Review: Tesco 65L Rucksack

Preface:

I originally wrote this review in 2015 but never published it. While I now have the advantage of having used this bag for many years and can testify to its build quality and longevity, it's unfortunately somewhat irrelevant now as - from what I can gather - it has long being discontinued and without replacement. Indeed, even several years ago they had discontinued this model and replaced it with a not-quite-so-good alternative (the quality was still there, but there were evident cost-saving changes to the design, and removal of certain features - though even then it was still a great bag for the money). 

However, six years on I have decided to publish the review as it still holds true as an example that higher price / big brand name doesn't always equal better. I've replaced a lot of my equipment over the years for better / lighter alternatives, but this £15 rucksack is still my go-to bag and I expect to get many years use out of it yet.


Original Review:

Terra Nova, Trangoworld, Snugpak, Jetboil, Force Ten; just a few of the more well-known names adorning some of my kit. And what do I keep all this kit in? A £15 rucksack from Tesco.

I can already see the look of dismay and disgust on the faces of die-hard gear enthusiasts and brand fan-boys alike. Cries of "It'll fall apart!" "It'll be made from rubbish materials!" and "This guy hasn't got a clue what he's talking about!" are echoing around houses up and down the country.

In response, I've learned two things over the years; One- that in this day and age, a brand name and higher price tag don't in any way guarantee a product's quality and longevity. Unfortunately there are too few products still made in former manufacturing powerhouses like the UK, USA and Germany; most companies farm their production out to the Far East, where your £200 rucksack is likely to be made on the floor above the £20 rucksacks in the same factory. While a product may be designed on Western soil, the design is only as good as its execution. And even the best manufacturer has an off day.

And Two- the more someone spends on a product, the more they will try and justify their expense by slating anything cheaper than it, even if the cheaper product does the job just as well or better.

And so, if you can bring yourselves to read why the Tesco rucksack is my bag of choice, here is the review:

When Bob and I first decided to go camping, I really didn't know what I was getting into. I certainly didn't realise how much gear I needed to buy, and how much of an expense it would be, and as such my budget was very tight. So I was rather chuffed - having accepted the 25L rucksack in the loft was nowhere near big enough for everything I needed to take- when I walked into Tesco and saw they had a 65L (actually, 65L + 10L- it came with a detachable 10L daysack) in the sale for around £15.

The rucksack is from their own-brand camping gear range, which seems to have been slimmed-down tremendously over the last few years, but doesn't feature the Tesco name on it, rather a non-descript logo.

The bag has an adjustable back system, as you'd expect from any decent rucksack of this size, and both the back and waist straps are very well padded and of a breathable construction.

The main compartment and lower compartment have a zipped divider, allowing you to open this up to provide one big space. At the top of the main compartment is an extending cover to allow over-filling, so really there's more space than enough in here, and it also has a section for a water bladder, with the obligatory opening to allow the tube to pass through.

You then have a top (head) compartment, which will comfortably fit a Trangia 27 stove, and on the sides two elongated, zipped compartments with load-balancing compression straps, and two elasticated mesh pockets.

The outside of the bag doesn't disappoint either, with plenty of molle-type attachments points, a central elasticated lashing that will easily take a roll mat or slim tent, and lower straps to sling a tent/mat/dry bag from.

The pack comes with a rain cover, stored in its own compartment at the bottom of the bag, and this compartment thankfully has enough room to store an additional after-market rain cover if you find, as I did, that the inbuilt one wasn't big enough when you've got a load of stuff hanging off your bag.

In short, this has all the space, organisation and features that you could ask for and would expect of any decent rucksack.

Its made from 600D ripstop polyester rather than nylon, which I've seen many people count as a downside in other "budget" bags, but polyester isn't a bad material. It also weighs in at only 1.7kg- try and find another sub-£100 bag of this size that weighs less; I haven't been able to, which is part of the reason I've never replaced this pack.

The stitching seems solid throughout and overall the pack appears well made, and after several outings in the field I have no doubts about its durability and the pack is comfortable in use.

Of course, there are better bags out there, but for the money this is a very good pack, and this comes back to my philosophy of buying the best I can justify; I haven't seen a rucksack under £100 that I could say justifies the extra expense over Tesco's offering.

So while I have no doubt that people will continue to go out and drop infinitely more money on brand-named rucksacks, I would say go and take a small gamble on this pack; I did, and I was that impressed that not only is it the one item in my kit that I've never replaced, I've also bought a spare. 

