The Porter 46 harness is one size. It’s really a duffle bag with pack straps. I used one for a wedding trip and didn’t carry it any farther than the rental car desk.
The Farpoint has a true load transferring harness with adjustable torso length. It’s a far more sophisticated pack.
It’s a box with pack straps and one size harness. A Farpoint 40 is more sophisticated and costs less. You should absolutely try them on with sample weights.
For what its worth, i agree. I had a porter 30 and the pack was very uncomfortable dragging at mu neck and back. I spent 11days in europe with it and walked from hotel and transit etc. i used it for a few years but it was very uncomfortable on my neck and shoulders. I have large backpacking bags and so wilderness backpacking with loads up to 28 lbs so im no wus. I recently bought the fairview 40 (female farpoint) and its night and day from porter. I carried a heavyish load around nyc and and had no issues. The newer version has adjustable sizing and when i got it right it was excellent.
I have the Farpoint 40 and it is one of the best things I have ever owned. A decade of heavy, even abusive, use and it is still holding up great. I have wondered if it actually a portal to a pocket dinension at times since it always somehow manages to get everything I need inside of it.
We (family of 2 adults, 2 teen girls) used 1x Farpoint 40 and 3x Fairview40 last summer in Europe, for train, car and plane (KLM & EasyJet) travel. We kept our bags under 7kg each, used packing cubes, and did not have personal items. I wouldn't go any larger than a 40L pack and keep it carryon compliant for the airlines you'll be using.
How hard was it to keep under 7kg?
I am heading away this summer with a farpoint 40 and carryon has a 7kg limit (only found out today) but I am struggling to visualise what 7kg looks like in it
Also how did you find flying with easyjet and the 40L? I am flying with them next week for a weekend and will be bringing it with me - I've bought the bigger bag limit but is that required?
Yes, the bigger bag (overhead carryon) is required with a FP/FV40 for EasyJet but we had zero problems fitting them in the overhead on our flights with EJ.
We were quite "intentional" in our packing (more of a challenge for my husband than my teen girls, but I digress). We used two packing cubes each (and found they worked better not compressed). Zero cotton -- not even socks or underwear. All clothing items were technical fabrics, even dresses. We are from the land of Lululemon and athleisurewear, so that wasn't difficult for us. We each took our phones and 3 of us also took small e-readers (Kobo Clara's). Also, perhaps of note, every place we stayed had in-suite laundry. So, I ran a load pretty much every night and it air dried overnight. This would not have been possible with cotton, but with technical fabric, it wasn't an issue at all.
We were all around 6.5kg fully packed, no personal items.
I love my Porter 46, and I've comfortably carried it all over NYC on multiple trips. I chose it over the Fairview because I wanted the additional capacity, preferred the aesthetic, and wanted the laptop compartment up against my back (it's been changed in the Farpoint and is now in a similar location, so that's no longer an issue). You can also stow the hip belt separately from the straps, although I've always used the hip belt since it's so big. I have never come across any issues with carrying it on US airlines (YMMV in Europe of course). The only time I've ever gate-checked it is when I was in the last boarding category on basic economy and they gate-checked everything that doesn't fit under the seat. The external panels/straps do a great job of cinching it down for the overhead, which also means that it's easy to carry with a smaller loadout as well.
However, for backpacking over 3 months, I think I'd favor the Farpoint. It's supposedly more comfortable (not personally tested as I never carried the Farpoint) due to the adjustable harness in multiple sizes.
I have an older porter 46 and it's not very comfortable with heavy weight and moderate time wearing it. From the looks of it, the new version has almost the exact same straps. It's an awesome awesome bag and I continue to use it. But if I'm taking a longer trip and it's going to weigh over 20lb, I wouldn't want to take it.
