I've got four backpacks hanging in my garage right now, and only one of them earns its keep on every single trip out, hunting, fishing, hauling gear to the lease, or a plain day hike. It isn't the framed pack I bought for a week in the Wichitas, and it isn't the tactical rig I picked up thinking I'd need webbing for everything. It's a packable daypack, the G4Free, the 15L version that lives folded up in my truck door pocket where I used to keep a rag and jumper cables. A packable daypack sounds like a gimmick until you've needed a second bag at six in the morning on a boat ramp with no warning, and once you've been there, you stop leaving home without one.
This isn't a review off one trip. I've had this daypack riding along on hunts, hikes, fishing runs, and a couple of airport layovers for close to a year now, in both the 10L and the 15L sizes. These are the ten reasons I think a packable daypack, this one specifically, earns a permanent spot in your truck, your suitcase, and your gear closet, even when it isn't your main pack.
The second bag you didn't know you needed until you needed it
The G4Free packable daypack is the piece of gear I keep folded in the truck door for exactly the mornings that go sideways.
Amazon Check Today's Price on Amazon →It Folds Down to Nothing, So It Never Leaves the Truck
A real backpack takes up a whole corner of the closet or a bench seat in the truck, so it's the first thing you leave behind when you're trying to travel light. The G4Free folds into its own front pocket down to about the size of a grapefruit, small enough to live permanently in a door pocket or a glovebox. Mine has been riding in the driver's side door since last fall and I've genuinely forgotten it was in there more than once, right up until I needed it.
It's a Summit Pack Inside a Bigger Pack
When I'm hauling a full camp load into the backcountry, the last thing I want is to break down the whole rig just to hike a mile off the ridge to glass a canyon. I fold the G4Free flat and stuff it inside my main pack on the way in, then pull it out for the short trips once camp is set. It carries a water bottle, a rain shell, and a rangefinder without any trouble, and it packs back down to nothing when I'm done with it.
It Doubles as a Grocery and Gear Bag in Town
I don't always want to carry four plastic sacks up from the truck for a quick stop at the feed store or a run into town for tackle. The daypack folds out in about two seconds and holds more than most grocery bags combined, then folds right back down when I'm done with it. It's become the bag I grab for anything that isn't a full trip, errands, a farmers market stop, or hauling gear across a parking lot.
It's Cheap Enough to Actually Abuse
My good hiking pack doesn't touch mud, doesn't get thrown in a truck bed, and doesn't ride under a tailgate full of firewood. The G4Free doesn't get that kind of babying, and it doesn't need it. It's inexpensive enough that I don't think twice about tossing it on the ground next to a fire pit, using it to haul kindling, or letting it ride around dirty for a week before I rinse it out.
It's a Spare Pack for a Friend Who Shows Up Empty-Handed
There's always one guy on a group hike or a hunt who forgot a bag, or brought one that fell apart on the drive out. Since mine folds flat, I keep the 10L in my truck alongside the 15L I carry myself, so there's always a backup pack ready to hand off. It's saved more than one trip where somebody was about to carry water bottles loose in their coat pockets.
It Packs Inside Your Carry-On With Room to Spare
Airlines have gotten tighter about a second personal item, and a full-size daypack eats space in a carry-on that you'd rather use for boots or a jacket. Folded flat, the G4Free tucks along the side of a suitcase and takes up almost no room until you land and need a bag for a day trip. It's become part of how I pack for any trip that involves a hike at the other end.
It Works as a Game Bag or a Forage Sack in a Pinch
I wouldn't plan a whole hunt around it, but more than once I've needed something to carry out a mess of squirrels, a batch of morels, or a stringer of fish without soaking through my regular pack. The daypack has handled that job fine, and since it wipes out easy, it hasn't stayed smelling like the last thing I hauled in it. It's the kind of use nobody mentions in a spec sheet, but it's exactly the situation a folded-up bag in the truck solves.
It Weighs Almost Nothing, So There's No Reason to Skip It
Every ounce matters when you're already carrying a rifle, a rod case, or a full camp load, and that's exactly why most guys leave the extra bag at home. The G4Free is light enough empty that you don't feel it riding in your main pack or clipped to a belt loop, so there's no real argument for leaving it behind. This is the daypack I carry every hike now, precisely because I stopped noticing it was there until I needed it.
It's Easy to Rinse Out and Dry Fast
A framed pack with a hip belt and a hydration sleeve is a pain to actually clean after a muddy trip, all those straps and pockets holding grit long after you've hosed it down. The G4Free is simple enough, no internal frame, no bladder pocket, that I can turn it inside out at the spigot, rinse it in under a minute, and hang it to dry overnight. It's back in the truck by morning instead of sitting wet in the mudroom for three days.
It's a Loaner You Don't Mind Losing
I've handed my good pack to a kid at camp exactly once and spent the rest of the weekend watching it like a hawk. That's not a problem with the G4Free. If a nephew borrows it for a school trip and it comes back with a broken zipper, or a buddy leaves it at a trailhead and never gets it back, it's not the kind of loss that ruins your week. That's worth something on its own.
What I'd Skip
I wouldn't run this as my only pack for a real backcountry trip, and I'd tell anyone else the same. The straps are thin webbing, not padded, there's no hip belt to move weight off your shoulders, and there's no internal frame to keep a heavy load from sagging on your back. Load it up past what it's built for and you'll feel every pound of it after a few miles. A packable daypack is a second bag, not your main hiking pack, and I think it's a more useful piece of gear for admitting that up front instead of pretending it can do a frame pack's job. Once you know where the load ceiling is and you pack it right, and you can read how to load it right for a full day out, it does exactly what it's built to do and nothing more.
The best second bag isn't the one with the most features. It's the one you actually have on you when you need it.
The bag that's earned a permanent spot in my truck
Between the two sizes, the 10L and the 15L, this is the packable daypack I keep coming back to, and at today's price it's an easy one to keep a spare of.
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