cheap back pack?

is this even possible that for $39.00 you can get a 60L pack that actually works??? 

www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Lightweight-Backpack-Outdoor-Climbing/dp/B078H8ZKF1/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.76d54fcc-2362-404d-ab9b-b0653e2b2239%3Aamzn1.sym.76d54fcc-2362-404d-ab9b-b0653e2b2239&crid=1514V1WSDZV1I&cv_ct_cx=rock%2Bclimbing%2Bbackpack&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.HHKsoFHNuN8sAvDKQtx3HNNP94vTQIQ-ujCDMTl0bsG_nxKmL5Wa5I_Jfhv2S-D6H8Q-vPB86GBvtNg-PY3SWQ.zFhW-gE_pjLfp2VBOM0yDm1MP3UoQzXvCMcFHMkpHAA&dib_tag=se&keywords=rock%2Bclimbing%2Bbackpack&pd_rd_i=B09J2KTF7Y&pd_rd_r=fb3ffd11-35e6-4ba8-b71e-876a46adb829&pd_rd_w=UhR1d&pd_rd_wg=fZzgC&pf_rd_p=76d54fcc-2362-404d-ab9b-b0653e2b2239&pf_rd_r=86M5H1CCG5263MN004K8&qid=1731425102&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=climbing%2Bback%2Bpack%2Caps%2C101&sr=1-4-6024b2a3-78e4-4fed-8fed-e1613be3bcce-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

It is possible when it was made in China with cheap material and labor in an economy that is tanking. Probably best for parents of scouts and similar to trash.

BTW with links usually anything after the "?" can be removed. Thus this shorter link works

"www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Lightweight-Backpack-Outdoor-Climbing/dp/B078H8ZKF1/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa"

but it is better to insert the link into text.

its interesting when you read the reviews. the 1 star reviews are exactly what I would expect from this rig but then the majority give it 4 or 5 stars. one thing to keep in mind is that a $600.00 Gregory is also made in Asia...  certainly its a much better pack but how much is it marked up..... 

I bought a VERY inexpensive duffle in Kathmandu. Fabric and workmanship looked pretty good. Plastic buckles holding the shoulder straps on broke the first time it was moderately loaded. It’s easy to copy the look of quality gear but even things like the quality of the thread may have been scrimped on. Pretty sure that was chicken feathers they put in the pirated NF jackets. 

Nick Goldsmith wrote:

its interesting when you read the reviews. the 1 star reviews are exactly what I would expect from this rig but then the majority give it 4 or 5 stars. one thing to keep in mind is that a $600.00 Gregory is also made in Asia...  certainly its a much better pack but how much is it marked up..... 

Knock-off companies frequently pay for 5 star reviews. I've received amazon products that I never ordered, addressed to an obvious fake name (like Miami Ford) on several occasions. All of these products were knock-off products. If you search for the name and the product you'll see this name pops up as a verified buyer review that gives 5 stars and says something like "so good, best pack I ever owned, so durable, never broke". 

On another note, the small company who made those climbing area map guides ( climbonmaps.com/ ) had a knock-off company start producing low quality copies of their product. Amazon listed them as equivalent in their database, and even if someone ordered the legit version, if the warehouse worker was closer to the crap knock-off version they would put that in the box. So they were getting terrible reviews. Amazon tried to say it wasn't their problem and that they should sue this Chinese based company (good luck having a mom and pop garage co suing a factory corporation in China). 

Long story short, if you want a guarantee you're getting a legit product and you want to trust the reviews, don't use a platform like Amazon. 

If you want a good pack for cheap, check used gear stores or make it yourself.

Greg R wrote:

Pretty sure that was chicken feathers they put in the pirated NF jackets. 

Next time you're in Kathmandu pick me up one of those knockoff TNF jackets with 800-fill chicken feathers. Please. 

BSEASH Best Wishes For A Beautiful Life. What's not to love?? I've been seeing people selling actual high quality used backpacks here (Blue Ice, Patagonia, etc.) for under $100. Buying used means you get to ditch Amazon and also help reduce waste

Trust me I am not buying a cheap POS anything.  And buying good reviews is the reason I read the one star reviews on any product. Often petty but you can tell the legit ones by the way they describe the failure modes.  I usually go for close outs of legit brands from known retailers.

To put packs into perspective, I make packs for myself to test out design ideas. So far I've put together nearly a dozen to try out different configurations.  I use re-purposed materials: old sailcloth, sail bags, webbing and buckles found in going-out-of-business sales, so my materials cost is negligible.  Once I've sorted out the design, cutting and sewing together takes about four hours, and I'm by no means a fast sewer.

Most of backpack design comes from accumulated years of using packs, making prototypes, testing, etc.  That's time and value that you simply can't calculate, but has to be baked into the cost of packs from legit companies who pay people to use them and report back.  Then a designer has to be paid to come up with the patterns and cut sheets.

There's a lot going into a pack that a fly-by-night outfit can deconstruct and copy, using way lower quality and cost materials, and with labor they pay peanuts.  That $40 pack on Amazon was probably 3 hours of labor for a sweatshop worker, with dirt-cheap thin cloth, jenky webbing (yeah, there's a huge variety of webbing quality out there) and jenkier buckles.

I'm not saying $600 is a great deal for a quality pack, but I can see why they want to charge that.  I think a quality mass-produced expedition pack could reasonably cost $400 at retail, while still getting everyone paid fairly.  It would have to be made at scale, though.  Volume is the only way to keep prices reasonable.