Stuffable day pack

I just picked up my first backpacking pack.  I got the REI flash 65.  It was on sale for 50% off, and was comfortable.  I mainly got it to carry all of my wife and my gear out to campsites.  We love to hike and camp, but not my wife isn’t looking to go on long packaging trips.  We road trip a lot.  And some of our campsites are a few miles from the car, so this pack was bought so we could carry all of our overnight gear to the camp, and then go day-hiking from there.  Since we’ll be leaving the camp set up, I need a daypack to take along for the hikes.  The Osprey Stratos was my first choice originally, but with the frame, I’m afraid it won’t fit into my pack with our tent, sleeping bags/pads, water and clothes, etc.  My wife has a day pack of her own, so she can carry some of the load.  But not both bags.
What I’m looking for is a good daypack to replace the old school bag I’ve been using.  I’d also like it to be able to squeeze down enough to fit into my pack.  I do t need a ton of features.  Maybe between 20-30L, and side pockets big enough to carry 1L Nalgene water bottles without them falling out.  Also, preferably not much over the $100 range

Any suggestions?

REI FLASH 18 or FLASH 22. 

Just for the compatibility reasons?  Are they durable?  How comfortable are they in terms of sweating?  My back sweats a ton.  And how comfortable are the hip belt straps with no cushioning?

"Stuff-ability" usually means either no back-padding, or a simple. ethafoam-type back pad that you can easily remove. Remove the back-padding and the pack itself rolls up into a tight cylinder/"ball".   Don't know if the REI Flash18 or 22 (recommended above) has this "feature".  The Black Diamond Bullet packs did, (not sure if new ones do) as did the old Lowe "Summit Attack" pack I often use.

I really like the Marmot Kompressor. There are a couple of packs in that series with water bottle side pouches. There's also the OR Isolation HD which is pretty similar, but I like the Isolation LT which is lighter and has fewer features. These two pack series and the REI Flash are all really light and pretty durable. I'd go for whatever is on sale/cheapest.

And personal preference, but unless I'm running, I don't see a reason to use a hip belt with such a small pack. There isn't enough room to stuff it so heavy that a hip belt is actually helpful, so I wouldn't worry about hip belt comfort

edit: Flash, Isolation, and Kompressor packs have removable foam back padding

Ha...I just picked up the REI Flash 18 last night. I haven't used it yet but it is super lightweight and you can remove the SMALL piece of foam that is there for rigidity to make it really packable.

I plan to carry water/shoes/snacks/gear/rain shell for multi-pitch. It isn't big enough for serious alpine shit, but will work for stuff like Stettner's or Ellingwood ledges that you can do in a day.

Thanks guys.  
The hip belt was more for when we go biking or horseback.  On some of our trips we find cool places to mountain bike or ride horses.  I figured the hip belt would be useful for then, but since we’re not always riding, I guess it’s not the most important feature.  
I do like the flash 18 and 22 design.  If I can get either on as good of a sale as the 65, I’ll pick it up

Baba Fats wrote: Thanks guys.  
The hip belt was more for when we go biking or horseback.  On some of our trips we find cool places to mountain bike or ride horses.  I figured the hip belt would be useful for then, but since we’re not always riding, I guess it’s not the most important feature.  
I do like the flash 18 and 22 design.  If I can get either on as good of a sale as the 65, I’ll pick it up

Full price the Flash 18 was $40

I have a REI Flash 22 and can attest to the great lightweight capabilities this pack posesses. I will say that the lightweight material isn’t as durable though, naturally. I took the thing up the chief recently and found myself in a chimney. It unfortunately got scuffed up and now has a few open wounds. On a more positive note, I dropped the thing in a lake and it dried pretty quick.

Matador makes some some great highly stuffable packs. 

Baba Fats wrote:   I mainly got it to carry all of my wife and my gear out to campsites.  What does your wife carry?

Her bag isn’t that big.  Maybe 18L.  So she packs some clothes, our snacks, maybe her sleeping bag if we can fit it, and some water.  I’ll be carrying our tent, both sleeping pads, at least one sleeping bag, my clothes, and more water.  We’re not hard core campers.  So I’m not lugging out cooking gear and a weeks worth of stuff.  Most of the time we only need a day pack because we’re car camping.  But once in a while when the camp site is a hike away, I can do the heavy lifting.  I’m a workhorse like that.  

Aaron, that’s good to know.  I’m not looking to climb with it right now, so it won’t get torn up in a chimney.  If that’s in my future, I’ll find a more suitable bag

I looked at the Flash and decided it had too many shortcomings for how I wanted to use it and instead would highly recommend the Osprey Duro 15. It's become my go to because of incredible versatility owing to it's numerous features. Use it on Class 3+ overnighters no  problem with pole carry straps, great stability from chest straps and hip belts, included 2.5L reservoir, clips for helmet, etc. Easy going half day hike? Leave the reservoir and bring collabsible water flasks in shoulder strap pockets, compression straps lock down your lighter load. Can't say enough good things. Yes, significantly more expensive than Flash (who really pays full price these days anyway) but I would argue you get way more out of it IF your activities will require more than the bare bones Flash can offer.

Buck Rio wrote: Ha...I just picked up the REI Flash 18 last night. I haven't used it yet but it is super lightweight and you can remove the SMALL piece of foam that is there for rigidity to make it really packable.

I plan to carry water/shoes/snacks/gear/rain shell for multi-pitch. It isn't big enough for serious alpine shit, but will work for stuff like Stettner's or Ellingwood ledges that you can do in a day.

Taking that little piece of foam out actually made mine surprisingly less comfortable, especially if your throw some of the rack in there on the descent, lobes get stabby.. For me that packablity isn't worth the trade off.

On the durability note, I've been using a flash 18 for 4 years now, for chimney pitches I just girth a double through the shoulder straps and clip to my belay loop. It sees a lot less abrasion loosely flopping around than if you press it hard into the rock. 

John Larson wrote: I looked at the Flash and decided it had too many shortcomings for how I wanted to use it and instead would highly recommend the Osprey Duro 15. It's become my go to because of incredible versatility owing to it's numerous features. Use it on Class 3+ overnighters no  problem with pole carry straps, great stability from chest straps and hip belts, included 2.5L reservoir, clips for helmet, etc. Easy going half day hike? Leave the reservoir and bring collabsible water flasks in shoulder strap pockets, compression straps lock down your lighter load. Can't say enough good things. Yes, significantly more expensive than Flash (who really pays full price these days anyway) but I would argue you get way more out of it IF your activities will require more than the bare bones Flash can offer.

That is kind of an apples and oranges comparison. The flash is a super lightweight, bare bones pack for $40. The Osprey has got a hydration chamber and is a full on technical pack that doesn't really stuff down very well for $140.   

I have a very similar Camelback pack to the Osprey that I really love, but I won't take it on climbs with me, because I don't want to wreck it, and it doesn't fit very well into my main pack(45L) that I will be carrying anyway (climbing iron and rope).

For $40, I am willing to sacrifice the pack bringing it up on climbs for more comfort on the descent (shoes/water/food).

Blue ice dragonfy 18L

Carries a rope shoes 2l of water a rack med kit rain and insulation layers and a headlamp! Under a lb and carries well! $40