Thank you to everyone for your input.
My wife already has an Osprey pack which she used when she took her school kids over to Borneo. It held up quite well in the humidity and bush that she hiked 6 nights through.
To be honest, I don’t imagine we will be bush bashing at this stage so the more rugged bags might be a bit overkill.
Don’t worry, the luggage handlers at the airport will give your pack more of a bashing than any bush track will.
My wife has a One Planet pack she might be willing to sell. It’s in excellent condition. Let me know if you’re interested.
Depends on the colour
Browsing the Ultralight subreddit takes up a large portion of my work day 
Agree with everyone who says to try a bunch of packs on and prioritise the fit. Walking with a sore back is pretty miserable.
I’ll vouch for the One Planets too. We love ours. Definitely one of the pricier options though.
Size probably depends on your other gear and how you like to hike/camp. We would struggle with 50L but my wife feels the cold so she has a big-ish sleeping bag and puffy jacket in her pack all the time, and we like camp cooking so usually haul a fair bit of not-so-space-efficient food (plus, ya know, coffee). We could definitely pack less but then we wouldn’t enjoy the trip as much.
On the other hand, hauling a backpack that’s too heavy for you also sucks. So if you two aren’t comfortable carrying weight all day then a smaller bag may help save you from yourself re: packing!
Tough packs aren’t that much of a compromise I reckon
Zing
This is the thing bough - which is what attracted me to Osprey…
“Osprey will repair any damage or defect for any reason free of charge – whether it was purchased in 1974 or yesterday. If we are unable to perform a functional repair on your pack, we will happily replace it. We proudly stand behind this guarantee, so much so that it bears the signature of company founder and head designer, Mike Pfotenhauer.”
A lifetime repair guarantee is all well and good, but if you’re in the middle of nowhere and your pack falls apart- you’re fucked.
It’s the equivalent of a Knog warranty.
“We know we make shit products that have significant design flaws. We know they will fail at the most inconvenient moment. We make enough money on the markup, and realise not everyone is going to ask for a replacement, so the few we do give out are incorporated into our overhead. Here, have a free replacement, have you seen our latest Kickstarter?”
So in other words you’d be in a real pickle.
Not if you had some delicious pickles to eat
I know a guy and a girl that could maybe help…
I wouldn’t discount Osprey packs. Plenty of people rate them. I don’t have much experience with them, but I do with OP and WE and Macpac, and most people I know use these.
None of it matters if the packs don’t fit though. It’s really important to try them on, and buy the one that fits well. On that first day or two of the hike, even the most comfortable pack will have you questioning yourself, but over the next few days, it’ll prove itself. And if it’s uncomfortable, you’ll be walking along thinking “mate, I’d totally give anyone $500 if they came along and gave me a more comfortable pack…”
I’ll see myself out.
I guess the only brands that I have easy access to in Canberra that I would trust are Mont, Osprey and anything Paddy Pallin, Mountain Designs, MacPac and Kathmandu dish up. Pretty sure we don’t have stockists for Summit Gear, One Planet and Wilderness Equipment here in Canberra though.
How comfy was that mattress Ezy?
Kathmandu is owned by a private equity group and has for a long time had a very poor record both in terms of product quality and ethical manufacturing. Back in the day I got offered a job in their design team, but turned them down as I couldn’t bring myself to work for a firm whose supply chain practices were so suspect. Unfortunately since Macpac was bought out and manufacturing was shifted offshore it seems to have gone the same way, albeit with better designs (I think Jan Cameron who started Kathmandu is now a major shareholder in Macpac).
One Planet is the shizz and is still made in Australia. I love my Mcmillan.
Okay, I understand. I need to do a daytrip to try a few bags on.
*for everyones info, I went on a day trip to Sydney to try a mattress that isn’t available in Canberra. Australian made Carbon neutral organic latex wrapped in natural wool, and covered in a organic cotton and hemp blended fabric. Vee doesn’t like sleeping on chemicals.
As far as Kathmandu goes, I won’t be buying from them - however I do have a toiletries bag that is over 15 years old now that is damn good in terms of design and wear.
You know that all matter bigger than a sub-atomic particle is made of chemicals, right? All that latex, wool, cotton and hemp are made of thousands of different chemical compounds.
Refer here for a full list of chemical-free products: https://ciencias.ulisboa.pt/sites/default/files/fcul/outros/Chemical-Free.pdf