REI Co-op Trail 40 Review: The Best Sub-$150 Overnight Pack Going
The Trail 40 is the pack you buy when you want to actually go backpacking this weekend and do not want to spend four hundred dollars to find out whether you like it. It is an honest 40 liters with a real internal frame, a proper hipbelt, and enough adjustment to fit a wide range of bodies. It does not pretend to be an ultralight pack or an expedition hauler, and it does not need to.
What we liked
- Under $130 for a framed, hipbelt-equipped 40 L pack, and the value is hard to argue with
- Adjustable torso length fits teenagers and adults alike, which makes it an excellent first pack
- Panel loading with a big front stash pocket makes packing and finding gear genuinely easy
- Comfortable to about 11 to 13 kg, which covers a two or three night trip
- REI's return policy and repair support take the risk out of a first serious pack purchase
What to watch
- Around 1.2 kg, which is fine for the money but not light by modern standards
- Hipbelt padding is adequate rather than plush, and heavy loads start to bite
- Fabric and hardware are clearly built to a price, so multi-season abuse will show
In depth
What the Trail 40 Is Actually Built For
The Trail 40's sweet spot is the trip most people actually take: two or three nights out, a load that lands between 11 and 13 kg, and gear that is durable rather than featherweight. The internal frame and padded hipbelt are what make that possible. A frameless pack at this volume asks you to pack carefully and travel light; the Trail 40 will carry a synthetic sleeping bag, a stove, a couple of days of food and a shelter split with a partner, and it will do it without the shoulder ache that comes from hanging weight off your collarbones.
Panel loading is the second thing it does genuinely well. Because the pack opens like a suitcase instead of being stuffed from the top, you are not unloading your whole kit to find a rain shell that ended up at the bottom. In practice the front stash pocket holds the layer you expect to take on and off all day, the lid holds the map, headlamp and snacks, and the main body stays shut until camp.
The adjustable torso is the third strength, and for families it is often the deciding one. The same pack can be set for a teenager one season and an adult the next, so one purchase covers two users or survives a growth spurt. It is also the reason this is such a common first pack: nothing about the fit is permanently fixed at the factory.
Where It Falls Short: Weight, Padding and Wear
At roughly 1.2 kg the Trail 40 is not light, and it does not pretend to be. Packs in this volume built for gram counters can be considerably lighter, but they cost multiples of the $130 this one asks, and they demand a lighter and more expensive kit to go with them. What you are buying here is structure: a frame and a real hipbelt that put 11 to 13 kg on your hips instead of your shoulders. For a beginner still assembling gear, that comfort is worth more than the weight it costs.
The hipbelt is adequate rather than plush, and that shows up exactly where the cons say it does: past roughly 13 kg the padding compresses and the belt starts to bite. The symptom is not subtle. You find yourself re-tightening the belt every half hour, and the weight migrates back onto your shoulders. Packing the heavy items in the middle of the bag, flat against your spine, and keeping the lid light buys some margin, but if your normal load is above 14 kg this is simply the wrong pack.
Fabric and hardware are built to a price, so plan for wear rather than sudden failure. After a few seasons the places to watch are the bottom panel where the pack meets rock and gravel, the hipbelt and lid zips, and the buckles that take the most tension. None of that is a defect; it is what a sub-$130 pack looks like after honest use. REI's repair support and return policy are the reason that wear matters less here than it would on a pack with no backup behind it.
Reading the Specs: Volume, Torso Length and the Weight Ceiling
Forty liters is a real 40 liters, and like almost every pack the number includes the lid and the pockets. Practically, that covers a two or three night trip as long as your sleeping bag and shelter are reasonably compact. If you are sharing a tent with a partner, one of you carries the shelter and the other carries the food and stove. That split is what makes 40 L work instead of forcing you into a heavier load hauler.
The spec that matters most is not the volume, it is the adjustable torso length. Torso length decides whether the hipbelt lands on top of your hip bones, where it can transfer load, or on your soft waist, where it cannot. Set the torso length before the pack is loaded, then walk around the block with weight in it. If the belt has ridden up onto your waist after ten minutes, the torso setting is wrong, not your hips.
The third number to hold onto is the comfort ceiling: 11 to 13 kg. For most adults that is roughly a fifth of body weight, which is a sensible limit for a first backpacking kit anyway. The 1.2 kg empty weight is the price of the frame and belt that make that range possible. Read the three numbers together and the design intent is obvious: a forgiving pack for a normally packed overnight load, not a stripped-down racing sack.
Who Should Buy It, and Who Should Walk Away
Buy it if you are new to backpacking and want a pack that will not punish you for an imperfect kit. Buy it if you are outfitting a teenager, where the adjustable torso means the pack still fits next summer. Buy it as a spare for guests, because it will fit almost anyone who borrows it and it costs little enough that sitting in a closet is not a waste. Buy it if you want one bag that handles a two-night trip and doubles as a travel pack that opens flat.
