REI Ruckpack 40 Review - Why I Returned It

Why I bought this backpack

I bought this backpack after becoming dissatisfied with another travel backpack I used. This Ruckpack 40 had a lot more usable space, and I liked how the zipper curved back toward to back panel at the top. It helps you get your laptop out of the sleeve easier.

And it it had a conventional laptop sleeve in the back just like most other backpacks. I initially really like this backpack. I took it on a couple of trips on airlines, and it did great. I travel for work and pleasure, and I prefer backpacks to rolling luggage. The reason for this is that unless your staying on paved roads, rolling luggage becomes very difficult. Any sort of walking distances on gravel roads, paths, or anywhere where you're not going directly from the airport to a hotel makes rolling luggage a nightmare.

I keep getting hopeful that I'll find a backpack that has everything I want. But that has not happened yet. I can't buy a backpacking pack becuase they are top loaders and it's a nightmare to get to anything. How many people actually hike for miles and miles in the backcountry anyway? I don't, and I need to be able to get to my stuff.

Pros - Here is a short list of what I liked. Obviously, it wasn't enough for me to want to keep the backpack.

• Laptop sleeve in the back
• Full length zipper that curved back at the top
• Lots of usable space

Poor Build Quality

I didn't pick up on this in the store when I bought it, but I started to notice things. The straps were just sewed directly onto the material without any nylon webbing supports. It didn't have any structural integrity, and the straps would just pull off eventually.

The other ends of the straps were just folded material that attached to the buckle. No nylon webbing on the lower part of the straps that attached to the plastic buckle. It was just the outer material which was probably 200 denier nylon folded and wrapped around the plastic buckle. It's really poor quality. It should have nylon webbing running the length of the shoulder strap.

The water bottle holders are on the side where they should be, but it's really easy to something to slide out of them. This isn't a deal breaker, but it's something to keep in mind.

Insufficient hip belt - the hip belt is really small, and it's not large enough to support the weight. It's designed to be stowed for checking the bag, but who does that? This is a carry on bag - no one is going to check it.

This backpack just doesn't do anything really well, and I had to return it. The main reason I returned it was was poor build quality. It looks good in the store, but once you start using it, you realize it's made badly. I considered buying the hiking version of it, but I looked at that one, and it's not made any better. It does have a bigger hip belt, but that's about it. As with most things, build quality has fallen by the wayside. The average person is going see it and think it looks nice, and they won't think about how it's made or where it's going to break. Most civilian gear isn't used everyday, so even if it's cheaply made, it's going to last for a long time. Companies can get away with stuff like this, and REI is a perfect example. I fully believe most of their stuff would break if it was used more than a couple times a year. On the other hand, military gear is used everyday, and there's a different standard.