Mountainsmith Day Lumbar Pack, Heritage Black, One Size

This is the perfect day pack: plenty of room in the large areas of the pack, even for a water reservoir, if you prefer that over water bottles. I like keeping the heaviest things I carry (like water) closer to the center of my body, so I put lighter things (rain cover for the pack, xtra socks, rain jacket, sandals, etc.) in the secure water bottle holders on the outside of the pack. Anyway, there's generous room in the main compartment for extra clothes, first aid kit, and a meal, plus things like binoculars, journals, etc. Plenty of secure/zippered areas for must-not-lose-on-the-trail items (car keys, wallet, etc.) The drop down outer flap is great for a mid-weight jacket, or rain jacket, that needs to be readily available depending on the effort/heat I'm putting into the hike. The belt: come on! this is the best day pack belt on the market. Wide and lots of smooth hip padding and two additional external compartments for smaller items (though the zippered pocket does hold my iPhone 15, so it's not small!) on the belt at the front of the body. And the very best part: I have to wear NOTHING on my mid and upper back, where I generate a big percentage of heat while hiking. Also, my upper body can move without being encumbered by a pack--sometimes required on rock hops and in forests. When I travel by air to places I'll be hiking, the pack is my under-seat bag. My other good-hip-belted day packs with the same capacity could not fit under the seat. Very high quality craftsmanship mean my first one only finally wore out after 25 years of hundreds of miles of travel/hiking. (It's still in good enough shape to be my dog's travel bag.) I almost forgot: the bottom straps can hold a bottle of wine, a tarp, a pad for sitting, additional light shoes, towel, bathing suit, or many of the trail-specific things you like to take depending on your destination (baguette, anyone?)

Perfect bag to keep weight off the shoulder.Plenty of room to carry whole day necessity exploring another city or just hitting the hiking trail.This one is made to carry a bit more stuff, if you are looking for something small than you will have to choose a smaller models.Overall this one fits my needs I would recommend if you are looking to carry bit more stuff.

Great bag and very durable love it..

Nice large compartments, you probably will want the shoulder straps sold separately. I've got the tour as well and this is a little bigger but not to huge.. really like it..

We have this lumbar bag in three sizes and use mostly to carry our camera and a lens or two depending on which bag. We took the bag to Africa with us and it was perfect both when hiking and when we were on safari. We did also get the backpack straps for added support when backpacking and also added Peak Design strap clips to be able to also use the bag as a crossbody bag. I love these lumbar bags, you can wear as a sling as well.

So happy and it was indeed a successful gift to my brother.

I would recommend to others

I got another Mountainsmith Day bag because I loved the old one I have had for almost 15 years. Its more expensive then other brands but I figured it was worth the price as the old one lasted so long on an almost daily usage. Note: I also got the Straplets for the bag as well as I had them with the older one.When I got the bag, I pulled out the old one to transfer my day hiking gear to the new one and started to do the comparison between the bags. Right off the bat I can see where corners have been cut here and there over the years, little things like the old one had a nice looking Mountainsmith patch on the back, the new one.... an ink stamp???? The Lumbar buckle... is a joke... a bad one. The old one had a nice big buckle muck like you would find on a full backpack, the new one... I'm afraid it might break the first year.To be fair, they have added newer features like a audio/water hose opening on the back, a water bladder/tablet padded pouch inside, little pockets on the lumbar strap, etc. Its still a good bag, this is just a bit of a "warning" review that if you are expecting the same high quality from years ago, you might be disappointed.