DownTo1 Packs

The engine's answer

Best backpack for one person on a weekend in frosty nights near −5 °C, under €400

Forclaz

MT100 Easyfit 50

The cheapest full-size pack that is not a mistake.

  • Fifty litres for around sixty euros
  • Adjustable back length even at this price
  • Easy to buy, return and replace
  • Thin hip belt padding under load
  • Basic fabrics throughout

Find it at Bergfreunde · Trekkinn · Decathlon · Alpinetrek · eBay (used)

Why it wins, in numbers

Forclaz MT100 Easyfit 50 is the backpack the engine picked for this trip: €60 and 1.50 kg, Capacity 50 L, a 50% match on the questions asked. The kit around it comes to €305 of the €400 ceiling, leaving €95.

What the engine asked for: a sleeping bag rated to −7 °C or lower, a mat with an R-value of at least 4.5, a pack of at least 40 L, and €400 for all four; anything that falls short of these is flagged beside the item.

The kit it belongs to

Four items chosen together, not four separate winners. Swapping one moves the others.

4.15 kg on your back · €305 of a budget of €400

Tent
3F UL Gear Lanshan 2: €130, 1.10 kg, Season rating 3, 50% match.
Sleeping bag
Forclaz MT100 15 °C: €35, 800 g, Comfort rating 15 °C, 28% match. Flagged: Not warm enough for these nights.
Sleeping mat
Naturehike R5 Insulated: €80, 750 g, R-value 5.0, 50% match.
Backpack
Forclaz MT100 Easyfit 50: €60, 1.50 kg, Capacity 50 L, 50% match.

What the runners-up gave up

Each of these still leaves a kit that closes — the budget holds and the pack shuts. This is where each one lost.

  • Berghaus Trailhead 65A lot of litres for very little money.Berghaus Trailhead 65 — €120, 1.60 kg — gives up Price: €120 against the winner's €60. It scores 50% to the winner's 50%.
  • Forclaz MT500 Air 50+10The budget workhorse that has started a lot of first trips.Forclaz MT500 Air 50+10 — €130, 1.90 kg — gives up Price: €130 against the winner's €60. It scores 50% to the winner's 50%.
  • Alpkit Koulin Trail 45Light, cheap and enough pack for a summer week.Alpkit Koulin Trail 45 — €120, 1.20 kg — gives up Price: €120 against the winner's €60. It scores 50% to the winner's 50%.

Questions this trip raises

How much does the whole kit cost?
€305 for all four items, €95 under the €400 ceiling. Prices are indicative euro list prices; the shops set their own.
How much does it weigh?
4.15 kg base weight — tent, sleeping bag, mat and pack together, before food, water and clothes. The pack is rated to carry 16 kg comfortably.
Is the pack big enough for 2 nights?
The tent, bag and mat plus food and clothes for 2 nights pack to about 40 L; Forclaz MT100 Easyfit 50 holds 50 L.

Change an assumption

This page answers one trip. Yours is not that trip — adjust the nights, the budget or the company and watch all four re-rank.

Build my kit

Specifications are manufacturers’ own published figures and prices are indicative, not live. Comfort ratings and R-values are comparable across brands but describe a standardised sleeper on standardised ground — neither is a promise about you on a particular night. Check the current spec and price with the retailer before buying.