On Friday night I went to Paddy Pallin to buy a backpack in preparation for next week’s camping trip with C. Sorry, a travelpack to be precise. Apparently this is the correct term in the travel world.
I have borrowed a couple of different backpacks over the years. The first one was owned by one of my sister’s friends who is about 7 feet tall, and it was sized to fit him correctly. It was enormous. And I foolishly packed it full and took it to Europe with me. The second one was owned by another friend, and was a Macpac brand one, a kind of dark red colour. It was fabulous, and I decided back then that if I ever owned a backpack, I’d be looking at Macpacs as a priority.
So, into Paddy Pallin, and I tried on a Macpac or two, and eventually bought a Pegasus one. A basic pack with a daypack attached. And they were having a sale, so it was 15% off the price. It seemed like good value. I think… So with this in hand, I headed home.
Well I got as far as Richmond before changing my mind. It wasn’t right. It didn’t have all the handy dandy pockets that had been on the last pack I’d borrowed. Pockets that were a major convenience. Reading the brochure that came with it, that said (I’m paraphrasing) "this is a good solid pack that we’ve built down to a price by leaving off some of the cool features" convinced me. I didn’t need the el cheapo option. I went back and upgraded to the Orient Express model, which was not only much more like the one I’d borrowed, it was better, with more handier pockets all over it.
I went home a happy camper.