Review: Asaklitt (Clas Ohlson) Spirit Stove

I'll start this review with the bad news- this product has sadly been discontinued. I'm not entirely sure why, as during its several years on the market it has gained somewhat of a cult following. The good news is if you check the link at the bottom of this post it's still for sale under a different name albeit it at double the price.

My first camping stove was a Campingaz Micro Bleuet, a tiny gas burner powered by canisters of a butane/propane mix. We didn't get on. Then Bob bought his Trangia 27, a spirit burning (meths, bio-enthanol) stove* of no little fame, and I was slightly envious to say the least.
With plenty of other gear still to buy, however, I just couldn't justify the expense of the Trangia, but then quite by accident I stumbled across Clas Ohlson's Asaklitt-branded spirit stove, for a mere £14.

The Asaklitt is similar in concept to the Trangia, but different in many ways. The contents are roughly the same- two pans/bowls, a lid/frying pan, a grab handle, upper and lower windshields and a burner, but to a degree that's where their similarities end.

The Asaklitt's pans are larger for a start- 1.25 litre and 1.5 litre respectively as apposed to the Trangia's two at 1 litre. The Trangia packs down into the upper windshield, where as the Asaklitt packs into the larger of the two pans. The Trangia's pans (and kettle, if you choose a set from the 1001 different Trangia configurations that comes with one) sit on flip up/down pan supports, where as the Asaklitt pans sit directly into the upper windshield.

The Asaklitt is a copy of the old Optimus 91 stove (with elements of the Optimus 77a mixed in- possibly an attempt to avoid breaching patents?), itself a highly regarded classic, and once you know this you realise that you aren't just buying a £14 stove, you are buying a design that has been developed and tweaked over many years.  

When I first bought the Asaklitt, I viewed it as a poor man's Trangia, a put-me-on until I could afford the latter. When I eventually bought a Trangia, I sold it on without even using it, having by this time decided that I preferred the Asaklitt.

Why do I prefer a £14 stove over everyone's favourite spirit stove you may ask?

Well, for starters, its lighter. Even lighter than the ultralight Trangia variant (600g vs 690g). And because the bowls are larger, you can easily ditch the smaller of the two, thus cutting the weight even further, and still cook up a food pouch AND a rice pouch in the 1.5 litre bowl with room to spare.

Furthermore, the Asaklitt's pans can be stacked- small pan first, then large pan, then frying pan (or either pan and frying pan). In this configuration the clearance between the small and large pans is minimal- maybe 2cm- but enough to get some bacon or a fried egg in. This means you can have all three pans on the stove at the same time. This is just not possible with the Trangia.

Frying pan stacked on the larger pan

The lack of pan supports means an after-market kettle cannot be used with the Asaklitt, but this is no bad thing in my book; I can boil water in a pan, why would I need to carry the extra weight of a kettle? That said, if you were desperate to take a kettle on your trips, a couple of metal rods or tubing of the correct diameter could be popped through the holes in the upper windshield to make a perfectly capable kettle support.

Unlike the Trangia, the Asaklitt's windshields lack indents to lock the two halves together. This can be a bad point- it's certainly easier to knock the upper windshield off the lower if you're not careful- but it also has its advantages; it makes it much easier to access the burner, particularly when the stove has been in use and the windshields are hot. The upper windshield can be lifted off with the grab handle upon which you can quickly adjust the simmer ring, or extinguish the burner.

The Asaklitt burner is an inferior copy of the Trangia, and doesn't come supplied with a regulator/ simmer ring. I replaced the stock burner with a Trangia and it's a perfect fit. This also means the Trangia gel fuel burner will fit in the Asaklitt should you prefer to use gel. I found the included strap a little sub-par as well, so replaced this with a Trangia one.

There is an army of die-hard Trangia fans who will never be swayed, but for me, I can say the grass wasn't greener on the other side. I bought cheap, bought twice, but for once cheap won- the Asaklitt's combination of low weight, high capacity, design features and dirt-cheap price make it a no-brainer. Now all you've got to do is find one!


*For those not familiar with spirit stoves, in their basic form they consist of a burner, into which you pour meths or bio-ethanol, and a pot stand. Light the meths, stick the burner in the pot stand and put your pan on the top. The burners generally come with sealed lids so you can transport them with fuel inside, and some, like the Trangia, have an adjustable cover or "simmer ring" to adjust the flame and therefore the heat. Stoves such as the Asaklitt and Trangia are complete all-in-one cooksets, developing the simple pot stand into a more robust windshield set-up, which offers greater stability and protection from the wind.


Same Stove, Different Name