Travel equipment doesn’t have to be expensive and complex. Quechua, the home brand of Decathlon sports and outdoor shop, makes very simple and therefore lightweight and cheap backpacks. The Arpenaz backpacks don’t have side pockets. They consist of just one large main compartment with a additional 2nd compartment. The bags are padded with a small layer of foam on the back and made out of water repelling fabrics. On top is a small loop for hanging your bag on a hook in a public toilet or so. Unfortunately there is no large grip handle on top to pick up your bag easily. The Arpenaz backpack series has a 10, 20, 30 and 40 liter variants and is available in all kind of colors.
For the 10 and 20 liter the 2nd compartment is a front pocket. For the 30 and 40 liter variants the 2nd compartment is located in the cover lid. Al the variants except the 10 liter have mesh pockets on both sides. All backpacks except the 10 liter variant have a minimalistic hip belt. Since the volume of all these backpacks are not that big and there is no option for adjusting the shoulder straps at a different hight you might not using it at all.
In the pictures below you can see some actual travel usage of the Arpenaz 20 daypack. To prevent the zippers from unwanted opening you can attach a extra clip on the 3 ropes of the zippers. The handle on top is very small. Good for hanging your backpack on a hook or so but not very comfortable to lift it up in your hand. Since the backpack is very cheap you don’t have to hesitate to do some modifications. The grip handle in the picture was made from the minimalistic hip belt that wat cut of the bag. Anyone with a sewing machine can fix this for you in a minute. The side pockets are deep enough to carry items like a small water bottle and a folding umbrella. In this way you have those items always in reach of hand.
Other Arpenaz backpack variants
There is also a 5 liter kids version.
There is also a ultra lightweight foldable version.
More info:
www.packinglite.co: Quechua Arpenaz 10 review
www.packinglite.co: Quechua Arpenaz 20 review
www.packinglite.co: Quechua Arpenaz 10 Ultra Compact review
www.olympusmountaineering.wordpress.com: Quechua Arpenaz 10 review
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