I've got a Lowe Contour (II) which is quite old and was much larger than we
probably needed. But my husband got a Mountainsmith Chimera for our RTW and
he loved it! It had a completely detachable lid and is incredibly light.
It is surrounded by bungees for excellent stuffing opportunities while
you're tramping around. The only disadvantage is that it is entirely
top-loading.

My Contour is top loading with a bottom zip, which made access quite
convenient. The disadvantage was that the old model was quite heavy in
comparison to my husband's. I did have more carrying capacity, however, if
needed.

"Scott" wrote in message
om...
My soon-to-be fiancee (if all goes as planned) and I are planning on
doing several 4 week+ tours of Europe and South America.

I've read every piece of info on backpacking I can get my hands on,
but I'm stumped. I was originally looking at 75-90l packs, but from
what I've been reading a pack in the 3700 to 4500 cu inch (60l +/-)
range should be more than enough (especially since we won't be
carrying food and such - mostly just clothes)... am I right in that
assumption?

I've narrowed it down to two models, but would really appreciate other
suggestions.

Osprey Crescent 60 (Luna 60 for her)
Arc'Teryx Bora 65 (Bora 62 for her)

I like the idea of adding the Daylite pack to the Osprey series - is
there anything like that available for the arc'teryx??

I prefer the confort of this type of dedicated technical pack vs. a
piece of luggage with a harness. But which will suit us best for our
worldly travels? We plan to spend most of our time walking and on the
eurail trains...