonably priced sacks.

I have an Osprey sack and won't be buying another.

How come? I have always avoided them in the past for being too feature heavy but the build quality seemed very high.

more options:

https://www.bananafingers.co.uk/category/rucksacks

I have never really understood why you would want a short length rucksack as a female, as i don't want it to sit on my shoulders! I use a normal length bag and tighten the waist and chest straps. This distributes the weight everywhere except shoulders! We have hips that are designed for carrying weights, so I find it best to use them for that. 

Each to their own though, probably best to just get her to try lots and make her own decision. Try with weights in them and try different ways of adjusting them. Check that the waist belt isn't going to dig in when it's full etc.

The position, cut, angulation and padding of the straps and waist belt are subtly different on female packs due to anatomical differences. Not different enough you'd notice with a light pack, but it is noticeable with a heavy pack over a number of days. 

Also, generalising, women are shorter so a women's m-l may be the same as a men's s-m. Adjustable back lengths plus a proper fitting are the way to go. 

Edit: the thing that is hard with teenagers is that they're often as tall as adults but haven't developed the breadth across the shoulders to comfortably accommodate adult packs, from my experience. 

I regularly carry heavy packs over a number of days and I don't find a difference. For me it's all about adjusting it so that the weight isn't on my shoulders. 

As above, I don't want it on my shoulders, so longer back length and good adjustment works best for me.

Yes, a good chest strap is key on this point. 

The daughter needs to try lots on with weight in them and with different adjustments and see what works for her as we are all different. I guess I didn't make my point clearly, as I was very tired when I wrote that, but I was trying to point out that female fit is not essential, just one of many options. All should be tried, don't limit the options to female only. 

It’s differences between individuals being greater than the commonality of a “women’s fit”, isn’t it. My wife also finds women’s fit rucksacks disastrous because it just ends up being the wrong shape.

As you say, try on lots (loaded) and make sure the fit is right and the weight is on the hips.

I think it's the other way round, a proportionally longer back will put more weight on your shoulders than a shorter one. One of the guys at Aguille Alipine said that women tend to prefer wearing the hip strap higher up putting more weight on their waist, so shorter back means the hip strap sits a bit higher for the given range of shoulder strap adjustment. I have a long back for my height but I usually get a short back rucksack because i like getting it high up and off my shoulders.

I don't chose where my waist strap sits, my hips do! No matter where I put it, it will move to my waist. With it on my waist, the shoulder straps are well clear of my shoulders. I keep the chest strap tight, and that keeps all of the remaining weight spread across my body. I absolutely promise you that a standard length blokes rucksack fits me perfectly and does not sit on my shoulders.

Same here, although as the strap is then above my hips I still find most of the weight on my pelvis rather than the shoulders.

Would repeat others and say buy what fits. I generally find women's specific is either a very good or very bad fit (rarely any middle ground), and its always worth looking at men's for comparison.

One other point is that because she is probably still growing get  one with an adjustable back which can grow with her.