Decathlon Quechua MH500 20L / 30L / 40L (2020) Backpack - Review, Q&A

Following the magnificent (and somewhat epic) "BEST BACKPACK / RUCKSACK FOR HIKING PHOTOGRAPHERS (2021)"[1] thread, being noted as (quote):

Chris 222 wrote:

The clear standout for us as hiking photographers is the 2020 Decathlon Quechua MH500 30L, a quality TMP pack with outstanding features, a 10-year warranty, dual gear access, good comfort and plenty of nice touches such as strap sleeves, real load lifters, large belt pockets , etc. for a measly 55 euros (roughly $65, less than you spend right now on a car fill-up or a restaurant outing in many countries. I am told that this outstanding value is possible because Decathlon allows no middleman, controls their own manufacturing and distribution, and practices fair profit margins.) Bottom line? The outstanding Decathlon Quechua MH500 30L outperforms all others and is currently the world’s best value in daypacks (closely followed by the MH500 40L, same pack, just a little more spacious at 15 euros more.) If you live in any of the 50+ countries where Decathlon has stores, getting this pack is a total no-brainer.

..., not to fill that original one with pack-specific posts (causing it to reach its post limit and become practically closed for any further, more general discussion), this thread should serve the purpose of sharing our experiences and answering questions in regards to Decathlon Quechua MH500 (2020) backpack(s) alone.

For starters, a bit more than a month ago, I bought two of these packs for (my wife and) me - a 20 liter "S" frame size version, and 40 liter "L" frame size one (so basically the smallest and the biggest one available).

"Decathlon" makes a generic difference according to one`s height, classifying them as "S" < 170cm (5'7") >= "L" - but it`s your torso length that matters, not your height, so trying one in person (if not measuring your torso as well) is highly advised.

Backpack sizes/weights are listed as:

20L: (H) 60cm x (W) 30cm x (D) 20cm, 1100g (S) or 1270g (L)
30L: (H) 63cm x (W) 30cm x (D) 23cm, 1200g (S) or 1300g (L)
40L: (H) 66cm x (W) 30cm x (D) 26cm, 1260g (S) or 1390g (L)

Measured, "S" frame alone is 45cm tall (measuring the tensioned mesh, not the frame curve), "L" frame is 50cm (being almost exact torso lengths of my wife and me). Frame width is 30cm for both sizes, where the mesh is about 2-3cm away from the back of the pack (when empty).

Load-lifter straps are attached at the top of the frame, while shoulder straps are attached 6cm lower (at 39cm and 44cmm from the bottom, for "S" and "L" sizes respectively). Shoulder straps are 6cm wide, and good 1.5cm thick.

At the lower back, hip-belt is 14cm tall for "S" and 16cm tall for "L" frame pack, putting its center at some 7cm (S) or 8cm (L) from the bottom of the pack frame, and some 32cm (S) or 36cm (L) from where the shoulder straps are attached (and 38cm (S) or 42cm (L) from the top of the frame, where the load-lifters are).

Hip-belt fins are roughly 65cm (S) or 71cm (L) in total length (wrapping around one`s hips), being 1.5cm thick and 10-11cm tall, with large, top-zippered mesh pockets extending some 1-2cm more, and easily stretchable even further. Zippers are about 17cm long, and easy to open/close single-handedly.

I plan on writing down my own experience, use-cases, configurations and observations, using the packs for hikes (or simple walks) where photography (photo-equipment) is involved, but I`ll end up the opening post here, making some general but not easily found knowledge (measurements) already available, also allowing others to share their own findings - or ask questions - in the meantime.

To conclude, here are the exact backpacks I`m talking about (links, but photos, too, in case links get repointed in the future), and a YouTube video screenshot best showing the size difference when fully packed (when empty, all packs are pretty much collapsible to frame size alone, no matter the volume).

20L: https://www.decathlon.com/products/quechua-mh500-hiking-backpack-20l-310057

30L: https://www.decathlon.com/products/quechua-mh500-hiking-backpack-30l-310083

40L: https://www.decathlon.com/products/quechua-mh500-hiking-backpack-40l-310102

Size comparison (when full), screenshot taken from a YouTube review video[2]:

Chris 222 wrote:

boogisha wrote:

..., not to fill that original one with pack-specific posts (causing it to reach its post limit and become practically closed for any further, more general discussion),

Given that DPR will probably never change their absurd post limit, this is very thoughtful and very much appreciated. I hope others will follow in your footsteps!

No problem, Chris, and thanks for the original thread once more, it certainly helped me. I do hope people will chime-in here - even if to post a question only, as I can answer some questions now, too, where I previously had many myself, and your feedback was very valuable.

In fact the most important thing one should always measure is their torso length (the cool thing is that you only need to do this once in your adult life!)

