Gear Review: Deuter ACT Trail 24

KOTA KINABALU – I’ve always given much thought to what kind of hiking pack is best for me. Would a 55+10 liter suffice? Or should I get a smaller one – a committed step towards minimalism? Indeed, for a lot of hikers, the choice of a hiking pack is important; it reflects, in many ways, their personality and attitude when it comes to hiking.

Daypacks, however, are not given much thought. I never had a mainstay daypack – although a couple of years back my favorite was the The North Face Borealis 30. Since dayhikes are dayhikes, I didn’t really put much thought into what kind of pack I should bring. Even the plainest of backpacks did the trick anyway.

But using a daypack designed for hiking – such as the Deuter ACT Trail 24 would make you think twice; it would make you feel the difference between a regular backpack and one that is suited to your needs.

The ACT Trail 24, for example, has the features as its bigger counterparts – making it, aside from being functional, cute for Deuter users. The usual features of the Deuter heavy packs are there: a small compartment for the raincover at the very bottom; a hip belt; an outer and inner compartments at the top. Even the way the main compartment is closed mirrors the functionality of the big ones. Cecil Morella wrote a gear review of its bigger version, the ACT Trail 32 and most of the features he mentions are also found on the ACT Trail 24.