Kelty Torre 1950

Cost: $100
Colors: Dark Amber/Black and Emerald/Black
Contact: www.kelty.com; 800-535-3589

With a lump in his throat, the runaway turned to bid farewell to the farm where he had worked away his childhood. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders now, but then he realized it only felt that way because he had packed so much gear into his Kelty Torre 1950 pack and the lump in his throat was probably just an allergic reaction to the hog-slop his mom tried to pass off as breakfast.

The Kelty Torre has almost 2,000 cubic inches of water-resistant carrying capacity for running away from home or just to the trails for an all-day epic. Its shovel pocket holds a small trail shovel nicely, but it’s large enough to hold arm and leg pads and there are mesh pockets on each side for water bottles to complement the 70-ounce bladder. The Torre also features an internal pocket if the future isn’t bright enough to wear shades and one of the buckles doubles as a safety whistle if the future leads to somewhere you don’t know how to get back from.

The runaway set down his Torre pack and covered it with the integrated rainfly as it began to drizzle. The stench of his shoes reminded him of his mother and he had a change of heart. With renewed resolve, he put his pack on to return to the farm, but it didn’t feel like the weight of the world was on his sho ulders anymore. He had discovered the stowable hip straps and now his burden rested on his lower back as well. —Jim Fitzgerald