Used for its intended purpose, this is one of the best hiking/backpacking deals I’ve ever come across. This daypack came in handy just for what I intended. Temperatures can swing from chilly mornings to sweltering afternoons. Consider bringing several sets of clothing so you have options for hiking and spending time at camp.
When you have to answer nature’s call, make sure to stay at least 200 yards away from a water source and bury any solid waste at least 6 inches deep. The entire trail is open to hikers and offers easy and moderate hiking conditions. Much of it is also accessible for mountain biking and horseback riding.
In a sheer stroke of luck for this test, we are having a very aggressive heatwave in Southeast Michigan with temperatures around the 90’s during the day and staying in the 70’s overnight. I’m using my North facing deck as the staging area which receives direct sunlight at almost all hours of the day. I also placed a small weather system on the deck rail to help get a sense of how hot surface temperatures are in the area. On one of the hottest days, the remote sensor reported temperatures exceeding 107 Degrees Fahrenheit while the air temp was in the high 80’s. When I first got the bag, I had issues with shoulder straps that pulls the bag up higher/lower on the back. But now it’s settled and almost never moves on me.
I use it as a day pack when doing multi-day hikes. It’s light enough that I don’t mind putting it in my backpack and it takes up almost no space at all. And on summit day, I sure am glad I have a daypack! For day hikes this is just as good as (and lighter than) my Osprey Daylite that retails for almost four times more. Back in 2020 my wife and I decide on a last-minute backing trip to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.
I have used the hydration compartment for items like my iPad. By default, this unexpectedly ended up being my go-to daily bag for several months. It’s been stuffed to ozark trail canopy capacity with almost everything I had to carry, including, but not limited to, outerwear, lunch, groceries, laptop, iPad, a Bose speaker, and combinations thereof.
I have to say that I am very impressed with the performance of the Ozark Trail 45Q cooler. This cooler is not only smaller in its overall size but also a fraction of the price of the competition. Cooler’s have become somewhat of a status symbol in the outdoors and many equate the bigger brands with better quality. A higher price tag should mean a higher quality product, right? No, that is not always the case and any outdoorsmen, gear junkie, or general abuser of products will tell you the same thing.
I like how almost every strap can be adjusted to fit the user. Most of our hikes are seven miles or less but we are combing the hikes so I’m wearing the bag for hours. The trails have been up hill/downhill near vertical hikes to rock hopping ozark trail backpack and scrambling over rocky terrains and the bag has always stayed in place. Be aware, this is a daypack, intended for lighter loads and shorter distances. It isn’t built to be on your back 8 hours a day, and it won’t support 25 pounds.