While at it - what should the torso length actually be compared/matched with (on the backpack)...? I guess the frame length (height), but as both shoulder straps and load lifters could be attached to different points (heights), I guess that would/could make a difference, too?

I'm sure many will appreciate your providing these absolutely awesome details.

Thanks, those were some measurements I took for myself before even buying the packs, but some are made recently, too, going by what I think might be helpful to the people.

The good thing is, once you have the pack, you can measure it as much as you want... though then that can be useful to the others only, lol (if there is anything you didn`t really count on, that is, now having just to accept it as it is - luckily no such thing for me... yet).

On a quick aside, for those who aren't familiar with the universal metric system, here are the conversions I have personally memorized (I use them all the time in both my personal and professional lives):

[all figures slightly rounded]

1 inch = 2.55 centimeters (-> divide centimeters by 2.55 to get a measurement in inches)
1 foot = 0.30 meters (30 centimeters)
1 mile = 1.61 kilometers
1 kilogram (1,000 grams) = 2.2 pounds
1 pound = 0.45 kg

Ah, yes, thanks for providing these - initially, I thought of writing all the measurements in both systems (centimetres and inches, for example), but seeing how many numbers there are in each sentence already, I figured it may just be too much, ruining readability further, so left the conversion for the readers preferring it, unfortunately.

and easy to open/close single-handedly

Ditto for my old Decathlon MH100 frameless ("packable') 20 L pack.

Which, in fairness, begs the question: why does Osprey still sell packs with zippers that require two hands, and at multiple times the price of a Quechua ?!

I know I digress, but hey, Quechua packs also have industry-leading straps management, and Osprey has industry-trailing straps management, this is just nuts...

C'mon Osprey, you can do better!

Fun fact - other than side access (being a huge thing for me), a few small but great details like this pushed me towards Quechua, instead of going with Deuter, for example, being strap sleeves, low and angled side mesh pockets (easily reachable while wearing the pack), and hip-belt pockets weren`t lacking at all - on the contrary, even, using them being a breeze (and fitting a lot).

Looking forward to your feedback!

Same here, lol, I just need to dedicate some time to it, and organize my thoughts a bit... I hope the thread might still be helpful in the meantime, too.

Size comparison (when full), screenshot taken from a YouTube review video[2]:

Nice job on that screenshot Boogisha !

I suppose your were only searching for MH500 pics, but you may be surprised to hear that IMHO you stumbled upon a real gem here.

Truth to be told, I searched for _anything and everything_ about these packs - yet there`s not that much to be found still, I`m afraid. Besides the mentioned video (which I did watch, and a few times, with automatic translation being rather helpful), there are only a few more even now, and I managed to find a couple of written reviews (some again in languages other than English, too).

For those who don't understand French, it turns out that Alex, the author of this video, is a professional mountain guide who lives in Corsica, a famous and rebellious island south of Marseille, France (famous for its amazing fromages, charcuterie, its mafia, its gorgeous landscapes, and much more.) Alex and his compagne Cinzia offer year-round, customized hikes on and off the GR20, a rugged and often highly-technical trail considered by many ultra runners to be Europe's most challenging one. For those who are less in a hurry, the GR20 also offers some of the most beautiful scenery on earth: https://www.duodescimes.fr/

Ah, thanks for the background - it did seem the guy knows what he`s talking about, but having some more info is appreciated.

- while he has recommend larger Decathlon packs like the Forclaz series in the past, the 2021 Quechua MH500 series is the first Decathlon one under 40L that meet his standards.

Just a quick nit here - is it 2020 Quechua MH500, or 2021 (as you now wrote here)...? I think it`s the former, as _I think_ some of the resources I found are from the previous year, but I`m not sure... Yet, it would be good to know, for clarity sake (especially as Decathlon itself doesn`t provide the info).

- As Boogisha excellently documented, the L frame is only 5cm taller. Alex thinks the L should be another 5 cm higher to accommodate taller folks taller than 1.75 m. While I wish he would discuss and educate about actual torso lengths (he's not that tall anyway) I agree on principle but, as Boogisha said, only you can determine if the MH500 would work for you (and you should do it with full load, etc. go back to FAQ 1 for how-tos.)

I asked that "how to match torso length to pack (frame) size" question above already, but I`ll just add I might agree with Alex here, too.

I`m 1.84m, with torso length of 51cm (from iliac crest to C7 vertebra, to the best of our home measurement), and while the frame of "L" sized pack is 50cm, I do feel I could use a few centimetres more - or at least have the shoulder straps (padding, that is) a tiny bit longer, so I can loose them as much as I would sometimes want (while having the pack resting on my hips), without reaching the end of the padding, feeling it close to my armpits (tolerable, but still on the very verge of not being very comfortable).

