Lafuma Naia 35

I purchased this backpack for a trip where I was flying on a 5 day Mini-break. I was looking for something that was going to be light (I have Fibromyalgia), comfortable, stable (i.e. not slop all over while I was walking in the airport) and have enough room to pack everything I would need for a 5 day break.

This backpack is FANTASTIC. I can’t say enough and I’ve been raving about it for days.

First, it’s comfortable. Really comfortable. I could wear it all day. I did, twice! First, the straps are padded with a nice gel like substance. Once on, there are additional straps that wrap around the waist and snap together for stability on the bottom of the pack. Where the pack rests on the back, the padding is less, but certainly not painful in any way. Additionally, there is a snap at the top of the pack handles so that the wearer can connect across the chest for even more stability.

The engineers have really thought this pack out. There are smaller handles at the top of the shoulder straps that allows the wearer to grab and “pull down” for adjusting or just hanging the hands on. These handles are something that you just don’t think about until they’re not there. What I’ve found is that I will frequently grab the handles (or top of the straps near the shoulders) when standing or adjusting and pull down when wearing a pack. It’s a more comfortable way to stand in a balanced position with the added back weight. The neat thing is that someone thought about how people stand with backpacks on and put handles there.

There are storage compartments galore. On the outside, there is stretchy material (on the side in certain locations) to make an adjustable, conforming pouch. This is great for Water or Pop bottles. Put the bottle in, and the fabric conforms tightly around the bottle holding it snug. There’s a top, slightly larger pouch that has two zipper bags to hold just about anything you’ll need. I used it to put my car keys in so that I knew where they were when I got back home.

Stowage in an Airplane over head bin is very cool. The size is perfect to fit in so that the bottom of the pack is at the back of the bin and the top is at the front. This means that the pack takes up only a width space of about 10 inches wide in the bin. I was able to shove the pack into a very small cubby hole that no other bags were able to fit. I like this because I don’t have to worry whether there’s enough room or not. Now days, with the “checked luggage” fees, nearly everyone is taking a carry-on bag rather than checking their luggage in the bottom of the airplane. By far, this pack takes the smallest space I’ve ever seen.

I’m very happy with this pack. As I said above, I’ve already recommended it. My traveling companion is now going to purchase one too. She watched me put it on and take it off with ease throughout the trip and was impressed. With that said, I highly recommend this backpack.