Found an old stock backpack deeply discounted...jump on it?

Hi guys,

So in about 6 months my two best friends and I are going on a month-long backpacking trip to Europe. Since my biggest backpack currently is a 30L, I've been looking for something bigger.

I found a Lowe Alpine En Route 60L + 10L (60L main pack, 10L detachable day pack) that I haggled the guy down from about $340 to $175 (in Korea stuff like this is fairly pricey). The catch? It's been sitting in his shop window for probably 2-3 years and the material is faded (and patchy, where things like straps, etc have blocked the sun). Other than that, it's 100% brand new with tags, etc.

The backpack (the description says 60+13 for some reason...I'm going by the tags on the backpack)

http://shop.packyourba​gs.com …lpine_En_Route_​60_10.html

I like the way the backpack fits and looks, it has all the necessary things (inside divider, raincover, hide-away straps if I check it on an airplane), plus I'm a fan of the little detachable day pack. Also, I've been using LowePro (same company) camera bags for nearly 10 years and I have been very satisfied with them.

So...question is...is $175 for a brand new, good name travel backpack as screaming a deal as I think it is, or should I shop around for one that hasn't been sitting for a few years?

thanks,
Tamas

That much sunlight may have damaged the material over that much time. It may rip much easier now and not be all that good.

That's what I was thinking too...it SEEMED fine...is there any way to test it?

Numenorean wrote in post #13815157
That much sunlight may have damaged the material over that much time. It may rip much easier now and not be all that good.

My thoughts too. Probably ok, but if it isn't, you know it will fail on you at the worst possible time.

Isn't all lowepro stuff given a lifetime warranty?

I believe so, yes...though how I go about getting it warrantied in South Korea (or possibly while packing through Austria in the middle of summer) might be a different story haha

unfortunately the testing will occur in the field, and that's not the place you want it to fail. on the plus side, if it does fail you could pick up a good one in Europe.

Thanks guys...still mulling it over...I was going to get it this weekend, but I figured if it's been sitting in the guy's shop for 2-3 years, I'm sure it won't be snapped up in the next couple of weeks haha...trying to see if I can find a good used one (I'm in Korea and there are a ton of travelling teachers here, a lot of them buy nice backpacks, use it for one or two trips and sell them)...I really like the Lowe Alpine's design, but...the fabric worries me.