My idea in picking up the Tarahumara was to start carrying smaller, smarter loadouts for my dayhikes, in locations that are well served and emergency ‘survival’ gear is mostly excess weight. I’m lucky enough to live in a location where I can walk out of town and onto a trail within five minutes of closing my front door. I can hike at a comfortable pace along riverside and woodland paths for hours, without leaving a five-mile radius of my house. It’s easy, in this position, to trim the ‘I might need it’ fat and be realistic about my kit. The goal is just to take things I’m expecting to use, with a only the bare minimum of contingency.

The size of the Tara is limiting in this regard and I found myself having to strap several items to the outside of the pack – this isn’t a major issue, having extra warm/waterproof layers quickly at hand is usually a good idea, especially in the British springtime – but mostly I was entirely happy with my selection of kit based on what I needed and used.

For this use, the Tarahumara excelled. The lower size (and consequently, weight) was part of the benefit, but also the excellent shoulder harness Hill People Gear have developed (see Piotr Ma’s recent review for more commentary there). In other settings/roles this strap design isn’t perfect, but it allowed me to cover the distance without feeling uncomfortable at all under the load. It’s a great pack if you want to pack light and move all day.

Configeer #004