Backpacking Background:

Along with my two sons – ages eleven and thirteen, I am very active with our local Boy Scout troop. I’ve been involved with Scouting as an adult for the past ten years. Besides being the Committee Chairman, I’m also the High Adventure Leader. As such, one of my responsibilities is to teach the young people about the "Great Outdoors". I especially love to teach them about hiking, backpacking and canoeing.

Field Information:

The weather has been typical for the latter half of winter.  Daily temperatures for the long-term tests have ranged between 10 - 40 F (-12 - 4.4 C).  Much of the snow base melted early this year with an unexpected thaw, yet a couple of late season storms insured continued testing in winter conditions.  We are now in early spring conditions, which spell high creeks, wet trails and plenty of rain.

Test Results:

The Naja 70+10 has been my primary pack over the last six months.  Although adequate for most treks, I found it too small on a few occasions for all my necessary gear.  It must be remembered that these times were in the throes of winter, where a lot of big, bulky gear was necessary.  In most occasions, I found the volume large enough to handle all my gear.

The Naja 70+10 is durable as well.  The pack has been used, and to be honest, abused.  It probably had the greater go-of-it on the dayhikes, as my kids were always rummaging through it, sitting on it or trying it out as a sled.  I am happy to report that it's held up extremely well.  The slight rip I reported on in the Field Report to the sport flap has not gotten any worse, nor have I stitched it.  I have found the flap very handy for stuffing things I need quickly or often.  Outside of a few stains, the pack body looks great. 

I enjoyed the storage compartments in the top lid.  They are very convenient and easy to access.  I tended to use the pack as one large cavity, and didn't find the zipper shelf of any real benefit.  The hydration system is very nice.  The number of compression straps on the pack - two vertical, two around the bottom, and two horizontal, provided plenty of opportunities for lashing gear onto the outside of the pack.  The cable loops and toggle clips did a very nice job of retaining my hiking poles - although I really think they are overkill.  A much lighter nylon strap would have worked just as well in my opinion.

The pack retained its best shape when full, either with the extension collar deployed or not.  If the pack was any less than full, the top lid would not sit too well.  If the vertical compression straps were tightened to compress the load, the Velcro strip along the hinge point for the top lid would pull apart.  I found it much easier to just insert my closed-cell foam pad as a cylinder into the pack for smaller loads.  By inserting the pad into the pack, I would always end up with the pack taking on a near-full shape.  When I needed the space for more gear, I would strap the pad to the exterior.

In the Field Report, I reported on the lack of attaining the "sweet spot" for comfort when wearing the pack.  I reported that I would continue to adjust both my loads and adjustment straps, in the search for the perfect fit.  After six months of fidgeting, I can report that it doesn't exist - at least not for me.  For light loads of less than about 25 lb (11 kg), the comfort level is acceptable.  But for loads above this, I experience an unacceptable amount of shoulder strain.  I have traced the cause of this back to the fact that the torso range on this pack is too short for me.  If I adjust the pack so the hip belt is riding correctly on my hips, the pack is too low on my back - thus causing the strain on my shoulders.  If I adjust it to fit my shoulders correctly, then the hip belt rides too high.  For light loads, by adjusting the hip belt properly and allowing the shoulders to rider lower, I think it's comfortable.  In some ways, I found the fit an asset when snowshoeing.  By adjusting it a little higher off my hips, I found it was much better to scramble in the snowshoes, since I had complete hip movement, even if I was angled over when climbing.

Yes, definitely.  It's a great pack for scrambling and bushwhacking.  The higher hipbelt makes climbing over blowdown and rocks great.  Plus, it can take the pounding from branches, rock edges and brush.  The limited torso adjustment actually is a benefit when I want to tighten the pack securely to my back.  I won't use it for long trail hiking over flat paths though.  It's just not comfortable enough for my liking.