THE SELL: A backpack that’s equally at home in the city and the backcountry. THE TEST: With dual aluminum stays and a fully adjustable suspension system, the 85-liter Grand Tour is a serious backpack. On a three-day hut route in Austria, one tester dialed in the perfect fit “like you can with the best technical backpacks on the market.” He was just as impressed back in civilization. The Grand Tour comes with a travel bag that cocoons all its straps into a tidy bundle for worry-free rides on the airport’s conveyor belts (and doubles as a rain fly once you’ve landed). And the 15-liter detachable daypack is handy, too, with an internal neoprene laptop sleeve and organizational pockets for maps, gadgets, and documents. THE VERDICT: This is the pack we wish we had in college when we were studying abroad.
Durability: 4.5
Performance: 4.5
REI Grand Tour 85M Backpack
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