The Ultimate Daypack

In my experience the notion of ‘onebag’ is seldom actually a reflection of the number of bags carried by onebag travellers; because most travellers prefer to have a separate daypack for carrying at destinations on a daily basis (touristing / trekking etc).

Generally, these daypacks are around 20 litre capacity – enough for the daily essentials; a hoodie or coat, a bottle of water, a battery backup, sunscreen, basic first aid and maybe some food. Since this is very much a subset of a full travel packing list, using a onebag for this purpose is inefficient and weight wasteful, it also means completely emptying said onebag before it can be used as a daypack. The sensible solution is therefore a separate daypack which must be carried inside the onebag on travel days. Ideally, therefore, the daypack should be as light and small as possible, but remain functional and comfortable.

For the last two years, I have been using the Sea to Summit UtraSil 20L Daypack which is a marvel of efficiency weighing a mere 72g and packing down to something little bigger than a tennis ball. It’s durable, fairly water resistant and spacious and I actually like it a lot.

If I were to criticise the S2S it would be the lack of water bottle pocket (an essential for trekking in hotter countries), the poor bag structure (a symptom of the material) and the uncomfortable straps which have a tendency to slip even when tight. I was also aware after a recent rather rainy trek in the Blue Mountains of Sydney that the ‘water resistant’ claim was not entirely true after my hoodie, which was safely packed away in the S2S, was decidedly damp on the train journey home.

I recently discovered and purchased the Matador Freerain 24; a slightly larger, more expensive but altogether more feature rich daypack. The Matador addresses all of my issues with the S2S. With water bottle pockets on either side I’m spoilt for choice and despite being made from exactly the same Silnylon as the S2S, the Matador offers a much more impressive support and structure with a double layer face and thick but light and breathable shoulder straps.

The waterproof aspect is covered by taped internal seams and a rolltop in lieu of a zip and while the contents would not stay dry if the bag was submerged nothing got wet during my testing in the Sydney March showers (fairly heavy of late). I was also aware that sealing the bag with air inside created a balloon effect which demonstrated how airtight the bag is. The Matador Freerain24 is also black (or black/grey) – as opposed to the garish yellow/red/green/blue options of S2S which is a pretty big win for me and my monochrome simplicity.

The bottle pocket on the size is brilliantly designed – deep enough for a large bottle (700ml Smart Water bottle in photo) and elasticated at the neck to prevent movement. Even holding the bag upside down the full 700ml water bottle did not shift.

Fully loaded bag containing the following gear:

Main pocket:

• 1x Arc’teryx Atom LT Hooded Jacket 358g
• 1x Icebreaker Sierra Merino Hoodie 450g
• 1x Packtowl Ultralite XL 104g

Front pocket:

• 1x Anker AstroMini 3200 mAH Battery Backup 83g
• 1x iPhone cable 18g
• 1x Sunscreen 47g
• 1x Bite cream 30g
• 1x OSK (Oh Shit Kit containing plasters, painkillers etc) 40g
• 1x Ray Ban Case & Cloth 50g

TOTAL = 1334g (inc 154g for the Matador)

L-R: Meds, Sunnies case, Towel, Charger & Cable, Icebreaker Hoody, Matador Bag Arc’teryx Jacket

Of course all of these features come at a price. The Matador Freerain24 is 154g and almost twice the size of the S2S when packed down. It’s also more expensive at $59.99 USD compared to Sea to Summit’s $32.95 but for me, the extra cost and weight is worth it for the functionality (water bottle pocket, taped seams) and particularly the comfort when carrying.

The Matador Freerain24 It is available now from the Matador website. Matador also offer a slightly cheaper and smaller 16L / 116g daypack for $49.99 but this has been sold out for a while now.