While wandering around the Southland Mall in Melbourne, Australia an outdoor store, called Aussie Disposals, caught my eye –as they often do – so I had to roll in and check it out. In my constant search for better travel gear I stumbled upon the Black Wolf line of hiking-style back packs and instantly fell in love. I found the Cedar Breaks 65 litre pack with its removable daypack and snatched it up.

This pack isn’t the lightest pack on the market, but it still among the lighter ones and is durable beyond belief. I have since then taken a few trips with it and it has held up brilliantly! I have detached the 2 packs and use the small daypack every day. It is small enough to fit on my back and not interfere with the backrest on my chair, yet large enough to carry my laptop and anything I might need as a carry on. The larger pack holds enough clothes and supplies to last 2 weeks.

One of the coolest features I found with this pack is that you can use the shoulder harness for carrying or it has a single shoulder strap to carry it like a duffel bag. And when you are not using it as a back pack, or you are giving it up to the luggage handlers at the airport, you can undo this handy flap and zip it to cover the straps. This completely protects the straps from anything getting broken or torn, and at the same time, it keeps the settings on your straps just the way you set them. How cool is that?!

Another cool part is that if you are carrying both packs at once you can clip the smaller one on your chest with the clips on the straps of the larger pack to the smaller one. This also works well for balancing. Then you can put a bit more weight towards the front of you so you don't feel so tippy in your chair.

In my travels over the years I have been trying all sorts of different luggage and different ways to transport it. I have to say the back pack works the easiest over rolling luggage. Something on wheels trying to push or pull another thing on wheels generally doesn’t work so well. Just throw your gear on your back and roll where ever you please. As for the specific pack, I vote Black Wolf all the way!

Here are the specifications taken from the Black Wolf website >(www.blackwolf.com.au)

Cedar Breaks Travel Pack

A great value-for-money pack, ideal for those longer trips abroad where full features & freedom of movement are a priority.

• Code: CB55, CB65, CB75, CB90
• Fabric:Main: 1000D Kodra, 600D Ripstop Poly PU, Base: 1000D InVista Cordura®
• Capacity: 55, 65, 75, 90 Litres
• Colors: Black/Charcoal, Chilli, Blue, Olive, Black, Lime, Brick
• Seams: Taped

Approximate dimensions filled:

• 55-litre: 64h x 36w x 23(+20) cm
• 65-litre: 70h x 36w x 25(+20) cm
• 75-litre: 73h x 36w x 28(+20) cm
• 90-litre: 77h x 36w x 30(+20) cm

Main Pack:

• Ergonomic III gel padded harness with gusseted cover
• Twin compartment with fixed sock divider
• Attached combination lock (2)
• 10 Lt expansion gusset
• 5 Lt expansion pockets on both sides
• 3 removable sorters
• 2 internal security pockets
• Built in rain cover
• Duraflex buckles & utility D-rings
• Removable shoulder strap
• Lockable zips & Duraflex buckles
• Rugged moulded zip tabs
• Daypack attachment zip

Daypack:

• Mesh back with harness guard
• 3 compartments
Tricot fleece lined top pouch
• Padded music pouch with soundport
• Hydration compatible (RHSide)
• Internal organiser with removable key holder
• Dual side mesh pockets
• Side & base compression straps
• Rugged moulded zip tabs
• Night reflective daisy loop