Osprey Atmos 65

Starting at $179.90 here at Amazon.com (MSRP $239).

While we rarely do the rental car thang when traveling, there are times when the rental car is the smart (and economical) decision — for example a 10-day trip around Puerto Rico, or one-week consulting gig between Johannesburg, Mbabane and Maseru (South Africa-Swaziland-Lesotho) — and these trips are ideal for the small rolling suitcase. Transporting luggage in these instances is merely about getting the bag from the overhead bin to the airport rental office, and from the trunk of your 3-cylinder economy clown car in the guesthouse parking lot across the foyer to Room #3. Minimal stuffing and re-stuffing of gear, no strained shoulders, no muss, no fuss.

This type of travel is the grand exception for us (Lori and I rarely travel this way overseas), though we have found it difficult in the past to swallow our pride and throw off the romantic image of the free-spirit overlander for what is going to be most practical and make the most sense for the situation.

For all other situations (the one's we live for!), the venerable and mighty backpacker's backpack is the way to go.

The Pack

Lori and I currently both entrust our shoulders and sanity (and dirty dungarees) to the Osprey Atmos 65. Lori's had her pack for longer than I have and has been quite happy (along with 34 other reviewers who have rated it an average of 5 out of 5 stars). One thing we have found is that the pack itself is not very water resistant, and either a good weather treating product or better yet, the rain cover accessory, is a must. Lori and I both use the Osprey rain cover and haven't yet had any issues with moisture, even in tropical downpours. 

I've read some travelers' postings on the web which claim that a 65 liter bag is too large for overlanding, but we disagree. Yes, for many situations all 65 liters is not absolutely necessary. However, if you're like us and don't have a money tree growing year round in your backyard, and you need something versatile enough for all types of travel and maybe even perhaps the occasional multi-day back-country camping trip, you'll want the option of the extra liters. The great thing about this pack is that you use what you need down to about 40L or up to 70L+ depending on how high you pack the thing. 

The only beef I have with the pack is that the top cover doesn't snap or zip off into a small pack (I had a Rokk pack in which the top cover zipped off into a fanny-pack/satchel and it was really convenient). It seems that as the years go on this feature gets harder to find, which is a shame, but no piece of equipment is ever 100% perfect.

The North FaceRecon Backpack

As of March 2012, $67.99 here at Amazon.com.