Day pack for longer torso

[Cruiser]

I picked up a cute little Vaude 16ish liter day pack recently because I was looking for a lighter and more nimble replacement for my aging osprey day pack. It's a good pack that holds my day hiking essentials well and adds very little superfluous weight. The problem with it, and all the other small day packs I've tried on, is that the torso is too short for me. The waist belt is up around, if not above, my navel making it cumbersome when I'm scrambling on rocks or just bending over to retie a shoe.

So, 14er gear nerds, can you recommend a light weight minimalist style 20L (or smaller) day pack that has a longer than average torso length?

Thanks in advance!

[Been_Jammin]

100% relatable. I'm lanky AF and have come to the conclusion that i will never find a pack that fits like it is suppose to. So if any tall people out there have the answer I am also curious. my go to is an old osprey 36L (manta i think) which fits fine but not perfect.

side note... i also have big feat and i recently ordered some La Sportiva Mutant trail runners size 47.5 (the biggest they make)... they were waaaaaaay small. Dainty Italians are not Sasquatch friendly at all... they do manufacture a great looking and quality shoe tho.

[pvnisher]

I'm in the 21.5-22 torso range and have yet to find a small pack that fits me.

And I was the backpack category manager for a major magazine for a while, which is saying something that if even with access to every pack under the sun I was unable to find one that worked for me.
Maybe there's something out there nowadays, but I'm not holding my breath. It kinda goes against the "small and light" design if it's also really long.

[JacerJack]

Fellow long torso here... I feel your pain. I've had good luck recently ditching the waist belt completely and going with a vest-style pack... It's so freeing! I recently picked up the Ultimate Direction Fastpack 25 and it's darn near perfect. It looks enough like a real pack that I don't look like an ultra runner wannabe, which is why I haven't made the switch sooner.

It has plenty of features like Ice axe loops, daisy chains, etc. and weighs just over a pound. There's no belt to get in the way while scrambling but it still doesn't bounce around while moving quickly. 25 is bigger than I need for most day trips, but with the ruck-style roll top, you can collapse it down pretty small if you're carrying a lighter load. There isn't much organization inside the pack, but there are tons of pockets up front for hydration/nutrition/phone (which I've grown to love).

I've also found that if you take the back pad out, it rolls up about the size of a Nalgene and makes a great summit pack to stuff inside an overnight pack.

[TomPierce]

Cruiser: I'm not sure this will help, but take a look at the Mystery Ranch site. If you're not aware, MR was founded by the guy that used to run Dana Design, an old pretty well known pack manufacturer. That aside, I've found MR torso measurements tend to run a bit long, and of course many of the packs are adjustable (they use a funky velcro/plastic sheet mechanism). Maybe in a size L you'll find a fit.

Note, however, that MR is a contractor to the military and firefighting teams, looks like that's the bulk of their business. As a result MR packs are known to be beefy, really built for heavy abuse. As a result nothing they offer could be characterized as ultralight. But if you drop your pack off a cliff, just pick it up on your way out, the pack will still be intact.

Anyway, maybe worth a look.

-Tom

[timisimaginary]

Fellow long torso here... I feel your pain. I've had good luck recently ditching the waist belt completely and going with a vest-style pack... It's so freeing! I recently picked up the Ultimate Direction Fastpack 25 and it's darn near perfect. It looks enough like a real pack that I don't look like an ultra runner wannabe, which is why I haven't made the switch sooner.

It has plenty of features like Ice axe loops, daisy chains, etc. and weighs just over a pound. There's no belt to get in the way while scrambling but it still doesn't bounce around while moving quickly. 25 is bigger than I need for most day trips, but with the ruck-style roll top, you can collapse it down pretty small if you're carrying a lighter load. There isn't much organization inside the pack, but there are tons of pockets up front for hydration/nutrition/phone (which I've grown to love).

I've also found that if you take the back pad out, it rolls up about the size of a Nalgene and makes a great summit pack to stuff inside an overnight pack.

i second the recommendation of a vest-style running pack. there are plenty with 16L or more storage. some have removable waistbelts, some don't have any, but for the vest-style they're not essential to supporting the pack weight. the vest style is great for scrambling too, the pack hugs your torso and remains very stable, and being able to store some stuff in front, especially water bottles, helps to balance the weight better. the only drawback is these packs don't breathe as well, you'll get a sweaty back for sure, but lots of standard daypacks without suspension have the same issue.

[JacerJack]

the only drawback is these packs don't breathe as well, you'll get a sweaty back for sure, but lots of standard daypacks without suspension have the same issue.

True... I forgot to mention that potential drawback. I should also mention that this particular pack is not marketed as waterproof (which can be an issue if you're sweaty enough). Found that one out the hard way. But I've solved the problem by organizing the inner contents with a few Sea to Summit Ultrasil bags, which are waterproof.

[pvnisher]

I've never used a hiking vest, my experience is more on keeping your ammo and radio up front while minimizing how high you are when on your belly!
But it makes sense for hiking, especially when you don't need a ton of stuff but more than you can fit in your sweet cargo shorts.
Speaking of which, reminds me of a time we did an overnight and you could bring anything you wanted as long as it fit in your pockets, no pack. Got creative real fast.

Anyway, my main concerns with a hiking vest would be sweating like a madman and looking like a goober. I can handle one better than the other, I'll let you decide which is which.
So how do the vests perform in those regards?
Thinking dayhike: water, shell, fleece, lamp, snacks, commo, sunscreen,. Hmm, maybe that's actually a really great idea.

[Lioness]

I picked up a cute little Vaude 16ish liter day pack recently because I was looking for a lighter and more nimble replacement for my aging osprey day pack. It's a good pack that holds my day hiking essentials well and adds very little superfluous weight. The problem with it, and all the other small day packs I've tried on, is that the torso is too short for me. The waist belt is up around, if not above, my navel making it cumbersome when I'm scrambling on rocks or just bending over to retie a shoe.

So, 14er gear nerds, can you recommend a light weight minimalist style 20L (or smaller) day pack that has a longer than average torso length?

Thanks in advance!

Isn' this a factor of the length of the shoulder straps?. If you lengthened - added to it -the lower portion of the shoulder straps wouldn't that solve the problem?

[pvnisher]

Isn' this a factor of the length of the shoulder straps?. If you lengthened - added to it -the lower portion of the shoulder straps wouldn't that solve the problem?

Somewhat. Sometimes that leads to the pack riding very low. Not quite fanny-pack style, but not in the preferred location. Or the sternum strap is up in your neck. Or the strap adjuster is now pressing into the front of your shoulder.
Another problem, not with UL packs but bigger ones, is that the load lifter straps are below your shoulders, negating any use of them. Or pulling the load lifter actually raises the hipbelt even more. Whenever I see people with a properly adjusted pack that fits them and functions as intended I'm quite jealous.

[thurs]

As somebody else said, have you looked into the fastpacks that are beefy running vests? No waist strap stuff or anything to deal with, have used them for backpacking, class 5 alpine climbing, etc...