Reddit mentions of TETON Sports Explorer 4000 Internal Frame Backpack; High-Performance Backpack for Backpacking, Hiking, Camping; Hunter Green

Teton Sports 163G Explorer 4000 Internal Frame Backpack – Not Your Basic Backpack; High-Performance Backpack for Backpacking, Hiking, Camping; Sewn-in Rain Cover; Hunter Green https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JYY7M5S/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_zveVBbE458QGW


Check this out and see if it’s a fit for you. I did research on it and other Teton products and was very impressed. I just got this bag this weekend and so far I really like it, and it’s affordable!

Yeah, they were middle-shelf options back in the day. Not super low quality, but not top-of-the-line either.

JanSport has been a solid reliable name in backpacks for a long time. Not overly technical, but they get the job done. Today they are lower quality for this type of use (wilderness backpacking) as other brands have taken over.

You mentioned Mystery Ranch. They are a high end company, making quality products. Great choice. They come from Dana Designs company back when the JanSport packs you have were made. Dana was the top-shelf option then and I still have fond memories of my Dana pack from 1990 (totally heavy and overbuild by today's standards).

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Here is a pack on Amazon that I'd compare to your internal frame second picture:

• https://www.amazon.com/TETON-SPORTS-163G-Explorer-Internal/dp/B01JYY7M5S
  
  Here is a quality option that modern backpackers carry:
  
  
• https://www.osprey.com/us/en/product/atmos-ag-50-ATMOS50S18_334.html

I had been looking at this Teton pack: https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Explorer-Internal-Backpack-Backpacking/dp/B01JYY7M5S/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485142359&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=teton+hiker+3700

I'l have to compare the two and see what the differences are

"Amazon Basics" is some gear that's not perfect or ultralight, but decent and well-priced.

For example, they have a backpack that's a knock-off of the Teton 3400 (which itself is a decent-and-reasonably-priced product itself!), without being a complete piece of junk. Currently it's like fifty bucks, though the price moves a lot (I paid like $42, I think):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y6LRWZQ/

Whereas I believe this is the Teton original, for 50% more:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JYY7M5S/

Somewhere in my emails I have a long note about buying cheap gear that I wrote up for the new parents in our Scout troop; I can dig it up if you want to read it, though I am sure some here would dispute my lazy generalizations. :7)

I hate on Wal-Mart a lot, but their camping stuff has a good reputation for being "cheap and cheerful," which makes it perfect for n00bs on the principle of "Buy a cheap item first and if you use it enough to wear it out, you'll know that you want to buy high quality next time. And if you don't wear it out, then you haven't spent much to discover that this hobby isn't for you."