Great Walks Track Tested Deuter's new Vertrail 16L day pack.
Every summer the family goes on holidays to an island on the Hawkesbury River, just south of Sydney and whenever we’re there my daughter (now 14) and I row across the river on a kayak to a part of the mainland not accessible by car. We were given a hand drawn map some time ago of secret swimming holes and waterfalls to discover. The walk requires a bit of bush bashing, wading through streams and generally getting wet and dirty so this requires a special type of day pack that can take the punishment.
Enter Deuter’s new Vertrail 16L waterproof day pack (480gm). As soon as I took it out of the box I knew it was up for the task. It has the features of a drybag but with the comfort and functionality of a day pack. There’s plenty of room for clothes, phones and lunch on the inside and, like a dry bag, to close and seal it you roll the wide open top down half a dozen times then a secure clip locks everything in place. No water’s going to get in there!
My daughter and I took turns wearing the Vertrail and it was easy to adjust the vest-style shoulder straps to our individual shapes. Some shoulder straps on day packs can be quite thin and lack comfort but the straps on the Vertrail were wide and very comfortable. They also made the pack stay put when I was smashing through the bush. Two Deuter Steamer Flasks – collapsible 500ml water containers (sold separately) designed to fit in the shoulder straps’ pockets – kept our hydration up.
The pack also features a number of loops and hooks on the outside to hang things off like walking poles or even crampons if you were hiking in the snow. I like the fact that water just beaded off the pack like a high quality rain jacket and by the time Matilda and I got back to the kayak I found the contents of the pack bone dry. You can see all the research and development that has gone into the Deuter Vertrail and it follows a long line of quality packs that the German brand has been making for over 100 years.
RRP: $349.99
Website: tmosports.com.au
Review_Brent McKean