After looking high and low I found a good backpack (at a reasonable price of $200.) for my 14 year old, 5′ 8″ grandson who will likely grow to at least 6 feet.
It is a DEUTER Air Contact Lite 50 + 10. Â At 3 lbs. 14 oz. it ain’t the lightest by far but it’s not heavy either And it will grow with him using DEUTER’s adjustable harness. That feature was a must. Yes, REI has an adjustable harness pack like it for $35. less than the DEUTER but it was heavier.
OK, $200. is ‘spensive for a kid’s pack but not for a pack he can use for many years, a pack with good design features and good quality. Plus it is “Made in Vietnam” with the Fair Wear Foundation label. That label says the workers were paid very fair wages. Ever since OSPREY voluntarily raised their Vietnamese workers’ wages to good, livable levels much of the rest of the outdoor industry in Vietnam did the same and joined the Fair Wear Foundation.
And given China’s takeover of Tibet and the treatment of their dissidents among other “things Chinese” they have done in recent years I’d rather not buy a Chinese made anything.