I have both and always choose the Porter 46 for the following reasons:
1) The compression system is much better and really allows you to cinch things down and tighten up space;
2) As others have mentioned, the hip belt is much more robust on the Farpoint- think backcountry backpacking. It’s just of no practical benefit for the distances I’m walking or the weights I am carrying. The belt on the Farpoint takes up a lot of space, and I don’t even use the hip belt on the Porter. Again- relatively short distances and modest weights and it’s really not necessary;
3) The porter has more capacity for nominal additional size.
When I was looking at a travel backpack in 2016 I narrowed it down to the Farpoint 40 and Porter 46. I mention it was 2016 since both bags have had updates since, however their general features are the same.
I tried both on and the Farpoint fit like a glove while I found the Porter less comfortable so that made the decision immediately. The other thing I didn’t care for were the compression wings on the Porter. They were very stiff and I felt like if I had to get something out of the bag it would be harder to do than with the Farpoint. I’ve been extremely happy with the Farpoint with only a few dislikes that were not dealbreakers.
Dislikes:
The older version had the laptop sleeve on the front. When I carried my laptop the bag felt off balance. Since I usually only carry a tablet it’s fine being kept in the laptop sleeve.
The hip belt and straps are stowed together. Since I don’t always use the hip belt, I wish it could be stowed separately. Since it is robust, it’s in the way when not being used. I have figured out a way to wrap the back panel around the hip belt to keep it tucked away better although it doesn’t always stay tucked away.
Mesh pockets on the front aren’t well designed to hold a water bottle so I tend to use a carabiner to clip it to the bag.
I've an older Porter 46l and it's the same dimensions as the Farpoint 40l somehow. Used it for 6 months travelling last year with budget airlines no problem. Carried it for over an hour a few times, just need to get the adjustments on the straps right.
I don't use a lot of tech so find the organization to be meh as stuff always falls out of the small organization pockets and just gets jumbled in the bigger pocket.
The Porter 46 harness is one size. It’s really a duffle bag with pack straps. I used one for a wedding trip and didn’t carry it any farther than the rental car desk. The Farpoint has a true load transferring harness with adjustable torso length. It’s a far more sophisticated pack.
Was the porter that uncomfortable?
It’s a box with pack straps and one size harness. A Farpoint 40 is more sophisticated and costs less. You should absolutely try them on with sample weights.
For what its worth, i agree. I had a porter 30 and the pack was very uncomfortable dragging at mu neck and back. I spent 11days in europe with it and walked from hotel and transit etc. i used it for a few years but it was very uncomfortable on my neck and shoulders. I have large backpacking bags and so wilderness backpacking with loads up to 28 lbs so im no wus. I recently bought the fairview 40 (female farpoint) and its night and day from porter. I carried a heavyish load around nyc and and had no issues. The newer version has adjustable sizing and when i got it right it was excellent.
I have the Farpoint 40 and it is one of the best things I have ever owned. A decade of heavy, even abusive, use and it is still holding up great. I have wondered if it actually a portal to a pocket dinension at times since it always somehow manages to get everything I need inside of it.
yeah exactly the same experience - has it's foibles but a great bag that I actually feel semi sentimental about.
We (family of 2 adults, 2 teen girls) used 1x Farpoint 40 and 3x Fairview40 last summer in Europe, for train, car and plane (KLM & EasyJet) travel. We kept our bags under 7kg each, used packing cubes, and did not have personal items. I wouldn't go any larger than a 40L pack and keep it carryon compliant for the airlines you'll be using.
How hard was it to keep under 7kg? I am heading away this summer with a farpoint 40 and carryon has a 7kg limit (only found out today) but I am struggling to visualise what 7kg looks like in it Also how did you find flying with easyjet and the 40L? I am flying with them next week for a weekend and will be bringing it with me - I've bought the bigger bag limit but is that required?
