REI Co-op  Trail 40 Pack - Women's

This pack is AWESOME! I LOVE IT! I purchased this bag because it's a good crossover bag. You can certainly use it for hiking as it was intended (and will be my next adventure), or you can also use it as a carry on, which I just did. I was on the road for 2 weeks and I had enough room and organization for seamless travel, and the rain fly came in handy. All of the little pockets through out are also a huge plus! This bag is my little gem, and the gray stone color is spot on! I would definitely recommend this pack!

I purchased the REI Trail 40 last month for a 3-day 72 mile "marathon" hike in the Pisgah National Forest to graduate from my outdoor leadership program. My goal was to go as light as possible as we were hiking day and night with very few breaks. This pack was a LIFESAVER. It was lightweight and comfortable. A bit of a tight squeeze for all of my gear, albeit I overpacked and as I dropped off unnecessary gear at the checkpoints I discovered the size was quite nice. I'm a huge fan of the way the bag completely unzips and all the pockets were incredibly handy. The trekking pole loops are very well designed, and I love the daisy chain loops down the front and the fact that it comes with a rain cover is definitely a plus. The Cavern Shade color is also very eye-catching and is what initially sold me on it in the store. You can't beat the price either! I had the option to stash my pack for a short leg up Cold Mountain and actually found myself regretting the decision as I was more comfortable hiking with the backpack than without it. My Trail 40 is about to head overseas with me to Israel, and I look forwards to traveling with it and using it more. I highly recommend this pack to anyone looking for a roomy daypack, an overnight pack, or a lightweight pack for short backpacking trips where you need very little supplies!

For dayhikes, this pack fits everything I need and is a pleasure to wear. My previous daypacks hung off my shoulders and made my back hurt. This pack is easy to adjust so that it balances squarely on my hips. One minus is that it's difficult to squeeze my 3-liter Platypus in the back external reservoir; it does fit, though. I've gotten the hang of widening the opening with one hand and pushing the bladder down with the other. At home in the city, I take the pack to the supermarket when I go out on foot or take the bus. It fits a lot of groceries, and I can feel like I'm training for my next wilderness adventure. Absolute right purchase for me.

I loved this pack in the store. I had it fitted by an REI salesperson and it felt great. The hip pockets are a perfect size, I can fit my Iphone in the pocket with room to spare (the smaller 6, not the phablet size). But the external pocket for the hydration bladder is really tight. When I squeezed the bladder inside, it deformed the back panel so it didn't fit well. Trying to fit one inside in the inner pocket is okay, but it is a little too small to fit it well. I think this is a great, very comfortable pack if you aren't looking to use the hydration bladders. One of my favorites. But if you are going to use hydration bladders, I would consider another pack.

I bought this for an upcoming 2 week trekking trip in Nepal. I packed it with a sleeping bag, fleece, puffy vest, toiletries, microfiber towel, iPhone/charger, external battery, SteriPen, and DSLR camera and batteries. It came out to about 15 pounds. One of the reasons I chose this pack was the hip belt pockets. They are big enough to hold an iPhone 6 and case. The other pockets provide adequate organization as well. The only downside to the pack and the reason I will most likely return it is that it has no side compression straps. The load pulls down instead of carrying close to my back. When fully packed, the load dips below the hip belt and onto my tailbone.

I purchased this pack for a recent hiking trip and was very pleased with its storage, features and cost. My only complaint with the pack is that the hydration pocket is extremely difficult to use. I tried every possible angle of wedging my 2L bladder into the pocket but it was impossible (even when the bladder was empty). I ended up putting my bladder into the back-most inner pocket and weaving my hose through the main zipper. Then, I connected the two zippers spanning the zipper gap with a carabiner to ensure that the backpack didn't come unzipped while hiking. Even with this flaw, the backpack was a great value and offered a lot of storage space.

I bought this pack for a 4-night 35 mile trek on the Milford Track in New Zealand, and it was wonderful for carrying my layers, a change of clothes, lunch and other necessities for hiking four days while staying in lodges. It was easy to organize, and was very comfortable on my shoulders and back. It was also perfect to use as my carry on luggage for the rest Of our NZOZ trip. The reason only 4 stars is that the included rain cover is almost useless. It rained a lot, and if we hadn't uses a waterproof bag liner, all our dry clothes would have been drenched. I would buy this pack again and would recommend it to a friend, but REI really should redesign the rain cover.

Good: lots of pockets, zipper access to the bottom of the bag, and plenty of space. Bad: -It was a pain in the butt to get my 1.5 liter camelbak bladder into the space for it--and I know that size is on the smaller end so I can't imagine trying to get a bigger one in it. And this is when the pack was empty. When it was full, it was near impossible. -Maybe it's just my body but I hiked with a not-so-full pack and my less meaty parts were definitely sore for a few days following (collar bones, lower back, hips). -When the top is cinched down, it is a pain to zip and unzip in that area. I gave it a few chances. Boo, it's going back.

I chose this pack because it works for both traveling or hiking. I just got back from two weeks in Asia with only this pack and a purse and it worked amazing! Although it felt like a normal sized backpack, it fit quite a bit of stuff in it and was comfortable the whole time. Not to mention it fit in the overhead bins of the airplane with no problems (I also checked it a couple times with the straps cinched down and it was fine). I really liked that you can unzip the pack open flat and load it like a normal suitcase. I have yet to take it hiking but I have a feeling it is going to work just as well.

The REI Trail 40 is the best backpack I've ever owned. For plans/traveling: It's the perfect size for carrying onto a plane and since it doesn't have a thousand straps etc, it fits wonderfully in the overhead bin. It also is amazing for packing since it opens up all the way. I've taken it on many different flights (never had any issues) and it survived 2 weeks traveling through Kenya. For backpacking: I brought this little baby on a 3-day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail. It perfectly fit my sleeping bag, pad, tent, dry clothes, rain gear, jet boil, food and 2 large mouth nalgenes. Note: I'm a very light weight minimalist when backpacking and did not bring a lot of extra clothes. The waterproof rain cover was perfect since it rained during the entire trip. The bag is comfortable and holds weight nicely. It also looks tiny for the 40 liters that it's able to carry. By the end of the weekend, everyone was asking me what bag it was and where to get it because they all had these giant bulky backpacks. I've never used the water sleeve, but agree that it does seem tight.