It’s now 7 months until the planned date of starting our trip. But already there’s so much to think about. What to wear, what to pack – and moreover: where to pack it into…
We bought our latest hiking boots two years ago and after approx. 300 km of using them they should be perfectly worn in. I’ve got Lowa Lady III GTX and Felix has Meinl Engadin GTX (category B). We’ll also take lighter shoes like (trail) running shoes with us so that we have options if it’s too hot to walk in those hiking boots all the time.
So we decided that getting our backpacks was the next most important decision. In Vienna, there is a great shop for all the outdoor stuff one can think of, called Bergfuchs. And that’s where we got our new travel companions:
Mine is the red one, an Osprey Ariel 55 litres, and Felix chose the Osprey Aether 60 litres.
Some of our criteria for our decision:
- not too heavy itself
- accessible not only from the top but also from the front
- easy method to store away the hiking sticks if not needed
- rain cover
- removable top lid, converts into lumbar pack
- sleeping bag base compartment
- the Osprey Ariel is specially fit for women and their smaller upper body
We tried them on with 10/12 kilograms, compared it with others and finally chose them. I’ve never carried a backpack that comfortable but I’ve also never carried a backpack with 10 or more kilos for some 100 kilometres. So we’ll see how comfortable it will be on the trip!