Decathlon Quechua MH100 - Women's Review

The Decathlon Quechua MH100 is a unisex, 20L bag made of a coated, water-repellent polyester. It has a ventilated back, padded hip belt, and several useful accessories such as storage for sunglasses, trekking poles, and an easy-access water bladder pocket.

Performance Comparison

Comfort

The Quechua was one of our best-scoring in terms of comfort. The large, U-shaped opening of the pack meant that we could easily stuff heavier, bulkier items at the bottom of the bag, allowing for great weight distribution over the hips and minimizing stress on the shoulders. We also found that the padded hip belt curved nicely over the hips and didn't ride up during movement as some hip belts tend to do. In addition, the unique Air Cooling label ventilated back had a nice curve that kept it sitting away from the back, allowing for great airflow, even on the hottest of days.

This pack is unisex, but we still found it fits a wide range of sizes and body types. Still, it's worth trying on any unisex pack before purchasing to ensure it's a good fit for you. The main drawback for our 5 foot 1 inch tester was that the sternum strap didn't go up quite high enough, so this might be an issue for the most petite of users. The Quechua also had load lifters at the shoulder, but due to the curvature of the bag, we didn't find these to be the most functional feature of this pack. Nonetheless, the fit of the hip belt made up for the lack of ideal load lifters.

Versatility

We found the Decathlon Quechua MH100 to be quite versatile, particularly for the price point. It was large enough to carry a full day hike's worth of supplies, but small enough to not feel cumbersome for a day on the town.

Within the design features of this bag, we particularly enjoyed the small, fleece-lined pocket on the hip belt and the vertical zip pocket on the front exterior of the bag, which gave us quick access to items like keys, dog supplies, and other materials that you don't want to have to dig for. In addition, the mesh side pockets were deep and big enough to easily hold a Nalgene or rolled-up jacket without worrying about them falling out.

Sometimes, however, saving on price means sacrificing on other features, which is why the Quechua's versatility score was more on the average end. The large main pocket, while great for larger items or quick packing, means that if you don't pack certain items into smaller cubes, you risk digging to find things. In addition, whereas some bags have a stuff pocket at the front, the Quechua has just a webbing buckle for extra items, which isn't always ideal, as anything except for a blanket or jacket could easily tip and fall out.

Despite these drawbacks, however, we were still more than happy with the relative versatility of this pack. The design is simple, but well thought out, while keeping price in mind.

Weight-to-Volume Ratio

At 1.4oz per liter, the Quechua MH100 was not our heaviest pack, but certainly not the lightest either. We found this pack, however, to be quite durable and able to carry a lot of weight, which more than made up for the mid-range weight-to-volume scores.

To find a lighter pack, we would have had to sacrifice the excellent hip belt and ventilated back panel, which we weren't willing to do, since we found that these two features were some of the highlights of this pack.

Missing photo ID#427784The Air Cooling system of this bag kept us from sweating through, even on the hottest days.

Ease of Use

We found the Decathlon to be very intuitive and easy to use. Every feature made sense and was where we naturally wanted it to be. If you feel overwhelmed by some daypacks with handles, straps, and pockets at every conceivable turn, a more streamlined bag such as the Quechua might be a good choice for you.

We enjoyed that the bladder pocket was large and a wide variety of brands fit in nicely. The port for bladders was also easy to find and thread a hose through. The MH100 also had an average number of pockets, coming in at 6, and each one was in a thoughtful, easy-to-use place. The daisy chain at the front was sturdy for extra items, although we weren't inclined to load it up, as items would swing and clang around, leaving you feeling like a one-man band while hiking.

Construction Quality

With a price point like the Decathlon Quechua's, you might expect to sacrifice construction quality. It is made of a water-repellent, coated polyester, as opposed to the 100-200 Denier nylon of some of the other packs we tested. Despite this, however, it held up surprisingly well during our stress tests, which included dragging bags for many feet and hosing them down for a full minute.

We also packed the bag with items poking out the sides and found that there was no tearing or abrading of the fabric. The polyester also helps save on weight, which is a trade-off you have when choosing a pack with a more dense fabric. In addition, all zippers held up well to our workload and did not snag or get caught during use. However, if a lifetime of durability is what you are after, it may be worth looking into a pack with a higher price point.

Should You Buy the Decathlon Quechua MH100?

If you are looking for a wallet-friendly daypack that can transition from trail to town while still having excellent support and performance, then this pack may be for you. We really enjoyed its simple but well-thought-out features and how well it performed in the comfort category. If, however, you are someone who enjoys a more heavily designed daypack with all the bells and whistles and you aren't afraid to pay for them, then you may want to check out one of the other packs in our lineup.

What Other Daypacks Should You Consider?