rucksacks

[claire]

hey not sure if this is the right forum for this but i'm looking to buy a new rucksack, i need a pretty big one (75 litres) and was thinking about buying one here, but i'm not really sure if they are cheaper than ireland or not. The ones i've seen have been about 180euro, which seems pretty expensive to me, but they are brands like the north face and lowe alpine with 50 year guarantees and so many special features they practically promise to carry themselves! so maybe thats good value.
basically does anyone know what rucksacks cost in Ireland, and are the ones here worth buying?
Thanks
Claire

[Una]

I don't know if they have an outlet in Newfoundland (BTW do you have the accent yet?), but try to track down Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC).  I know that Fergal & co stocked up big time there when they were in Vancouver and I was damn impressed with the outlet in Calgary.  You just need to pay a lifetime membership fee of about E5 to be able to shop.

Enjoy the rest of your time in Canada and congrats on the elecion;)

Una

[Brendino]

try to track down Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC).

There is one on the main street in Toronto. Big place with plenty of gear. Claire, decide what you need the ruck sack for and then buy it. If you need it for performance mountaineering or just weekends away with the club or travelling in Europe or U.S. or Australia. You get what you pay for. I bought a cheapo 85L £20 ruck sack 10 years ago. I used it for camping with scouts, hiking, and it has been around the World with me and I still have it. Only one buckle replaced. Decide how good you need it to be and how often you will use it before you fork over a fortune.

[Cheesy]

hey clare,
When it comes to rucksac i'd go for lowe everythime.  They just make the best bags that last for years and years with loads of abuse.  E180 sounds a little bit cheaper then Ireland but not much.
I've had my lowe rucksac for almost 6 years now and it's been all over the world, trow around, sat on, kick, burned, used as a ladder, used as a smelly canoe gear bag, and it's still good as new!
anyway thats my two cent
(well done with commity thingy)
Dave

[meabh]

only thing bout lowe that i dont like is the zips....the older rucksacks with buckles etc wear way much better whereas the newer ones with zips....well when your trying to get all your gear in them and there isnt reallly enough room the zips are the part that break.....my lowe rucksack just died and ive only had it for 4 yrs so now im using one my dad had in college! id call 180 expensive, but as brendino says guess it depends on the use.

xxx
see ya soon honey!

[Liz]

I got a small Lowe 30litre 2 years ago and it carries EVERYthing for college, weekends etc but it's already getting worn on bottom (only on sides though, not where it counts and everything will fall out some day and scatter all over the street). Disappointed all the same. The threads holding on velcro on coat I bought at same time also acting up.
Why not try out Sporthouse? Supporting Irish and they make the rucksacks for the irish army etc and I've had that for a good time. Only thing is mine doesn't have all the cool fangly appendages that make things easier. Totally unnormal colour though so easy to pick off an airport carousel!

[claire]

thanks for all the info guys! don't think i have the accent yet Una, though i do go shopping in the convenience store, take out the garbage, walk on the pavement and end a disturbing number of sentences with eh? so i think maybe its time i'd be heading home!  
really appreciate all the advice, am still undecided, i've heard wal-mart sell really good cheap rucksacks though so i'm going to go and check them out this weekend. I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place in that i've bought so much clothes and stuff i've no money left to buy a rucksack... but then again i've bought so much unless i do buy one i won't be able to bring it all home! I'll let ye know how i get on!
thanks again
claire xx