REI Trail 25 Backpack Review

The REI Trail 25 is a multi-purpose panel-loading backpack good for day hiking, urban use, and travel. While it’s easy to discount it as a hiking pack, it’s surprisingly functional for just that purpose with lots of strategically located pockets, trekking pole holders, and a slim torso hugging profile that makes it easy to carry when it’s loaded up. Add in the included rain cover and you have a great do-it-all backpack to get out and about with.

Specs at a Glance

• Pack Access: U-Shaped Zipper (Panel Loader)
• Gender: Men’s and Women’s models
• Volume: 25 liters
• Weight: 32 ounces
• Hydration compatible: Yes
• Rain cover included: Yes
• External Pockets: 5
• Hip belt: Removable
• Fits torso: 17-19″
• Fits waist: 28-44″
• Framesheet: HDPE
• Dimensions: 19.5 x 13.25 x 7.5 inches
• Max recommended load: 20 pounds

The REI Trail 25 is a panel-loading style backpack with a U-shaped top zipper that lets you look straight into the main compartment so you can see everything inside and easily locate what you need. It has a large hydration pocket inside with a hook to hang a reservoir and a single port over the right-hand shoulder. There are two additional mesh pockets in the interior, one large pocket on the inside of the lid and a pocket along the side that can hold a water bottle or skinny coffee thermos inside the pack.

The Trail 25 has an additional five external pockets: two side water bottle pockets made with a stretch mesh, a zippered pocket on the outside of the lid that’s sized for sunglasses, a rain cover pocket near the bottom of the pack, and a second stretch pocket inside the righthand side water bottle pocket. There’s also a compression strap above each of the side mesh pockets, so you can secure long skinny objects in them like fishing rods or a hiking umbrella.

The pack has a pair of trekking pole holders on the front of the pack attached to daisy chains that you can attach gear to with carabiners or straps (not included), plus a pair of sleeping bag straps underneath (included) that you could also use to carry a sit pad. There’s a second pair of external straps at the top of the pack that are also good for carrying a jacket when you need to layer off.

The Trail 25 has an internal HDPE framesheet which is soft but helps give the pack a shape so it doesn’t collapse on itself. The back panel is padded with foam and mesh to wick away moisture with a wide air channel to provide ventilation. The hip belt is a simple webbing strap that is used to hold the pack bag close to your torso but can also be removed if you’d rather use the pack as a beltless rucksack. The shoulder straps are also well padded and come with an adjustable sternum strap that can be easily repositioned on a rail. There are two pairs of elastic hydration hose keeper straps on each of the shoulder straps, that can also be used to hang an accessory pocket.

If you’d like a little more waist storage, you can also connect an REI Waist 2 fanny pack to the hip belt buckles and wear it in front of your belt buckle. That’s a nice application to keep track of your tickets and personal documents when traveling and can even come in handy for hiking.

Comparable daypacks

Men's Model	Sizing	Women's Model
REI Flash 18	Fixed Length	REI Flash 18
Mystery Ranch Coulee 20	Adjustable Torso	Mystery Ranch Coulee 20
Osprey Talon 22	Adjustable Torso	Osprey Tempest 20
Deuter Speed Lite 25 CV	Fixed Length	Deuter Speed Lite 23 SL CV
REI Trail 25	Fixed Length	REI Trail 25
Gregory Zulu 30	Adjustable Torso	Gregory Jade 28
Osprey Skarab 30	Fixed Length	Osprey Skimmer 28
Deuter Trail 30	Fixed Length	Deuter Trail 28 SL
Mystery Ranch Scree 32	Adjustable Torso	Mystery Ranch Scree 32
Osprey Stratos 36	Adjustable Torso	Osprey Sirrus 36

Recommendation

Disclosure: The author purchased this backpack.

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