First hike with Savotta Jääkäri L

I recently bought a new backpack: Savotta Jääkäri L. I previously used a Berhgaus Vulcan backpack, that I had bought used a couple of years back. It was a really good first backpack to try things out, but was really worn out already when I bought it and started to fall apart here and there. I couldn't trust it anymore and it didn't seem to fit me very well either.

Requirements

What I wanted from my new backpack was a large size, preferably something along the Berghaus size (about 100 liters), a lot of customization options and high quality. Having had good experience from the Savotta Minijääkäri backpack, which is around 25 liters, I started to seriously consider the bigger versions of this product family, Jääkäri L, which is about 55 liters, and Jääkäri XL, which is about 90 liters.

When I saw the Jääkäri L in a discount for under 300 euros (original price is about 330 euros here in Finland), and I was just about to go on a multiday trek, I decided to pull the trigger and order it.

In the above picture, I have the Jääkäri L backpack in use. I have attached two pouches on the sides, and one extra pouch on the back. I have just taken my camera from inside, so the top part looks a bit loose, but when packed normally it is tight.

Size

I was really worried about the size in paper, as it said 55 liters, overpacked 60 liters. That is pretty far from the 100 liters, I was hoping to go for. But when I got the backpack, it didn't actually feel that much smaller. Especially when I added two 3 liter pockets on the sides. I also ended up adding one pouch on the back. Somehow I managed to fit all my basic stuff in it pretty easily. I also like the roll top design, where you can easy change the size of the back. When needed you can overpack it a lot. By customizing the hip belt with an additonal smaller pouch and a water bottle pouch, I could get everything I need frequently within my hand reach without having to take the backpack off from my back.

Modularity

One of the reasons I like the Jääkäri product family a lot is that the backpacks are covered with PALS to allow all kind of pouches and hooks and anything to be attached easily to the backpack. That is probably one of the reasons the Jääkäri L feels so spacious when you can connect anything on the outside if it does not fit inside.

Fit

The fit is good on me, I'm 169 cm tall, so not the tallest person, but I get the backpack to fit tightly on me. It feels like it is part of me and moves along with me rather than a wobbly thing hanging on my back. I have the newer version of the backpack where Savotta has made the hipbelt slightly smaller to fit slimmer people better. With that new addition the hipbelt feels good and it's easy to get it tight enough. The hipbelt position can be adjusted a little with PALS, but I have not yet tried that. The chest strap position can be adjusted too, which is a really good feature especially for women.

My shoulders started to feel the 18 kg weight that I was carrying, but that is inevitable. I also have quite wide hip and visible hip bones, so the hipbelt caused some pain around that area, but I guess that can't be avoided either. The padding on the hip and shoulder straps is not the softest there is, but in the end, those parts that take most of the weight will start to hurt anyway, no matter how soft the paddings are.

Quality

The quality of the backpack seems very good. I could easily pack it full or attach multiple things on the outside of it without having to fear of breaking something. The fabric feels robust so placing the backpack on rough ground does not seem to give any damage to it. I have a feeling that it will last a long time and can easily take rougher use, which is exactly what I wanted. Sure it might weight a bit more than some other backpacks, it's 2,4 kgs, but if that is the price of it lasting a long time, I can take that.

Conclusion

I am very happy with my purchase. Although the size is small on paper, in practise that is not a problem at all due to the roll top design and highly modular design. And I actually like that you can make it also pretty small if needed. The fit is good and the quality is top notch, so it sure was a money well spent. I have so far used it for 30 kms divided for 4 days and so far I have no bad thing to say about it. I might update my experience on it when I have used it a lot more. But initial feeling is that this was the perfect choice for me.