I’m very particular when it comes to luggage. And that probably explains why I have a whole closet full of luggage in all shapes and sizes, from compact carry-ons to roller bags to snowboard carriers.
Though every bag has a purpose, I usually find myself gravitating to the ones that can multitask on my travels. They’re the ones I keep at eye level, within easy reach, and usually have a pocket pre-filled with first aid, business cards, Garden Betty stickers, and other things I always like to have on hand. And one of those bags has so far been getting the most mileage this year: the Klettersack by Topo Designs.
Aside from its retro good looks, the Klettersack is a workhorse. It’s traveled thousands of miles with me since Topo Designs first sent it to me in April: first to El Salvador, where it spent a week on the black sand beach as I surfed… to Point Reyes, where I stuffed it with gadgets for a work trip… to Big Sur, where it hauled all my gear for hikes along the rugged coast… to Sequoia National Park, where it camped amid the graceful giants… and finally, to the top of a granite dome overlooking the Great Western Divide. This unassuming sack got around. It was equally comfortable as a carry-on as it was a daypack.
These days, it seems backpacks are outfitted with all kinds of gimmicks: special pockets and loops, hidden compartments and iPod holders, thises and thats. The Klettersack keeps it simple. Inside is a spacious main compartment with a laptop sleeve, and outside you get a zippered top flap and two side pockets.
You can store (and find) everything easily with this setup, and the bag is built to last.
Where is it built? In the good old US of A — right in Colorado in fact, in a LEED-certified building with, as they say on their site, an “amazing view of the Rockies.” As an outdoor-oriented company, I like the fact they do all the things their customers do, from hiking and biking to hunting and fishing. They are their own gear testers, so they know what they want, need, and like. And that so happens to be what I want, need, and like… and maybe you, too!
Topo Designs and I are teaming up to give away an awesome Klettersack ($169 value) to one lucky Garden Betty reader. You get your choice of color (mine is silver) and the giveaway is open to US and Canadian fans!
How to enter: Leave a comment below and tell me where you’d take your new Klettersack this summer (I always love finding new destinations for my own travel list!). To receive an additional entry, follow @theGardenBetty on Twitter, and leave a second comment below indicating your Twitter username. You have two chances to win!
The giveaway will end at 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time on Friday, June 20, 2014. Winner will be drawn at random and announced the following week. Good luck!
Giveaway Rules
- Giveaway begins June 16, 2014 and ends June 20, 2014.
- No purchase is necessary. To enter, leave a comment on this blog post.
- Only US and Canada residents ages 18 and older are eligible to enter.
- Two entries allowed per person.
- Odds of winning are based on number of entries received.
- Winner will be drawn at random.
- If winner does not respond within 48 hours after time of contact, that entry will be forfeited and a new winner will be drawn.
This post is brought to you by Topo Designs. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that support Garden Betty.
Update: A big thanks to everyone who entered!
This giveaway is now closed. The winner is Sarah from Washington.
The Klettersack by Topo Designs looks amazing…love it! It would be the perfect bag to take on my weekly hikes as well as when I travel to Chile and Patagonia this year!
I’m taking it to Yosemite national park.
I would take the klettersack with me when I go grouse hunting this fall in the methow valley, WA.
I would take that bag EVERYWHERE outdoors this summer. We have plans for Southwest Four Corners trip in September. Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, Havasupai, Grand Canyon and The West Elk Loop in Colorado. Yippie!!!
I would take it on a hike to Banff, Alberta.
I would take it with me hiking all over the island of Kauai!! In the meantime it would be a great surf rucksack for some long-boardy beach days in San Diego and Santa Barbara 🙂
Would love to take it to Oregon hiking around waterfalls.
I’m following via Twitter.
@HilLesha
I’d take it on hikes, especially when I go to the Garden of the Gods. 🙂
The Klettersack has traveled thousands of miles with me since April. Now you can enter for your chance to win one! http://t.co/DaLxz79OuK
I would love to take it to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.
Thanks for the opportunity to with that bag!
We have lots of great hiking around here. The Blue Ridge Parkway is right behind our house and the Appalachian Trail is just down the road! Love that bag!
Where wouldn’t I take it! What a great bag! I would take it up North with me and then out West, probably Montana. Hopefully, there will be a bigger adventure in store for it!
Awesome bag! Looks like it would be great for some trips through some slot canyons near Goblin Valley and hiking the Narrows in Zion!
Great post and giveaway. Thanks Garden Betty and Topo Designs!
A new Klettersack would follow me to Moonstone Beach for some climbing in Northern California.
Oh, and I have been following you on twitter @louposkitt
I’d take this gorgeous little backpack through the Gulf Islands and San Juans!
Awesome backpack.
Good luck if you’re entering!
I sure could use a backpack like this we go camping in the mountains of West Virginia at least once a year and it would be put to good use.
Camping and hiking in beautiful Idaho
The BWCA (Boundary Waters Canoe Area)!
To Moab with the family or backpacking in the San Juans this summer!
I’d like to hike the Grand Canyon!
I’d love to take this on my first backpacking trip ever with the hubs this summer. In the meantime, I’d use it for work everyday!
This is awesome! I would take this Klettersack kayaking in Half Moon Bay. 🙂
I love camping and backpacking, this would be a great addition.
I would love to use this bag to camp, hike and fish along Robinson’s Creek, which is out of Bridgeport, CA. Located in the Eastern Sierras, this town and, actually much of the Eastern side of the Sierras, is much less populated and traveled compared to the Western slopes of the range. There is a real old West feel to it. I highly recommend the 395 for a travel-back-in-time experience (pass quickly by Mammoth to avoid losing the mood!)
Not far away, I would take a day trip to Bodie Ghost Town. It is being maintained in arrested decay, which is truly dramatic in its’ impact. There is the sense that the inhabitants only recently departed. An amazing experience. I would use this pack every day during my travels in the area. I have a multi-pocketed bag that is driving me nuts and would much prefer the design you’ve described, Betty!
Oh, this looks super cool! I would love to have one of those.
Alaska in August
I love the back pack and would like to take it to the Grand Canyon.
I follow on twitter as @shespeaksbark
My husband and I are road tripping this summer and I can think of nothing better than this bag! We want to travel internationally (no decided destination just yet) soon too!
My obvious choice would be to take it to Belize. Been there dozens of
times since the early 70’s (showing my age here,) and when trekking thru
jungle, the simpler design the better. Was with a local hunter and his
crew once and EVERYONE had some little something they needed me to carry
in my pack. Also linked to one of his hunting hounds, so a backpack was
a must. (We only camera-hunted, by the way.) BIG blue butterflies, the
tops of Mayan ruins yet to be named, gorgeous ground orchids, the list
goes on. If a travel bag could show excitement, any one of them on these
treks certainly would!
This would make the perfect bag for air travel and backpacking!
follow as @vilmark
Id actually take it to this very cute treehouse camping resort near perth ontario
On twitter at @sbvegas
I would take this pack on my trip down to stay at your place in Baja (I’m assuming that the winner also gets an invite…?).
Thanks!