REI Co-op  Traverse 32 Pack - Men's

Hands down the most comfortable day pack I've ever owned. I loaded this pack with 50 pounds and hiked nearly every day for two weeks in a mid-west winter climate. Thanks to well designed hip belt all of the weight is carried on your hips. I never felt the weight on my shoulders or back. While hiking my posture was perfect. The pack is loaded with thoughtfully placed quick to get to compartments. Having the rain cover included was a bonus, having as a separate component meant I could use it as a dry surface to sit on. Got the large which was plenty big with room to spare with multiple layers of heavy outerwear. Quality of materials and stitching are high quality.

This pack is advertised as a day pack or a couple nights at most. But it is capable of much more than that! I hiked the entire Colorado trail (500mi) with this pack and loved it. And I’ll be using it for the Arizona Trail (800 miles) this year. If you are an experienced hiker, who brings only the essentials, you could comfortably thru hike with this pack. Read on for details… I have done multiple, big thru hikes, but I am definitely not an “ultralight”backpacker…..simply because I cannot afford all of that super light/expensive gear. But, after thousands of miles, I have learned how to pack only what I need. When I saw this pack on sale, I decided to test it out a weeks before starting the Colorado trail, because it was much cheaper than the UltraLight stuff, yet still pretty light. I took it on a few overnight test hikes and was able to fit all my gear, including 7 days worth of food in it. It was packed to the limit, but it was still comfortable and rode great. The load lifters are clutch. The pack could fit even more if there was adjustable straps on the back of the “brain” where it connects to the rest of the pack. Occasionally I carried my hiking partner’s food to help them out and I couldn’t cinch down the top of the pack all the way because there was no adjustable straps on the back of it, only a fixed piece of cloth. The only other issue I had with this pack was the sternum strap would pop off sometimes…and that was when the pack was overloaded with my partner’s food and I slid the strap down too far. The sternum strap also fell off in transit when I checked the bag for my flight home. So if you’re flying somewhere to start a hike, I would take the sternum strap off and store it inside the pack. I just ordered a replacement strap for $5 so it wasn’t a big deal, especially since I had already finished my hike.

I bought this pack for a recent 10-day walk on the Camino de Santiago and it didn't disappoint. It is comfortable to wear and easy to pack and unpack each day. I like that this pack doesn't stick out too much in back so it didn't affect my center of gravity as much as other packs I saw would have. At the same time, the pack gave my back enough room to breath so sweat could evaporate easily. 32 Liters turned out to be a good size for what I carried, and there was a little extra space so I could easily jam a jacket in without taking much time. The included rain cover fits well and kept my stuff dry when it rained the last two days. We traveled by bus & train to Portugal for a week after the camino and the pack made it easy to get around. I think there are a couple things that could be improved. 1. The sternum strap is easily adjustable by sliding it up or down on a kind of cloth "rail" but I had one side of it come off the rail once when it caught on something when I took off the pack so I had to take precautions with it since losint it would be bad! 2. The front pocket needs a little more stretch for putting extra stuff in it. I ended up not using it for more than a tube of sunscreen or similar.

I have a 2018 Traverse 35 (great pack!) that I wore out (55 U.S. National Parks with it!). I bought this Travers 32 sight unseen. MAJOR DESIGN FLAW: The chest straps are secured to the shoulder straps by plastic clips that slide on a small, straw-shaped gathering of material. If the clips are torqued in anyway, they separate here from the shoulder straps. The chest straps should NEVER separate here. I found this out yesterday on a 10-mile hike where the chest straps separated from the shoulder straps about 20 times. Also, the back pocket / flap no longer has a zipper and the capacity was reduced 3 liters. I can’t believe this pack was field tested and this flaw was accepted. I’m returning it, it is unusable.

