TETON Sports unisex-adult Explorer 4000 Backpack Internal Frame Backpack

Terrific pack! I'm 6'1", 200 lbs, and it fits me perfectly. I do a lot of week long+ kayaking trips, and this bag offers more than enough space to hold all of my gear. The main, upper area fits a FULL 40L dry bag. I laid out all of my gear and even packed food, water, and snacks for a week long trip, and I still had room. I used the lower area, usually reserved for sleeping bags, and I put my 20L bear bag full of goodies with room to spare. Large pockets on the outside allow me fast access to gloves, headlamps, water filter, and maps. The two pockets on the waist man's will get used a lot more than you realize, and the water bottle holders each perfectly fit a Nalgene bottle or a large canister of bear mace. Straps are comfortable, with good adjustment, and the padding is more than sufficient. Almost forgot about the built in rain fly; good stuff. So, now I'm fully packed, about 50 pounds, and it's very comfortable on my hips. If you're a rounder individual, the chest strap connecting the shoulder straps may not be long enough for you, but I still highly recommend this pack. Perfect for longer excursions, or a fully prepped bug out bag. I'm buying another one, maybe a touch smaller, for the Mrs.

Teton Sports Explorer 85L THE GOOD *Price *Lots of Pockets *Quality *Decent Comfort (when packed with heavier weight lower down) *85L is the right size for my needs *Included rain cover THE BAD *Sweat Buildup where the pads touch your back *Mesh pockets not very easy to get Nalgene bottle into while on the move *Could use more height adjustment on the shoulder straps *Not much color choice on the 85L size CONCLUSION I highly recommend this pack. While there are a few things that could use improvement, on the whole, I don't think there is a better combo of price/features/performance out there. Read on for details. I thought pockets on packs had gone extinct. Thank you Teton Sports for continuing to make a backpack with external pockets for keeping me organized and keeping my important gear easily at hand instead of having to dig into the middle of the pack to find my raincoat/toilet paper/map/battery/flashlight/camera/water filter/etc./etc.! ALL of the major outdoor gear makers are moving towards packs that have 1 big compartment and that's it. Or maybe they have one token pocket in the lid. Like they think we are all ultralighters and will pass up a product because they added 4 oz. to it for pockets and zippers. What's crazy is many of these minimalist packs are heavier than the Explorer 85L *cough*cough Aether 85L *cough. So, you give up convenience AND still get a heavier pack all for 3 times the cost of the Explorer 85L I am replacing an Osprey Atmos 65 AG that was comfortable but often too small for all the gear/food/clothes I wanted to bring with me on a trip. Because I wanted an array of pockets, this Teton Sports pack was about the only one left on the market that met my needs at any price. It is fantastic that it is relatively inexpensive too. There were a few others with pockets on Amazon, but none from any company I recognize. Teton Sports has been on Amazon for a while and at least has a legit website and looks like a good company, so I decided to take a chance on this pack. The 85L size of the Explorer is great so far. I've taken 2 trips with it and just finished packing for a 3rd and haven't filled it to capacity yet. It is nice to know I have space left if I need it, like for more food on a longer trip or bulkier clothes for a Winter trip. The quality of the Explorer appears to be good so far. Everything felt solid and the buckles didn't feel like they were in danger of breaking when cinched down tightly. Comfort while hiking was decent, though the Atmos was a bit more comfortable, particularly the mesh back that reduces sweat build up. The pads that contact your back on the Explorer trap sweat and soaked my shirt. You really notice it when you take your pack off for a break and the back of your short becomes freezing from the wet/evaporation. But most packs have this problem- the Atmos AG was an outperformer in this area. At first, the pack felt like it was pulling me over backwards. I moved stuff around and put my heavy bear canister filled with food in the sleeping bag compartment and my lighter sleeping back in the main compartment and that fixed the pulling backwards problem. This pack likes the heavier stuff down low. I found the shoulder straps tended to sit too low, even on the XL setting. I'm not that big (5'10") so was a bit surprised by that. I was able to move the height adjustment up past the XL by utilizing less of the adjustment loops and got the pack comfortable. I don't think it was designed to be used that way, but it works and was comfortable for me. There are a couple of other nice touches on this pack. The outside pockets have pass-throughs behind them that let you slide trekking poles or tent poles behind them for easy, secure packing. Also, the hip belt pockets have velcro at the bottom that lets you flip them up so you can put the tails from the hip belt behind them and not have them hanging down and flopping around. This is much better than the Osprey where you have to try to push the strap through to tuck it away. There are a couple other areas that could be improved on this pack. Minor nits to pick, not any deal breakers. First, the lid can't be pulled down enough when the pack is lightly loaded to cover all of the top opening. It leaves a little gap near your neck where water can get it. Second, I like to put my Nalgene bottles in the mesh pockets. While they are angled slightly towards you, it is still a little awkward to get them out and back in while on the move. Teton Sports Designers: check out how Osprey does their pockets with top entry or front entry. They are much easier to use this way. In conclusion, I was thrilled to find this pack that met my needs at a good price. Despite Teton Sports gear not being featured in my usual gear mags and review websites I turn to for opinions, I am impressed with the quality of this pack and highly recommend it.

Great backpack! A little heavier than some other brands that cost triple or even 6 times the price. This backpack is comfortable and has lots of pockets and storage space. It Has a rainfly that stores on board to keep everything inside dry in wet weather. The zippers seem to be of good quality. This pack has plenty of daisy chains and even a couple D-rings for attaching water bottle holders to the shoulder straps in front. The adjustability of this bag is great from XL, L, to M upper body sizes The full frame and padding feels great as well and allows for air flow between your back and the pack reducing sweating. With 85 liters of storage it has plenty of space as well as a seperate sleeping bag conpartment that can be unzipped to make it one large compartment with access from either the top or bottom of bag. Should be plenty of space for those multiday hikes It has double drawstring closures at the top as well as a floating lid with storage. The floating lid is great for lashing bulkier items like a sleeping pad or larger tent on top of your pack the lashings on the lid are adjustable as well. The double draw string closure is a nice touch and is usually only found on more expensive packs. It has places for 2 water bottles, one on either side of the main pack body. The hip belt is well padded qnd adjustable and has small zippered pouches as well, these could fit gloves or other small items. These pouchess are really fine mesh type material and not waterproof but a nice touch to the hip belt none the less. It has space at the top and bottom. There are also adjustable rear loading straps on the bottom side of the back for another item that would take up too much space inside the pack. Also the side stoarage compartments also have pockets open tops and bottoms for longer items like treking poles or even a rifle could be held in place vertically on both sides of the pack. In my opinion it's a comfortable and well made backbacking pack for the price that looks and feels like it will last for many years but only time will tell.

Took this pack on a 4 day hike right after getting it. Once I got it adjusted correctly it was really comfortable and light. It held up really well but there were a few strings that started unraveling from a couple of zipper seams. This hasn't effected the function of it yet . It held all of my gear and then some of the other individuals gear that went with me. I was unable to find the rainfly, not sure if it is separate from the bag and was not sent but didn't see one attached anywhere or in a pouch.

We got this for my son who is doing a lot of hiking. It seems really well made, has a great warranty, holds a ton and has some cool features. My son loves it. But somehow it arrived with a small tear. There was no time to do an exchange before my son went on his trip, so we'll have to see if I can get help through their warranty.