Deuter 2.5 lit Waist Pack

Looking rather smug in front of the Van Gogh Museum :-) 

After the Roopkund trek of 2017 I realised my good old leather waist pack (I call it a belt pouch) is not adequate enough for the demands of a modern travel anymore. These days our tickets - train or plane - are all A4 sized paper. My old pack, robust and strong though it is, is not large enough to accommodate them. It is not wide enough either and if I put my wallet then there is no place for anything else. 

This prompted me to go for a larger waist pack and after my first experience with the Deuter 26 lit backpack, I did not think twice about the brand. I bought it ahead of the Amsterdam trip. It arrived on 24th July and turned out to be a good purchase. 

(Of course some digitally inclined folks might suggest why not carry your ticket in your phone? Well I don't trust the phone to function all the time under all circumstances, even if I don't lose it while travelling. So I carry my A4 sized paper tickets with me. Smart Alecs can keep their opinions to themselves and trust their digital gadgets. I want to stay old fashioned in these things.)

I chose to go for the largest available size. The price difference between the smallest (I think 1 lit) and this wasn't much, though that wasn't the reason really to go for the 2.5 lit. The pack, despite being quite large (it is way larger than my leather belt pouch) doesn't seem bulky around the waist. In Amsterdam I carried it around with loads of stuff like my passport, red note book, tickets, mobile phone, charger and even the power bank. It never protested. I think if I took the thick red diary out it could even carry my wallet also. 

I don't know how they manage it but Deuter has this remarkable ability to create a lot of space inside their bags without them looking too big. My 26 lit back pack is also similar. Lots of space for a backpack of that size. 

The only downside to this bag is that it is not easy to adjust the size of the belt on the go, which is often a requirement especially when you are out walking with the pack on day-long trips.

I foresee using this pack in virtually all my trips from now on.