I bought this pack on a Monday and it arrived lightning fast on that Thursday. I broke it in on a spring hike with winter conditions on the “Franconia Loop” (Little Haystack, Mt Lincoln, Mt Lafayette), a hike I’ve done numerous times, which my GPS measured as 8.4 miles with 3,832 feet of elevation gain. The pack worked out excellent. The extra space I had been needing in a daypack was perfect for winter conditions, where I have more gear that needs to be stowed off and on. The design of this pack works really well for me, as I solo hike 99% of the time. I found it very comfortable and the weight distribution is handled well. I really like snaps on the mesh side pockets. If I keep one snapped, it holds a Nalgene snug, and if I unsnap the other, I can get another Nalgene in and out easily, for hydrating without stopping. The dual hip belt pockets are awesome for keeping snacks, my knife, and headlamp handy. I was able to reach the brain and unzip the top pocket to swap out glasses and sunglasses, as needed, without having to take the pack off. The large mesh pocket on the back is great for holding my seat pad and microspikes, when not in use. The long side zipper is nice for taking items out of the main compartment without having to unclasp the brain. Overall, I am super happy with the first trip out using this pack and I foresee many more fantastic day hikes with it! In warmer months I think it could even be used as an overnight pack.

Just bought this pack, and then saw many complaints that the sternum strap can pop or slide off the rail. I can report that this is very true. The strap end connectors can slide off the lower rail end and can also pops off if I give the strap a little yank. This is clearly a design flaw or material defect. Fortunately, you can slide it back onto the rail without any tool as long as you don't lose it on trail. Aside from this issue, the backpack seems to be a very good backpack. If I decide not to return the backpack to REI, I might connect the sternum strap to the backpack by a thin wire so that the strap wont get lost if it pops off.

Very comfortable pack. Almost overly adjustable for a day pack. However, suspect this feature will become more valuable with additional Use. Read the reviews about the chest strap coming undone but bought anyway. Pulled pushed and twisted the chest strap connection in the store with no issues. About 50ft into my first hike a minor adjustment resulted in the chest strap disconnecting. Easily slipped back on and did not disconnect during the rest of the hike. A minor inconvenience. However, given the number of complaints, REI should review the design. BTW wife’s pack with same chest strap design did not experience any issues. Otherwise, a comfortable, versatile day pack. D

This is a great pack. Water bottle holders are perfect, even for 1.5 liter bottles. The brain is roomy enough, though I wish it were detachable. Cinches up nicely along the sides. Great support. Carried it for hours and didn’t feel even a little achy after. Distributes the weight perfectly. Love the side zip for easy access. But the one frustration has been one of the sternum straps easily comes loose from the attaching rail on the shoulder strap. Even buckling them would at times pull it loose. If the strap catches on anything it’s liable to come off and I almost lost it several times on a trip. It’s such a small thing in an otherwise great backpack but if you lose the strap it’s not a usable piece of equipment.

I was looking for a pack for long day trips. The great staff at the Tysons Corner VA REI recommended this pack and I'm glad they did. I did a couple of short test runs with no problem. The real test was a trip to Utah. Took the pack in 100+ Fahrenheit degree heat to do Angels Landing, the Narrows and several other hikes in Zion. It also accompanied me through Bryce, on a 15 mile kayak trip down the Colorado and a short kayak / hike through Antelope Canyon. It handled all of it with ease. I carried a 3L osprey bladder plus camera gear, snacks and extra water for all of it and hardly noticed it was there. I'm 5'8" 150 lbs - bought a medium and it fit better than any pack I've ever owned or used.

I was attracted by the size and the fit of the pack. It is easy to get find various items in the pack, as well as to organize the pack. The pack carried the items I needed for various weather conditions and medical needs. When I filled it with my checklist of all items on a long day hike, I could not have been more satisfied. I have hiked and snowshoed with the pack. Met all my expectations, rode well on my back, interesting enough it was more comfortable at the end of my hike than at the beginning. Maybe it just needed to be broke-in. The pockets on the hip straps could be a little bigger but I knew that when I purchased the pack.