UKC

My sister is in the market for a new day sac,primarily for summer hill-walking.I am completely out the loop regarding this sort of gear so am looking for recommendations.

Thanks!

There must be scores, if not hundreds, of possible choices out there. A good place to start could be our gear reviews. Maybe look at medium sized packs in the directory: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/gear/rucksacks/medium/

Or smaller packs: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/gear/rucksacks/small/

For a walkers' summer day pack I'd suggest something 25-30 litres is about right. Any larger and she'll struggle to fill it; much smaller and she may have to be very disciplined and ultralight in her packing.

The Lowe Alpine Aeon range would be worth a look: https://www.ukhillwalking.com/gear/rucksacks/medium/lowe_alpine_aeon_27_pac...

The Osprey Talon (Tempest, for women) range is also a good bet https://www.ukhillwalking.com/gear/rucksacks/small/osprey_talon_22-9328

I'm just writing a review of the Osprey Skarab 30 (Skimmer for women), which should be out next week. I think it's a very good general summer hill pack.

I have a Talon 11 and have been very happy with it.  I especially like the pockets in hip belt.  

I have an Osprey Talon and it gives me horrible back ache. I have a Montane pack that fits me perfect but my wife finds it digs into her hips.

Moral of my story is go to a store and try packs on with some weight in them. Bodies come in different shapes and sizes, much like packs.

Decathlon are doing a 20L backpack for a fiver at the moment - it's not got any fancy features, but you can put stuff in it and then walk up hills

I think you need to narrow down the search a bit

For summer hillwalking then about 20l should be fine, 30 tops. At that sort of volume the hip belt isn't load bearing, so doesn't need to be padded (unlike shoulder straps) but personally I find it useful to have some external storage that can be reached without taking the pack off, so hip belt storage is pretty handy. Back padding not vital as will be full of clothes anyway probably, but some sort of padded stiffening sheet makes sense for the minimal extra weight. About 5-600g is plenty for a bag of this size. Clean lines preferable over a multitude of zips and straps. 

Some companies seem to think 1kg is fine for a daypack - I think that's crazy talk. Does she need to carry poles, ice axe, or crampons at all? 

Personally I dislike side pockets, but a good top pocket that swallows handy things easily is useful. 

The Blue Ice Warthog 28 often pops up half price on sport pursuit, and I think would be a good choice.

b

Many thanks all, very useful.

If you're not a fan of water bladders it can be very useful having low side pouches that you can slip a water bottle and/or a small camera in and reach it without taking the sack off.

If you end up looking at Osprey Packs, take note that they come in two back sizes and that certain retailers only stock one of the sizes.

I like my Deuter 20l Speed Lite pack for summer hillwalking, but others might not.  I would tend to agree with olddirtydoggy that eyeballing the options in the flesh, and trying them with a bit of weight in (not that a 20l pack is ever likely to get hugely heavy unless you load it with spent uranium) is a good idea.

Deuter do female-specific versions of most of their packs which might help your sis to find a comfortable fit.  (I believe that the rather twee yellow flower that they adorn the ladies' versions with can be removed if preferred.)

Alpkit 25l goudron. Cheap as chips, simple and waterproof!

Another vote for the Deuter 20l speed lite. I also have a berghaus fast lite 32l.

Lowe Alpine have small packs - fuse and ignite - which look great for the price but don't seem to have side pockets.

I'm a big fan of Osprey. I have the Talon 11 and 22, both excellent but would suggest the 22 is the most versatile and best suited to hill walking - it's got a lot of really good features. I've even used it for winter walks as it seems to just absorb gear. Note Osprey sell different back sizes as others have pointed out and so definitely worth trying them on at a shop (with weight in) to make it really works for your sister.