Guide Pack - Backpack

Customer Reviews

Great hauling bag,

• Rating

School books, groceries, Christmas trees, tents...this bag has helped me bike home a lot of things any other bag would have forced me to leave. However, it's straps are stiff and set too wide for my shoulders (I'm 5'7, medium build), and hangs too low with no real adjustment ability. The padding in the straps is sinking, too. Now in its 6th month of daily use, I can barely stand to carry a load a long way in it. I wish it were more comfortable for my lunch + binders + laptop daily school load, but I think i'll have to try out a more casual bag and save this one for special trips where carrying capacity is more important than comfort

Posted on 1/30/11 by Lawrence

exp/looks like it might be bulky

• Rating

it might be alright for an adult but what about a small teen,it appears to be bulky if fully loaded

Posted on 7/30/10 by sgt hoot

Great re-issue fo the old Nessmuk pack

• Rating

This is a beautiful interpretation of a great traditional pack design --- just like the pack that Nessmuk used as he canoed around the Adirondacks. It's fun to use for that reason alone. This pack is just the right size for a well-equipped day-hike, a day-long backcountry fishing excursion, or a well planned Scout- or bushcraft overnighter. Like most Duluth packs, it holds more than you think it's going to.
One of the other reviewers mentioned some initial irritation from the shoulder straps/buckles. I don't discount that concern, as I have encountered it with some other packs, but I didn't with my Guide pack. So, it may be a matter of body type and shape. As I do with my Rambler pack, I stick a soft folding canoe or camp chair right inside the back. It helps the pack keep its shape and prevents anything hard or sharp from sticking into your back. And then, no matter where you are, you have a comfortable & dry sit-upon.
This would be a perfect pack for a Scout leader, or a nice gift for an Eagle Scout or Explorer. I've had mine only about six months, but I absolutely love it. The padded leather shoulder straps are a nice step up from the canvas webbing straps, and seem very durable.
Love the pockets, too.

Posted on 4/29/10 by GrowUp-DaveyBoy

I take it everywhere.

• Rating

When I opened the box, it was exactly what I had imagined, until I put it on. The buckles at the bottom of the straps, dug into my ribs. I knew that they were going hurt me, but I was still surprised at how much. After my first three mile snowshoe trip I didn’t ever want to see the thing again. It was OK to wear with a heavy coat, so I kept taking it on trips, hoping it would break in. It didn’t seem to me that there was anything that was going to make those buckles become comfortable. I wore the pack around the house doing chores for three months, and I gradually noticed the pain had changed to an irritation. Even though it is a great pack, if it is irritating to wear, it is not going to get worn. I stayed with it, and at about month four, it suddenly became completely comfortable. Now I love it.
On a recent trip to Arches, I had a fellow hiker comment that it was the kind of pack Lewis and Clark might have had. I enjoy the obvious sold construction and the classic style.
It belongs out of doors, and if that is where I am, it’s with me. I don’t even notice it back there. It has almost become a part of me.

Posted on 4/5/10 by Old hiker