Pack size 75L?

[baboon]

Im palnning a trip for 4 - 6 weeks starting early to mid december (winter) and before i go buy a pack i would like to get some feed back on pack sizes.
im about 6 foot 2 and about 110kg and i was thinking of a 75L pack, would this be sufficent.
I am planning on france, germany, italy, the netherland and the UK. Maybe czech rebublic, austria and switzerland depending on time.

[mslibrarian]

I went for 4 weeks with a 65lb pack and did fine. I just took less clothes and did laundry more often. I also had two prairs of shoes and bought some stuff to take home with me.

My pack was 60lb main + 5 lb removable day pack. Ididn't use that at all.

[Eagle]

baboon, Welcome! A few thoughts on your Pack question.

Normally I'd consider a 75L Backpack to be on the "large" side. However, considering that you'll be travelling in winter and will therefore need to pack extra clothing it might be a good choice.

You didn't indicate which Packs you were considering? Some of the features that many here (including me) consider important are a detachable Daypack (which works well for carry-on, since you'll most likely have to check your 75L Pack). Also a "stowable" harness system is a really good idea so that you don't have to get your Pack "saran wrapped" during air travel. The reason for that is that airport conveyor systems can "tear" the straps off Backpacks, so it's a good idea to secure the straps in some way. Some packs have a zippered pocket designed expresssly for that purpose. One of the other criteria to look at is whether you prefer a top loading Pack (usually with drawstrings at the top) vs. a panel loading Pack (with zippers which provide a minimum level of security when they're locked).

One very important point to note, is that whichever Pack you choose MUST be properly fitted according to your torso length, which is a more important indicator than your overall height and weight. Basically, torso length is measured from C7 vertabrae to the top of your hip bones. The Pack should be adjusted so that the majority of the weight rests on your hips, NOT your shoulders. The better packs have "load levelling" straps that allow the weight to be balanced to some extent between the shoulders and hips. I use an Eagle Creek Pack, and have been very pleased with it so far.

One final point regarding your proposed Itinerary - fitting 8 countries into a 4-6 week Itinerary is going to be "challenging", to say the least! You'll have to allow adequate travel times between destinations, as some of your trips may be close to a full day. Most here suggest allowing at least 4-5 days for the major cities (London / Paris / Rome). There's SO much to see and do (although I'm sure some attractions will be less active in the winter). Hopefully MTH will see this post, as I'm sure she would have some good advice on that point.

Cheers!

[mslibrarian]

Yes! Eagle is so right. That's the criteria I thought over when I picked my pack and it's made two trips to Europe (I took it and so did my friend).

Mine is zipperd for easy loading, it's straps and everything packs away easily and it's adjustable for your height. That came in handy! I found as the pack got heavier, it was better forme to adjust the harness!

My pack is a Tatonka Great Escape pack. FEatured here:

intranet.tatonka.com/infosys/infocgi/artinfoe.dll?1140&0