Lowe Alpine AirZone Trek 28L review

RRP: £140

Lowe Alpine has a long-held reputation for manufacturing high quality rucksacks and, after some testing on Moel Siabod and Moel Hebog in North Wales, I’m convinced that continues to be the case here.

The unisex AirZone Trek 28L is among the heavier of the hiking daypacks we've tested, but you don’t really notice it. That’s in part down to the impressive back harness and hipbelt, which does a fine job of spreading the load.

Not only that, but the trampoline-style system with its knitted fabric helps ventilate the back, keeping things cool and helping avoid sweaty situations.

It’s all very comfortable, no matter how heavy the load, and the good news is that the system is adjustable, too, allowing you to easily customise the fit to suit your body shape (there’s also a women’s version available in a 26-litre guise).

Organisation is also impressive. The large main compartment is accessed via a zip that runs halfway down the bag and swallows up lots of kit effortlessly, even in winter.

This is further supplemented by a decent-sized zip pocket on top, which is ideal for snacks, a compass, a head torch and other small items, while an elastic pouch on the front offers an ideal place for stashing waterproofs or extra layers.

There’s even a zip pocket on each side of the hip belt, which proved an ideal place for easy access to high-energy fuel mid-hike.

As you’d expect from Lowe Alpine, there’s a very strong list of features, and they all work well, too.

There’s a whistle on the sternum strap, well-designed attachment points for an ice axe or walking poles, space for a hydration bladder and an elastic pocket on each side that’s easy to reach while walking and is ideal for water bottles.

It’s genuinely very hard to fault this pack. It does everything as well as it should and will perform well in a variety of environments, from the peaks of the Lake District to coastal paths in Cornwall.

Verdict: A versatile walking backpack that oozes class, has every feature you could want and remains comfortable all day long.

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Also consider

Osprey Hikelite 28L

RRP: £120

If you're after another top-quality 28L daypack, you can't go wrong with Osprey's unisex Hikelite 28. We've even it our top rating, and it's available at roughly the same price as the Lowe Alpine AirZone Trek, at around the £100 to £120 mark.

Above all, we were impressed with the Hikelite's 990g weight and use of recycled materials, as well as its many useful features, including a rain cover, a whistle in the sternum strap and space for a hydration reservoir. It also has a comfortable feel, although it can seem quite wide once you've packed water bottles. Read our full review of the Osprey Hikelite 28L.

For a full list of our favourite rucksacks, check out our round-up: The best hiking backpacks to buy this year.