David Martin
Though I enjoy hiking and being out in nature, I'm by no means an avid outdoorsmen. I mention so you know I'm a relative fair weather outdoors person (hehe). Having said that, I am someone who values quality and price regardless if its sporting goods, clothing, furniture, food, etc so I feel I can provide a good review from that perspective.
Last week I went to the Adirondacks with friends and hiked for about 3 hours, they all had smaller backpacks and I liked the idea of having something smaller for shorter hikes than carrying my larger 36L backpack. I thought it would be nice to have a day pack that I could use for both hiking and for when I ride my bike. After reviewing about twenty 18L or smaller backpacks I settled on this TETON 1100 back.
It literally arrived today and all I've done is open it but here's my review so far: WOW, great bag and exceptional price to boot! So this is made from what feels like a good quality nylon (not thin like something you could crumple up but like a good quality gym bag). I like that it's a compact bag, large enough to put a pair of shoes, some energy bars, a t-shirt or thin pullover, a water bottle, a few other accessories...enough room for going out hiking for several hours or even tooling around a city for a half day. Plus it has a 2L hydration pack included that's supposed to keep the liquid cool for up to 4 hrs (TBD). If you don't use the hydration pack there's additional storage for an iPad or book, etc.
Despite its smaller 18L size (which is what I wanted) 18.5" x 10" x 7", it has lots of storage compartments - from the back to the front of the bag there's the hydration pack zippered area (2L bladder included, no cleaning device), the larger zippered compartment, a smaller zippered compartment, an open area that can be adjusted using the pull straps, another zippered pocket (with 2 smaller compartments and a small clip for keys, etc), the bungy section on front, and 2 mesh side compartments (picture shows a 21oz camelback insulated squeeze bottle). A cool feature is the attached rain cover on the bottom front of the backpack in a velcro little pocket - it's attached to the bag so it won't be able to get dropped or blown away. Going back to the bungy part, I've never really know what the heck that's for, maybe to put wet stuff to dry? I saw on bicycle bags its used to store your helmet when you're not riding. Anyway, if you don't know a whole lot about how to use backpacks like me there's a couple ideas. Besides being able to tighten/loosen the bungy cord, it has a removable clip which I guess would provide even more room for it to stretch and hold down something even larger against the bag.
Again, I haven't used yet but the shoulder straps appear to be pretty sturdy for the size of the bag - take note that though the shoulder straps appear sturdy and well constructed, they don't have a whole lot of padding to them, perhaps an 1/8" (orange part in picture) surrounded by the mesh and then additional nylon and more stitching. The rear of the backpack has 2 nicely padded vertical parts to help with ventilation. There's a handle strap at the top to easily grab the bag, hydration ports at both sides of the top so you can choose which side you want the hose of the hydration bladder to come out from, and a drain drip hole at the bottom of the hydration compartment (assuming for moisture or leaks to drip out of and reduce the bag from getting too wet otherwise). The horizontal chest strap is a 2-way adjustable strap - not only to go around you chest (that's a no brainer) but can also be moved up or down about 8" on the grey strap to adjust where around your chest you want. It also has another adjustable strap at the bottom of the bag to go around your mid section.
I purchased the green color (nylon has a honeycomb pattern to it) and am very happy with it. There appear to be 2 small reflective pieces towards the bottom of the bag and you might be able to clip something to them as they're about 2" in length and stitched onto the bag though I'd probably refrain from doing so. The zipper pulls are nice - they have a nice design and made of a hard rubber with a slight tactile feel. Though I haven't taken out on the trails, I'm very pleased with the initial quality, design, look, and price! I don't think you'd be disappointed.
| Strap Type | Shoulder Strap |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 22 Liters |
| Pocket Description | Stash Pocket |
| Number Of Pockets | 6 |
| Tank Volume | 3 Liters |
| Manufacturer | TETON Sports |
| UPC | 817354014788 |
| Item Package Dimensions L x W x H | 18.2 x 12 x 2.7 inches |
| Package Weight | 0.98 Kilograms |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 19.5 x 12 x 9.5 inches |
| Brand Name | TETON Sports |
| Warranty Description | Limited Life Time |
| Model Name | TETON Sports Oasis 22 Hydration Daypack (Buck Brown) |
| Suggested Users | unisex |
| Number of Items | 3 |
| Part Number | 3222BB |
| Style | Hydration |
| Included Components | Water Bladder, Hydration Daypack, Rainfly |
| Size | 22 Liters |