Skip it if you already know your base weight and count it in grams. At 1.2 kg you are paying in carried weight for a frame and hipbelt you may not need once your kit is dialed in below about 9 kg. Skip it if your typical load is over 14 kg, because the hipbelt padding, not the frame, is what gives out first and no amount of strap tuning fixes it. And skip it if you are planning multi-week thru-hikes, where the difference between this pack and a lighter, more expensive one compounds every single day.
The interesting middle case is the hiker who already owns a big load hauler and wants something smaller for short trips. The Trail 40 is comfortable for two nights, keeps your packing honest, and costs less than most single pieces of camping gear. That is a genuinely useful second pack, even for someone who would never choose it as their only one.
How It Compares to the Alternatives
Against frameless ultralight packs in the same volume, the Trail 40 is heavier and far cheaper. The frameless option only works if your kit is light, compact and packed with care, because there is no frame to rescue a lumpy load. The Trail 40 is the more forgiving choice with a beginner's gear list, and it is the one you can hand to a friend without a packing lecture.
Against larger load haulers, the comparison runs the other way. A substantially bigger pack with a stiffer frame and more padding will be more comfortable above 14 kg, but it is heavier, bulkier and overkill for two nights. The Trail 40's 40 liters are a useful constraint: they stop you from filling space simply because it exists.
Against a daypack, there is no real contest — a 20 to 30 L sack without a hipbelt cannot carry a sleeping bag, a shelter and food for an overnight. Forty liters with a hipbelt is roughly the floor for a real night out. And against a $400 framed pack, the honest answer is that the extra money buys refinement and lower weight rather than capability. If you are not yet sure you will stick with backpacking, the Trail 40 and REI's return policy are the cheaper way to find out.
In the Field: Loading, Carrying and Care
Load it in this order: heavy items in the middle of the pack, flat against your back; light bulk like a sleeping bag at the bottom; the layer you will actually stop for in the front stash; and only light essentials in the lid. Then put it on in this order: hipbelt first and snug on the hip bones, shoulder straps next and only snug enough to keep the pack against your back, load lifters last at roughly 45 degrees, then the sternum strap loose enough that you can still breathe.
On the trail, the one habit that matters is re-checking the hipbelt every hour or two. A belt that has crept up onto your waist is the usual reason a pack starts hurting at the shoulders, and it takes ten seconds to fix. Note your torso setting the first time you get it right, so you can return to it after someone else borrows the pack.
For care, keep it simple. Empty it after every trip, shake out grit and crumbs, and wipe the fabric with a damp cloth rather than machine washing it, which degrades coatings and can wreck the frame sheet. Hang it to dry out of direct sun, and store it loose rather than compressed. Avoid leaving it in a hot car for weeks at a time. When a zip slider or a buckle eventually goes, that is exactly the situation REI's repair support exists for, and it is the main reason this pack is a safer first purchase than a cheaper no-name alternative.
Questions we get asked
Can the REI Co-op Trail 40 handle a three-night trip?
Yes, if you keep the load between 11 and 13 kg. Two or three nights is exactly what this pack is designed around. The limit is food: three days of food plus a shelter and a sleeping bag is close to the top of its comfortable range, so split the tent with a partner and take one of you carries the shelter while the other carries the food and stove. Beyond three nights, volume and food weight push you past what the hipbelt can carry comfortably.
How much weight can the Trail 40 carry comfortably?
About 11 to 13 kg is the working range, which for most adults is roughly a fifth of body weight. It will physically hold more, but past 13 kg the hipbelt padding compresses and the belt starts to bite, and you will find yourself re-tightening it constantly while the weight creeps back onto your shoulders. If your normal load is over 14 kg, buy a pack with a stiffer frame and a beefier belt instead.
Is 1.2 kg heavy for a 40 liter pack?
Not for the money, but yes by modern standards. Dedicated ultralight packs in this volume are meaningfully lighter, and they cost several times what the Trail 40 does. The 1.2 kg buys you the frame and hipbelt that make 11 to 13 kg comfortable on your hips, which is a very good trade for a beginner and a poor one for someone whose base weight is already low.
How do I set the torso length so the pack actually carries on my hips?
Adjust the torso length before you load the pack, then put weight in it and walk around for ten minutes. The hipbelt should sit on top of your hip bones, not on your soft waist. If the belt rides up onto your waist as you walk, the torso setting is wrong and the pack will hang its weight from your shoulders. Once the belt is right, tighten the shoulder straps only enough to keep the pack against your back, then set the load lifters at about 45 degrees.
How long will the Trail 40 last, and what do I do when it tears?
The fabric and hardware are built to a price, so expect visible wear after a few seasons rather than a sudden failure. Watch the bottom panel where the pack meets rock and gravel, the lid and hipbelt zips, and the buckles under the most tension. Keep it clean, dry and out of a hot car and those points last longer. When a zip or buckle does go, REI's repair support and return policy are the backstop, and they are a large part of why this pack is a lower-risk first purchase.