Drop 40L Backpack Designed by Dan Durston Reviews | Drop

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Drop 40L Backpack Designed by Dan Durston

FULL DISCUSSION

JulesyMcJulesface

Mar 5, 2021

Verified Buyer

Edited to add- I have now used the pack a whole heap and my review below stands. I have decided to sell the pack on, only because I have splurged the mega bucks to have a female specific strap set up (S shape) custom pack made, the DD40 is as close as it gets to perfect for me other than this aspect and certainly much better value for money than anything else out there. I am very happy with the pack. I was interested in this pack, having extensively used the XMid 1p and also purchasing a 2p. Only hesitation to purchase was sizing, given that I am 5ft 1" female and had read mixed reports about fit for that size torso length. I am a Australian Size 10 (US 6) and my body shape is 'pear', much heavier through the hips than my upper body. Initially not convinced that the pack was going to work out for me as out of the box and a random load of my gear put in it, the shoulder straps felt too wide for me and the straps seemed to dig in on the inside edges, I worried that with some arm swing, I would also chafe due to how the fit seemed. I intended to sell it on while it was still brand new. Another female purchaser encouraged me to give it a chance, so I did. Happy to report the pack is a total winner! With the XMid 1p, I waited until nearly owning it a year before reviewing as I wanted to test it in all conditions, I view a tent as a piece of equipment. For me, a pack is different as it is an item that I wear and from previous experience in buying and trying packs it is very quickly apparent whether they will work and fit well for me. For this reason I am happy to review the Drop Durston 40 now. I have taken it on a 12km rainy day walk, loaded out with 4 days worth of gear plus food and 3lt water to really put it through its paces. Heavier than I am ever likely to need it to carry. The following day I walked 32km in a day, some offtrack and needing to slide through gaps in rocks and getting thoroughly soaked from armpit-high foliage. Construction is robust, no mesh - hurrahhhh! So good for Australian conditions. I had no concerns with scratchy trees , shrubs or grazing past rocks. Interestingly, I figured the pack would be wet out, both from the rain on Day 1 and then the heavy dew from high foliage on day 2 (water was bubbling out of my trail runners with each step!) but althought the outside was wet, inside was totally dry. After getting out of the rain, the exterior also dried lightning fast. I have no doubt this pack will last me many years. Layout is outstanding. I had considered a GG Mariposa as I liked the look of how gear could be stored, however 60lt is overkill and I did not have confidence in the robustness of the pack. The Durston 40 has it just right for me. Out of the smaller pocket, I can easily extract and then put away a 1.5lt water bottle. The shoulder straps fit my 'fiddly' things in nicely. One side held chapstick,hand san, sunglasses. The other side had my head bugnet and my 'drop bear spray' aerosol. One hipbelt swallowed my tech bag with room to spare and the other was full of snacks. My Samsung A21s in bulky wallet style case was easily stowed and retrieved from the zip on the larger side pocket. The large side pocket is amazing and am pondering its best use as it really is a great size. My thoughts are my XMid 1p would fit nicely OR replace the cordage with some shock cord and slot my Nemo Switchback Short in the side, although I did try it and it was tight. I have just purchased an Exped Flexmat that I will cut in half, so I expect it will fit very nicely there in the side pocket, or even inside the pack, which would be my preference. If possible I want my CCF as minimally exposed as possible. I don't want it stored across the top of my pack in the longer term. I am sure after a few trials of different ideas I will find what works best for me, the pack certainly gives me options to customise how I carry things. Fit. Well, just try it in the wild is my recommendation. The fit feels superb for me in use. There was no conflict between my natural arm swing and the shoulder straps. My initial concerns about being too wide set were unfounded, there felt like there was no weight/pressure from the shoulder straps in the slightest, I felt so free and unrestricted with the pack on. I will trim quite a decent length off the shoulder straps as due to my short/small upper body the excess straps nearly dangle down to my knee height. That should be encouraging for larger folk as there is clearly a lot of room to adjust larger. The hipbelt fit was great for me. My concerns around that were other packs I have tried in a smaller size have then not had the right hipbelt for my curves, but it fit like a charm. The pockets sat at a good point for me and I had excellent load transfer from the loads I carried. I will also trim some excess from the straps there too. Torso length wise, I don't think you would want to be much shorter than I am, but it works very comfortably for me. All in all, extremely happy with the pack. The material, construction,fit and price point are all at a place where I am happy with them.

(Edited)

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dandurston

5116

Dan Durston

Mar 5, 2021

JulesyMcJulesfaceAwesome. Thanks for the nice review. I'm glad the fit is working out well.

Mar 5, 2021

MusingWithReba

Mar 9, 2021

JulesyMcJulesfaceok, you've just convinced me to get one for myself! I was wondering how it would be for women. You're just a couple inches shorter than me Jules, so it should work as well for me. I've seen Dan's wife's review, but she's his wife, she may be a bit biased ;)

Mar 9, 2021

JulesyMcJulesface

Mar 10, 2021

MusingWithRebaYes, I have no marital affiliation with Dan, although I think his wife seems pretty genuine, straight up honest and would tell Dan if she thought the pack he designed was no good ;-) I really held off for months on buying the pack and as I said in my review, was initially going to on sell it right away as straight out of the box it just looked like it wasn't going to work for me. I won't even tell you my pack fitting struggles over the years or how much money I have wasted in getting it right, I have definitely 'kissed some frogs' to find my packs. I love my Australian made pack for heavier carries and now am stoked to have a lighter option for when the kids are not with me with my Durston 40. I just cannot tolerate am uncomfortable fit, I am a midwife and like lots of my colleagues, have a dodgy back, so need to be k ind to my body. I hope it works out as well for you as it has for me, if not for another female reviewer, I wouldn't have taken the leap at all and then certainly not messed about with trying it for real once I was convinced it wasn't going to fit me well. So super glad I did though, it really is fabbo. All the best, Jules

(Edited)

Mar 10, 2021

JDE2021

Mar 11, 2021

JulesyMcJulesfaceThanks for sharing your experience...great to read an Aussie review. Must admit I had the same reaction on unwrapping the DD40L just now. I’ve quadruple checked my torso size (20in) so M/L was the right sizing. I only through in 5kg to try it on. If you’ve got any photos/advice re how you’ve adjusted it across the chest, that would be fab.

Mar 11, 2021

JulesyMcJulesface

Mar 11, 2021

JDE2021I just loaded it out as I would for a longer trip, stuffing various things into it in no particular order as I did initially, was not a real world test and just didn't feel good. I lowered my hip belt a touch from where I initially had wanted to wear it and found in doing so it wrapped nicely around my hips giving optimal torso fit lengthwise and transferring the load way better. The knock on effect being there was zero pressure on the shoulder straps, couldn't really discern any weight through the shoulders at all. As I am short, I needed to crank the shoulder straps nearly all the way small, which is why I have an acre of excess webbing to cut. I know I have more pics on my laptop, not sure if they are helpful though , will take a look when I am home later.

(Edited)

Mar 11, 2021