Cheap First Pack – Which of these

golite

I second the vote for the Gust–It's got a huge capacity for the weight and is a great price.

Given what you wrote, my pick would be none of the above. My thoughts:

1. The Gust is an awfully big pack for weekend hikes — espeicially since you have pared down your base weight to just 12 lbs!

2. For urban travel trips — where you leave your tent, bag, pad, cookset, hydration bladders, etc. at home — and add very small items like passport, tickets, some cash and cards, and maybe a guidebook — your gear weight and volume will be even less — a lot less!

As a comparison, I use a much smaller GoLite Dawn (2,000 ci main volume) for weekenders and just a bookbag (8-9 lbs total pack weight) for month-long travels to Asia, Africa and Europe.

One good option is the smaller GoLite Jam pack or Jam2 pack. No direct experience, but the latter's ability to shrink from weekender to daypack size may come in handy in your travels as well.

check out the rei ultralight, one goes for around $50 or so. Also, do a search on orienteering gear, one site had Salomon Adventure Racing packs on sale for under $50. They are groovy

I have a different opinion. You do not need one pack, you need two. Choosing one pack will leave you with a pack too big/heavy for a day hike, but too small to hold everything for a 10 day trip. (If I read your post correctly you want to use this as your sole luggage item for travels, carry-on probably).

However! I also noticed your price range is below $100, so we have to choose carefully..
I would recommend the REI Flash ($25,17 liters,281 grams) as the day-hiker, AND a Golite Jam ($60,38L,600g). Total cost $85. These are both quality packs with a good reputation here at BPL. You can pack the Flash in the Jam for the trip, then leave the Jam and most your travel goods in the hotel and carry the Flash on your day-excursions.

Here's the $59.45 Jam.
http://www.masseysoutfitters.com/shop/product.asp?dept_id=5217&pf_id=PAAAAANNPIKIHPCN&ad_id=froogle&key_id=PAAAAANNPIKIHPCN&

If you want mesh pockets and a lid on your day pack, consider the Patagonia Lightweight Travel Pack, ($60,20L,281g)
http://www.ebags.com/products/index.cfm?modelid=67675&sourceid=GOOGFEED01

Or the Montbell Versalite 20, ($60,20L,350g)
https://www2.montbell.com/america/asp/products/Spg_shosai.asp?cat=1303&hinban=1223267

You can stuff either of these into their own lid, then toss it in your Jam. I own the Versalite as my day-hiker, and prefer having the mesh pocket and lid for some of my "10 essentials".

Totally agree that a daypack is nice for both day hikes as well as urban day travels. The GoLite Jam 2 backpack mentioned above has a "Compactor system" that shrinks the pack from 3,000 cubic inches down to just 1,300 cubic inches – perfect for day hikes or day tours when one can leave the bulk of the gear inside the tent — or hotel.

And I totally agree with Ben that if you could discipline yourself to packing everything for a long trip into a daypack sized sack as Ben does, that would be awesome; and you would only need one medium sized pack. Alas, I can not; and I need extra room for stuff I buy along the way..

I think both Ben and Brett have given sensible advice and their pack recommendations are pretty much what I would say. You'll be in good shape either way!
-Mark