Brenta 50: my short overnight and day trip pack
I splashed out just before Christmas and brought myself a new light pack to wear on day trips or for lightweight overnight jaunts. I had tossed up a variety of various sizes, brands and types and was really undecided about which one to buy. There are a lot of packs available
in the 35-60l range and prices range from less than $100 right up to $500.
Then I saw this pack on an end of line sale at one of the local outdoors stores.
Vaude Brent 50 litre pack
This is a Vaude Brenta 50 pack. I am a fan of Vaude gear, they are a
German outdoor company with a wide range of packs, tents and outdoor
clothing. The thing that especially attracted me was the great price of
$120 (down from the usual $190).
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| Vaude Brenta 50l pack |
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| The Brenta inside Lagoon Saddle Shelter, 2014 |
I would never buy gear solely based on price, but this pack was already in my top 5 list anyway. I call that fate, or a message from the God's if you like.
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| Harness system on a Vaude Brenta 50l |
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| Using the Brenta on the way to Hope Halfway Hut, 2017 |
The Brenta's vital statistics...
The pack is a light (1200 gms) double compartment bag made of medium grade rip-stop nylon. It has a volume of 50 litres. It has a removable top lid, hydration port and expandable side pockets. The colour is the light blue above. The waist strap is more light weight than a full on tramping pack, but more than adequate for lighter loads.
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| Detail of the Brenta's hip belt, on the Harpers Pass Track, 2016 |
I was surprised by how roomy it is, it almost holds as much as my 75l pack. I would probably keep the load below 6-8kgs so as not to overly strain it.
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| Jon and the Vaude Brenta 50 up the Otira Valley in 2016 |
Ive used the pack for both day hikes and overnight tramps and have always found fit for the job, it is still comfortable even with 10 kg's of gear stored in it.
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| Jon and the Brenta 50 at Rod Donald Hut in 2016 |
NB: I used the Brenta successfully on a three day trip on the Te Ara Pataka Walkway in 2016. I was using this as my over night pack as it can easily accommodate all the gear I needed to carry for a 1-2 day trip. Another overnight trip was to Nina Hut in April 2017.
This role has now been taken over by my Osprey Atmos 50.
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| The Brenta at the Nina River foot bridge, 2017 |
I'm hoping to do some tramping with my daughters in the future and in fact Georgia used the Brenta 50 when we spent 5 days working as the Packhorse Hut warden in March 2018. The pack fits her well so she will be using it when we go out on trips from now on.
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| My daughter Georgia wearing the Brenta en-route to Packhorse Hut, 2018 |
I was really impressed with how effective my Vaude packs have been so when I was looking for a dedicated day tramp bag I immediately went with Vaude. I have replaced the Brenta 50 as my day pack with its smaller cousin the Vaude Brenta 40. This is a better size for day trips and has saved me another 200 gms on the weight I carry.
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| My new day pack the Vaude Brenta 40 |
