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Olivia Greenway, travel journalist and copywriter

Lowe Alpine Womens Vector 18L Daypack

March 9, 2013
By olivia

The Lowe Alpine backpack is small enough to take on day trips, yet large enough and with six compartments of different sizes to hold all your essentials, a common failing with cheaper bags.  Made of durable and sponge clean material, it will survive a short rain shower too. It’s well made and is unlikely to fall apart after a few months.  In fact, the manufacturer guarantees it for life for faulty workmanship.

 

There are some neat features: padded webbing on the rear encourages airflow, helping to cut down that unpleasant build up of heat you can get with some rucksacks, especially if worn against a rainproof jacket. It’s also very light, so you don’t have a bag that’s heavy before you even start to put stuff in it.

 

The rucksack has some other nifty attributes. All the pockets are lined or coated with plastic to help to cope with damp weather and to keep the bag water resistant. There is a pocket at the top for your headphones and in this compartment is a handy hook on a bright orange cord, for house keys or anything else you need to access quickly or don’t want to lose. There are two mesh bottle pockets; one for water, one for sunscreen or sunglasses maybe. The main compartment is fairly roomy and has a gusset at the bottom.  Inside this is a separate elasticated pocket, possibly for a wet swimsuit or shoes. Finally, there is a third compartment, divided by a zipped pocket, affording three more spaces to store your stuff. The zipped pocket is perfect for your purse or wallet; much better than the pickpocket’s favourite place –the back pocket of your jeans. And the other two could hold your map or guidebook or spare sweater.

 

The straps are sturdy, wide and padded slightly, to be more comfortable.  There is also the webbing to counteract heat build up.  There is an easy-release clip to fix straps across the chest, useful if the bag is fairly heavy as it takes pressure off the shoulders.

 

The rucksack comes in two shades of blue and is aimed at the female market, but I don’t think a guy would baulk at the colours or the design.

 

As with all rucksacks, the straps when on their tightest mean they dangle a bit.  Don’t be tempted to cut them too short; when you are wearing a thick coat, you will need a bit of excess.  If you do cut the straps, get your friendly shoe repairer to sew a hem, to save the straps from fraying.

 

There are times when you want your hands free – for taking pictures, reading a guidebook, using your phone, keeping your balance over rough ground – when only a rucksack will do. This one would seem to tick all my boxes for a handy bag around town. Or even on the plane.

 

Dimensions: 42cm x 30cm x 9.5cm
Weight: 580g

 

Online price:  £29.99

 

http://www.gapyeartravelstore.com

 

Categories : Reviews, Travel, Travel Gear Reviews, Uncategorized
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Trips 2018/2019

2019

January: Zanzibar

March: Cape Town & Pretoria

May: Slovenia

October: South Africa (tbc)

November: Kenya (tbc)

 

Trips 2018

March:  New York, including Frick Gallery

May:  Vietnam including Halong Bay

June:  Giverny and Monet’s garden

June:  Majorca

December: Hyderabad and Chandigarh, India

Trips 2017

January: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
February: Bangalore
April: Lake District
May: Malaga
September: Mexico, Cancun
November: Delhi, Agra, Shimla
December: Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Venice

Trips 2016 (not clickable)

January: Oxford, Tenerife
February: Hampshire
March: Manchester
April: Sicily, Germany
October: Bangalore, New Delhi
November: Bangalore, New Delhi
December: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

List of trips 2015 (not clickable)

January: European ski resorts; Milan
February: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
March: Istanbul, Jersey, Vienna, Prague, Budapest
April: Road trip Ireland
May: Road trip France, Germany, Benelux and Copenhagen
June: UK luxury hotels
December: Cannes

List of trips 2014 (not clickable)

January Weimar, Vienna
February - Berlin, London
April - Chicago, Toronto, Montreal
May/June - Driving trip, Spain
July – Majorca
July - Paris
August - Southern UK
September – Northern Italy including Venice
October - South of France
October/November - Germany, Austria and Switzerland
December - Cape Town, Durban, driving along Garden Route South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda

List of trips 2013 (not clickable)

  • January - Tenerife
  • March - Istanbul
  • April - Italy luxury hotels - mid and southern Italy including Sicily
  • June - Las Vegas
  • June - Massive west coast road trip - Vancouver, BC
  • June - Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego
  • September - Washington DC, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia
  • September - Carolinas, Georgia, northern Florida (Talahassee area)
  • September - New Orleans, Orlando, Miami; Vancouver
  • October - Puglia, Italy and Milan

List of trips 2012

  • January - Hawaii, USA
  • February - France - Le Touquet, Lens, Lille
  • March - Nelamangala, India
  • July - Milan, Italy
  • August - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • August - Iguazu Falls, Brazil
  • August - Montevideo, Uruguay
  • September - Delhi, India
  • November - Dubai, UAE

List of trips 2011

  • January - Madeira, Portugal
  • February - Bangalore, India
  • April - British Virgin Islands, Caribbean
  • May - Sicily, Italy
  • May - San Francisco, USA
  • June - Bangalore and New Delhi, India
  • July - Prague, Czech Republic
  • July - Munich, Germany
  • July - Washington DC, USA
  • August - Lake District, UK
  • September - La Grande-Motte, France
  • Annapolis, USA
  • October - Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • December - Helsinki, Finland
  • December - St Petersburg, Russia

List of trips 2010

  • February - India - Kerala & Chennai
  • March - Manchester & the North West
  • March - Austria
  • April - Czech Republic
  • May - Lake District
  • June - Cologne
  • July - India - Bangalore and Delhi
  • August - Eastern Cape & KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
  • September - Grasse, south of France
  • September - Wick, Scotland
  • October - Utah, USA
  • December - Montreal, Canada
  • December - Madeira, Portugal
Olivia Greenway, travel journalist and copywriter
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