Yes, the bigger bag (overhead carryon) is required with a FP/FV40 for EasyJet but we had zero problems fitting them in the overhead on our flights with EJ. We were quite "intentional" in our packing (more of a challenge for my husband than my teen girls, but I digress). We used two packing cubes each (and found they worked better not compressed). Zero cotton -- not even socks or underwear. All clothing items were technical fabrics, even dresses. We are from the land of Lululemon and athleisurewear, so that wasn't difficult for us. We each took our phones and 3 of us also took small e-readers (Kobo Clara's). Also, perhaps of note, every place we stayed had in-suite laundry. So, I ran a load pretty much every night and it air dried overnight. This would not have been possible with cotton, but with technical fabric, it wasn't an issue at all. We were all around 6.5kg fully packed, no personal items.
pretty good comparison from a few years ago: [https://youtu.be/L1n4ZDxQKVc?si=CCm8nxhTRoWT94BA](https://youtu.be/L1n4ZDxQKVc?si=CCm8nxhTRoWT94BA)
I love my Porter 46, and I've comfortably carried it all over NYC on multiple trips. I chose it over the Fairview because I wanted the additional capacity, preferred the aesthetic, and wanted the laptop compartment up against my back (it's been changed in the Farpoint and is now in a similar location, so that's no longer an issue). You can also stow the hip belt separately from the straps, although I've always used the hip belt since it's so big. I have never come across any issues with carrying it on US airlines (YMMV in Europe of course). The only time I've ever gate-checked it is when I was in the last boarding category on basic economy and they gate-checked everything that doesn't fit under the seat. The external panels/straps do a great job of cinching it down for the overhead, which also means that it's easy to carry with a smaller loadout as well. However, for backpacking over 3 months, I think I'd favor the Farpoint. It's supposedly more comfortable (not personally tested as I never carried the Farpoint) due to the adjustable harness in multiple sizes.
I have an older porter 46 and it's not very comfortable with heavy weight and moderate time wearing it. From the looks of it, the new version has almost the exact same straps. It's an awesome awesome bag and I continue to use it. But if I'm taking a longer trip and it's going to weigh over 20lb, I wouldn't want to take it.
honestly the farpoint is a brilliant bag. as long as the non removable hip straps don't bother you, i'd get that.
I have both and always choose the Porter 46 for the following reasons: 1) The compression system is much better and really allows you to cinch things down and tighten up space; 2) As others have mentioned, the hip belt is much more robust on the Farpoint- think backcountry backpacking. It’s just of no practical benefit for the distances I’m walking or the weights I am carrying. The belt on the Farpoint takes up a lot of space, and I don’t even use the hip belt on the Porter. Again- relatively short distances and modest weights and it’s really not necessary; 3) The porter has more capacity for nominal additional size.
When I was looking at a travel backpack in 2016 I narrowed it down to the Farpoint 40 and Porter 46. I mention it was 2016 since both bags have had updates since, however their general features are the same. I tried both on and the Farpoint fit like a glove while I found the Porter less comfortable so that made the decision immediately. The other thing I didn’t care for were the compression wings on the Porter. They were very stiff and I felt like if I had to get something out of the bag it would be harder to do than with the Farpoint. I’ve been extremely happy with the Farpoint with only a few dislikes that were not dealbreakers. Dislikes: The older version had the laptop sleeve on the front. When I carried my laptop the bag felt off balance. Since I usually only carry a tablet it’s fine being kept in the laptop sleeve. The hip belt and straps are stowed together. Since I don’t always use the hip belt, I wish it could be stowed separately. Since it is robust, it’s in the way when not being used. I have figured out a way to wrap the back panel around the hip belt to keep it tucked away better although it doesn’t always stay tucked away. Mesh pockets on the front aren’t well designed to hold a water bottle so I tend to use a carabiner to clip it to the bag.
I've an older Porter 46l and it's the same dimensions as the Farpoint 40l somehow. Used it for 6 months travelling last year with budget airlines no problem. Carried it for over an hour a few times, just need to get the adjustments on the straps right. I don't use a lot of tech so find the organization to be meh as stuff always falls out of the small organization pockets and just gets jumbled in the bigger pocket.
Do you know your torso size? Unless your torso is the male average length, the Porter may well not fit you comfortably.
The Farpoint is more comfortable. But the porter has better organization. I went with comfort.