- He had a bit of a hard time closing the sternum strap clip. For reference, no such thing in our community's MH500 test notes I just double checked. I have a similar. slightly-different-from-the-norm design on another pack and it's something you get used to very quickly.

Eh, I need to agree with him here, too - but that in comparison to Peak Design`s Everyday Backpack sternum strap which has no clips, but the end of it just hooks into the shoulder strap (there are a few slots at different heights).

I don`t think what Quechua has is anything harder than usual clip stuff - one side going into another - but it`s not the easiest thing to do with a single hand, and hard not to notice once you have some experience with what Peak Design did. I am starting to get used to it, closing it single-handedly, too, but there seem to be better solutions.

Oh, and one more thing regarding the sternum strap - I absolutely have no idea what were they thinking when they were designing the location for the strap sleeve for that one... It`s a bit hard to explain (I might have a photo coming later), but in short, the sleeve is pretty much fixed at the strap _at the opposite end_ of the clip, not being able to come much closer to it, so you can only use it if you tighten the sternum strap really hard (having the loose strap end reach all the way to the other shoulder strap, where the sleeve is).

For me, I`m left with some 5-6 cm of strap end dangling from the clip, and nowhere near to reach the sleeve to tuck it in. Not the end of the world for sure (far from it, of course), but as all the other strap sleeves are great, it leaves one wondering what happened here... For what that is worth, I might just add another sleeve myself, but near the clip this time (being a logical location, while still movable further away), handling the leftover strap.

But overall, I`m more than happy with the pack, of course - yet to be put to words

boogisha wrote:

...

I`m 1.84m, with torso length of 51cm (from iliac crest to C7 vertebra, to the best of our home measurement), and while the frame of "L" sized pack is 50cm, I do feel I could use a few centimetres more - or at least have the shoulder straps (padding, that is) a tiny bit longer, so I can loose them as much as I would sometimes want (while having the pack resting on my hips), without reaching the end of the padding, feeling it close to my armpits (tolerable, but still on the very verge of not being very comfortable).

...

Since Decathlon only specifies the overall height of 1.7 m as the boundary between the two sizes of their Quechua rucksacks, I add another data point here. I am 1.73 m tall and my torso length is somewhere around 47 or 48 cm. I tried in the shop both sizes of the rucksack and the small size is definitely too small for my torso.

Hanno van Tartu wrote:

Since Decathlon only specifies the overall height of 1.7 m as the boundary between the two sizes of their Quechua rucksacks, I add another data point here. I am 1.73 m tall and my torso length is somewhere around 47 or 48 cm. I tried in the shop both sizes of the rucksack and the small size is definitely too small for my torso.

Yes, as I mentioned in my opening post, the small pack frame length is 45cm, so definitely shorter than your 47/48 cm torso length ... but truth to be told, "Decathlon"`s (rather vague) "S < 1.7m >= L" classification actually works just fine in your case

Chris 222 wrote:

Hanno's post just made me realize that I han't followed up on your reply. My apologies.

No worries - but I did have two actual questions which you seem to have missed, and I guess the length of the reply didn`t help much in that regards, sorry. Here they are again:

Chris 222 wrote:

In fact the most important thing one should always measure is their torso length (the cool thing is that you only need to do this once in your adult life!)

(Q1) While at it - what should the torso length actually be compared/matched with (on the backpack)...? I guess the frame length (height), but as both shoulder straps and load lifters could be attached to different points (heights), I guess that would/could make a difference, too?

Chris 222 wrote:

- while he has recommend larger Decathlon packs like the Forclaz series in the past, the 2021 Quechua MH500 series is the first Decathlon one under 40L that meet his standards.

(Q2) Just a quick nit here - is it 2020 Quechua MH500, or 2021 (as you now wrote here)...? I think it`s the former, as _I think_ some of the resources I found are from the previous year, but I`m not sure... Yet, it would be good to know, for clarity sake (especially as Decathlon itself doesn`t provide the info).

FWIW, I may be old-school but always use both hands to clip both my hip and sternum straps.

Indeed, but sometimes I find not both of my hands are free, so being able to easily do it single-handedly is a plus... luckily, I`m getting better at it anyway

Oh, and one more thing regarding the sternum strap - I absolutely have no idea what were they thinking when they were designing the location for the strap sleeve for that one... It`s a bit hard to explain (I might have a photo coming later), but in short, the sleeve is pretty much fixed at the strap _at the opposite end_ of the clip, not being able to come much closer to it, so you can only use it if you tighten the sternum strap really hard (having the loose strap end reach all the way to the other shoulder strap, where the sleeve is).

I believe they did this to provide an "end point" for bladder water tubes (you route it down the shoulder strap and then to the side. This sleeve ensures it doesn't dangle and flop around.)

Yes, that`s what promo-videos show as well ("end point" being routed through the sleeve) - just that it wouldn`t really make any different if the sleeve was allowed to move closer to the clip, while it would certainly help with the sternum strap, which is the dangling one now.

