TETON 55L Scout Internal Frame Backpack for Hiking, Camping, Backpacking, Rain Cover Included

So I went out to several stores and tried on several different packs in the 100- 200 dollar range. This one was about 75 in the stores so I thought what the heck let's try it on and give it shot. It fit me well and overall was very comfortable. I am fairly short by guy standards; 5'6 160. So I hoped on Amazon and saw it was just about 50 bucks. Well like most, I was expecting some of the problems I have read about here. However, I have yet to have any of them. Since buying this, I have hiked Mt Washington in NH, Mt Davis in Pa, and Back Bone Mountain in. I have also taken this pack on multiple climbing excursions. I must say this things has held up amazingly. I have had zero problems with it thus far. For my local climbing trips, it has handled my full climbing gear (200 ft rope, harness, helmet, carabiner, belay, etc...) plus food water etc for the day. For my hike up Mount Washington, which anyone who has done that knows how crazy it can get, it performed very well... I ended up having to use the handy dandy waterproof "sheath" that came with the pack. It has endured some serious abuse and keeps on taking it. I would recommend this pack to anyone at this point. As to the pack itself, it has tons of little features. It has locking mechanisms on the lumbar straps, 2 outside pockets that are literally the perfect size for a Nalgene, It has a pocket on the top for random things (I used it for flint and my back up plan of 9V battery and steel wool), At the bottom it has a place for your sleeping bag. All in all a fantastic pack for the price, until I wear this one out I do not anticipate needing another one. Well at least not until I learn how to ice climb and knock out Mt Rainier!All in all this is a great pack for the price and I would recommend this to anyone who is just starting out in their hiking careerUPDATES!!! 6/22/2011So over the last week I did 3 more high points with this pack where the use of a ultra-lightweight tent was required (i have the Seedhouse SL-1 in case you are in the market for a tent). And again this performed more than adequately. I trekked up the Appalachian trail to Mt rogers in VA and then drove to Black Mtn. in KY and then spent 3 days hiking on and around Spruce knob in WV. Once again the rain fly came in handy mt Rogers was under severe winds the entire time i was there... This pack hold everything I needed. I have added some D-ring accessories to it my self for easy access to food and my camera, but otherwise it is the pack as I bought it. I am not sure if I am missing something the other reviewers are saying, but the side pockets (the ones about mid way up the pack) are large enough to Hold my 32oz Nalgenes, but you just can't zip them shut (mostly because of the lid), if you need clarification on this I can send some pictures to you. The only down side I can see thus far is the eventual need for space for longer duration and technical climbs... But as i am using this for 2-4 days trips, it works great.Likely My Last update! 11/28/2011As the winter approaches and my hiking time is slowly replaced by strip mall and market time. Since my last update I have used this pack extensively. I hiked a 30 mile portion of the Appalachian trail on my way to Clingmans Dome in TN and then in once that was completed I did about a 10 mile hike on my way to the top of Mt Mitchell in NC. I must stress that I am very much the minimalist... I take very little extra that one could safely do without. That means a couple sets of clothes, cold gear, tent, bag, food, water, and obviously first aide and water purification. I keep a small multi-tool on me and a rather large knife I was issued in the desert... That's about it... I have yet to come across i situation where the pack is more than maybe 2/3rds of the way full... But at any rate, I have had very little issues with this pack aside from the chest strap... The clasp did give way finally, about mid way through my 30 miler to clingmans... Luckily I came across a nice woman who was willing to give me one of her extras... I made on modification to the pack it's self. The mid-side pouches sewed on some netting so over the top of them and got ride of the zipper so I could fit my nalgenes there. But other than that the thing has been flawless... I likely will not need a new pack for some time... Hope this info has been helpful

My son just turned 10, so I purchased this pack so we could go on our first father/son backpacking excursion. He was carrying a Teton Summit 1500, which was perfect for his size, but which meant that I was carrying most of the major gear in the Teton Scout 3400.The first thing that impressed me about the Scout were the adjustment options. I'm 6'0" and I was I bit worried that this was more of a junior sized pack, but after I made the torso height adjustment and followed the suggested setup instructions, I found that this pack fit me like a glove. It was very stable and very comfortable, even with gear for two.Speaking of gear, and as others have pointed out, the second most impressive feature of this pack is just how much gear I could pack/attach. With the aid of a quality compression bag, I was able to pack two 40 degree bags, 2 pillows, tyvek, extra clothes, food, stove, fuel, and a couple of other odds and ends in just the main compartment (with the false bottom removed). The side and top compartments are spacious and easy to get at, and the extra straps, loops, and bungees on the exterior of the pack provided a very secure ride for my hatchet, camp shovel, water bottle, tent, and camping pad.The third, and most unexpected, impressive feature of the Scout was the effectiveness of the attached rain cover. We wanted to pack as light as possible, so we took a tent that didn't have any extra room for the packs. Instead, we hung them both up on improvised hooks, which may or may not have resembled a tree branch tied to a tree trunk--completely exposed. As the forecast for the evening was looking a bit wet, I put the rain covers on both packs and hoped for the best. 12 hours of heavy precipitation later, we removed the covers and both packs and their contents were bone dry. It was amazing!The Teton Scout 3400 is 100% quality. Not only will I enjoy this pack for years to come, but I imagine that my son will inherit it when he gets a bit older and is able to handle a "full sized" pack. Also, knowing that I can adjust it to fit him as he grows makes this relatively small investment even that much more of a no-brainer.

I made an effort to go smaller for more backpacking trips this season. A person I camped with had this bag and I purchased it on amazon. I always used a 75L bag that fit everything including a camp chair, nothing ever hung from the outside and it never felt heavy. It was a great bag until the buckle broke after years of use. What I love about this bag are the side pockets and bold color. In addition to going smaller I also wanted outer side compartments which my old bag didn't have. During the summer I hammock camp. I can store a compressed sleeping bag, inflatable mat, inflatable pillow (and a +15 liner in the Fall) in the sleeping bag compartment. The main compartment has my clothes, cookware, snacks/food and the hammock (ENO set). Side and lid pockets contain tools, small items, first aid kit, toiletries etc. A tent for post September trips I can strap easily to the bottom. There's room for hiking poles on each side of the bag. Aside from either a tent or hammock, everything else in the bag is pretty standard light-weight things I bring on these trips forever but for some reason it feels way heavier in this bag and I'm not bringing anything of luxury like a camp chair. I also find myself strapping things to the back of the bag often. I wish there were small zippered pockets on the hip straps, that's really the only thing keeping this from a 5 star review. If you carry a bear canister it will basically take up most of the main compartment. You really have to pack light with this one. Overall it's a pretty well made and sturdy bag. I've used it on 4 separate Adirondack backpacking trips. This past weekend I used the rain fly which comfortably cover the bag and attached tent. Nice bag, just keep it light-weight and you can get away with a 2-3 backpacking trips.