Berghaus Chromia 30 Rucksack

I only ordered this bag last week and had to immediately put it to the test, opting to try it out on a 57 mile walking holiday in Scotland. I was trying to pack light but, given this is Scotland’s ‘summer that never was’, this wasn’t so easy: waterproofs, changes of clothes, flasks, food etc. I ended up with quite a weight packed in but the bag handled the load extremely well and I found it to be great for hiking/long distance walking. The key feature for me was the extended zip on the main baggage compartment, allowing it to open out like a suitcase. This allowed for easy access to waterproofs etc. during the walk. The 2 compression straps also kept things nicely in place and kept the bag feeling compact. The front compartment is also surprisingly spacious, with plenty of handy pockets for smaller objects, as well as documents or a laptop. The bag sits quite high on the back and there are two straps that can be fastened round the front of the body which was very useful. The bottom strap perhaps didn’t take much of the weight off my shoulders as the bag sits so high, the strap sat around my lower stomach as opposed to right on the hips, but this may be different for other people. The bag of course comes with a shoulder strap contained within a side-compartment so that it can be converted into carry-on luggage. As I wasn’t intending to use this on the trip, I took the straps out and squeezed my gaiters in there which was handy. It has a decent mesh side compartment for water bottles too. I was walking during several heavy downpours and I had my own waterproof bag cover as the Chromia doesn’t come with one. In light showers however, I found the bag didn’t retain much water and much of the surface water could just be wiped off. There is an additional small front compartment that can stow a phone, food, etc. which is handy for quick access. All in all, I found this 30L bag to be deceptively spacious, adaptable to different purposes and, importantly, extremely comfortable to carry.Now that I’m back to work, I’m using it as a commute/work rucksack and I find it perfect. I had previously been using a large Wenger rucksack but find the Chromia is great for my laptop and also feels more compact compared to the Wenger, which had a bit of a distended look to it. This bag could be used for daily work use, for hiking, as a day pack or as a weekend travel bag. Very adaptable and extremely good quality.Highly recommend this bag.

This isn't a bag for hiking in the hills. If that's what you're looking for check out Berghaus Freeflow range, I also own one of these.So back to the Chromia 30. It's really well made and ideal for commuters, I use mine on my trek into London and it works really well. Strong points are usual Berghaus quality, main compartment opens flat for clothes (it even has a fold up flap to keep shoes or a small wash bag segregated) and has compression straps in this compartment to keep your clothes flat like a suitcase.The laptop compartment is large, could do with a bit more padding I'd say but time will tell. There are also numerous pockets in this compartment, all well thought out too.Only things I'd change are the shoulder harnesses which would be better having an option to remove completely if using as a bag with the supplied stow away strap. Other than that the zips should have flaps over them to help prevent rain ingress, but then again a waterproof cover would completely solve this.Would I buy it again, yes without hesitation plus points easily outweigh the negatives.

Loved this bag on my travels in New Zealand. Exceptionally practical. There's a tiny pouch in front, a middle pocket with multiple organiser pockets and an (unpadded) section for a tablet or laptop. Then there's a main pocket, with an optional divider at the bottom. There's also a side pocket for a bottle. The straps are padded and comfy, with chest and waist straps which are ideal for comfort on longer hikes or with heavy loads. It is the perfect size as it's not too big to be used as a light daypack, but will expand if you need to fit in lots of extra things like clothes or food. One amazing feature is how the zips on the main pocket unzip all the way to the bottom of the bag; this makes packing and unpacking very easy - you can pack it almost like how you would pack a suitcase if you lat it flat on its back. Rucksacks never claim to be fully waterproof but this seemed waterproof enough in light rain. Another thing I really like was the design: most rucksacks look too showy/outdoorsy with lots of bright colours and external design elements. This bag has a design that is simple, classy and understated, so that you can use it even on a business trip.

A bit like a travel case with straps--not really dynamic enough for what I needed. But pretty large which is good. It is too much like a backpack to be a good suitcase and too much like a suitcase to be a good backpack, in my opinion. So I returned it.

When I opened the package up, I thought I'd dropped a clanger and ordered a laptop bag by mistake because it appears to be so thin that it couldn't possibly be of any use ans airline hand baggage.In fact, it turned out that when loaded up, the bag is supprisingly spacious and well made and is almost exactly the maximum dimentions allowed by most long haul operators for hand baggage.I'm generally very happy with the bag but the lack of any way to tidy up or cover the backpack straps when using the side strap is a pain as they hang down and basically drag on the floor and I ended up tying a belt around the bag when using the side strap.The main compartment is one big open area with a bit of a padded section at the bottom but there are no littkle zippered sections for important little items like keys inside the main compartment which is a shame - particularly as the little compartment on the outside of the bag is so vulnerable to theivery.With a little thought, this could have beem a great bag rarther than an acceptable one.