For the Canada 2023 trip, I was venturing into a country in which it might actually rain in the summer (in fact, the forecast before I left was for rain the entire time!). With 4 sets of raingear to carry, my Matador Beast wouldn't have worked even if it hadn't already gotten torn up. And the Freerain wasn't an option as it had no frame. I needed something bigger, preferably something with a frame and good waterbottle sidepockets.
REI had the Deuter Speedlite 25 on sale, and Osprey also had a sale on the Hikelite 26 and 32 at the same time. I quickly determined that the Hikelite 26 was no good because of their waterbottle mesh pockets had reports of water bottles falling out of them, while the 32 was too big. Despite not having a raincover (I live in California, after all), I opted for the Speedlite 25.
The backpack is light, and easily fit 4 people's rain gear, plus lunch, plus the hiking stick holders did a good job for when other people would give me their hiking stick to carry. There's a top pocket for quick to access items, and the mesh sidepockets for water bottles never failed. The external stuff pocket is also great for storing wet clothes or items that are otherwise dirty and you wouldn't want inside the pack. The frame is very comfortable, and the wife and kids never gave me so much that I could fit into the backpack. Deuter, like Osprey, also offers a lifetime repair or replace warranty for this backpack. I've biked with it relatively full and it's still comfortable.
The backpack is expensive but it's lighter and the warranty and utility makes it a winner. Recommended.
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