Making products that are intuitive, efficient, and user-friendly is crucial. But there’s one more thing that can contribute significantly to designing exceptional products and ignoring it means missing out on creating products that are truly iconic. I never carry bear spray and only used a bear canister once in the High Sierras of California where it was required. I use a bag for food and tie it in a tree, but mainly to keep the little critters out. Many trip failures can be traced to the planning process or something overlooked in preparation. Even on the best of trips, I usually learn of things I should have done differently, often related to travel distance, packing, or food.
This pack has no extraneous features, save for the small front zip pocket and an internal hydration sleeve. There are no compression straps or other means of securing anything to the outside of the pack, aside from the “daisy chain” on the front. My only knock on it would be the lack of a small water bottle pocket. The ozark trail chair has a total of 22 liters of capacity with several pockets for your essentials.
This cooler, when compared to the Pelican 45Q Elite and Yeti Tundra, has the smallest profile while still providing 45Q internal storage. It features rubber latches which I am a huge fan of for boating applications. When you are out ozark trail chair on the water, people often sneak over to grab something from the cooler and may not latch it back up. With a hard plastic latch, you run the risk of brushing by the cooler and hitting your shin, which I have done and is awful.
Sure, you can load a cooler out each morning packed with fresh ice, but it is just so much easier to cut down all that work with a cooler than can keep ice for days on end. The top pocket I keep my cellphone, battery chargers, an extra camera battery, wallet and sunglass case. At the bottom, I keep a towel, first aid kit, and few other items, I may need. The easy access pockets (really just give you access to the main pack) I keep an extra pair of knee sleeves and socks.
It’s also small enough that it wasn’t inconvenient for them to have it with them everyday. This daypack came in handy just for what I intended. The next section along Trace Creek is an enjoyable, quiet walk in the woods. Some hikers may choose to continue on Trace Creek to the Taum Sauk section, but OT thru-hikers should head west onto Middle Fork/John Roth Memorial section to complete the longer route. This hilly 26-mile segment gains over 2,600 feet of elevation over a contoured landscape crossing brooks, streams, and wetlands, as well as small savannahs of oak and hickory hardwoods.