If this bothers you, just add a sleeve as you said below (make more than one, these little beauties always come in handy!).

Yeah, this is really just a bit of nitpicking, being one thing that actually surprised me, as the sleeves on all the other straps are as functional as they could possibly be.

I didn't read all posts in the thread, but I recently tried out the Quecha MH500 40L Large size in the Decathlon store with some of their dummy weights in the pack to bring the weight up to 6kg and for someone of my size (196cm or about 6'5" and a torso length of about 48-49cm) I found that:

1. This backpack is uncomfortable. It restricts my movement, especially free movement of the arms. I tried various adjustments but it didn't really get better. It was tight, and uncomfortable.

2. The weight hung quite heavily on my shoulders, even though I did my best to tighten the hip-belt well around my hips.

The same weight in their Travel 500 50L backpack felt a lot lighter on my shoulder, and my movement was a lot less restricted.

The Travel 500 50L does not have a TMP mesh but I think the back panel used is a decent "2nd best" type of construction; it is better ventilated than the packs of mushy foam on the lower grade backpacks or the hard foams on some others.

(Photos are available here: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/men-s-trekking-travel-backpack-50-litres-travel-500-grey/_/R-p-156348 )

This of course is not a real review of either backpack but just some first impressions.

Tim van der Leeuw wrote:

I didn't read all posts in the thread, but I recently tried out the Quecha MH500 40L Large size in the Decathlon store with some of their dummy weights in the pack to bring the weight up to 6kg and for someone of my size (196cm or about 6'5" and a torso length of about 48-49cm) I found that:

1. This backpack is uncomfortable. It restricts my movement, especially free movement of the arms. I tried various adjustments but it didn't really get better. It was tight, and uncomfortable.

2. The weight hung quite heavily on my shoulders, even though I did my best to tighten the hip-belt well around my hips.

I`m far from an expert, but from these two points it seems as the pack simply wasn`t fitted properly - otherwise, shoulder straps would almost play no role other than preventing the backpack to fall away from you, with chest (sternum) strap helping there further. And I`m not sure I understand how could they possibly restrict your free arm movement...?

From my humble experience with the packs (and I have 20L and 40L for about two months now), hip-belt strap should be tightened as usual (no reason to have it too tight, and I buckle mine below the regular pants belt buckle), but it is of much greater importance where the hip-belt sits - it should be positioned so its vertical center is on your hip bones (if not even a tad lower, but that`s subjective), bearing all the weight and transferring the load to your legs.

More experienced hikers may correct me (and please forgive me if you are one, too), but my understanding is that hip-belt should be positioned and tightened first, with all the other straps being loose. Only once you literally have the backpack attached like that alone, felling all the weight on the hips, you should proceed with tightening the shoulder straps - and here you get to make a decision, as the more you tighten those, the more load they will take over from the hips (and possibly move the backpack higher on your back, too, if overtightened). But the good thing is you can keep loosening/tightening the straps on the go, too, changing the weight balance for a while to rest different groups of muscles a bit.

For someone who didn`t have much experience with these packs initial experience might come off a bit weird (at least it did for me), but once realizing it`s not your shoulders that should be taking the load it becomes rather liberating, a real game changer.

Additionally, there are load lifters straps, too, but I`m afraid those don`t play that much of a role for a person of your torso length (almost being as long as the frame itself), so the only important thing should be to have them tightened so the top of the backpack doesn`t lean away from you (when full/heavy, not to influence your center of gravity - when empty/light it doesn`t matter much, as you may even want it further away for better ventilation).

All this said, I wouldn`t mind shoulder straps (padding) being a tad longer, so I can understand one trying to fit the shoulder straps per his own preference, especially if the person is tall, and consequently (and unfortunately) transferring too much weight to the shoulders (with straps being overtightened in the process)... Could this be the case here?

Thanks for your long reply! (which I will not quote here this time )

I did first tighten the hip belt (which for me was just over my regular belt buckle) and then tried to adjust the various other straps to make it more comfortable for me. I just couldn't make it work.

I know that it's the hips that should carry the load and I did manage to get the hips to carry the load with that other backpack that I mentioned, and also with a photopack I tried (the older MindShift Rotation Pro).

So maybe I did do something wrong with trying to fit this particular backpack, but I think that the size of it is just not made for me -- I may just be too tall.

Tim van der Leeuw wrote:

I did first tighten the hip belt (which for me was just over my regular belt buckle)

Once the hip belt is tightened and buckled, I usually snug its buckle over and just under the regular belt buckle on purpose, to keep it there, without putting the pressure on my stomach.

So maybe I did do something wrong with trying to fit this particular backpack, but I think that the size of it is just not made for me -- I may just be too tall.

Unfortunately, that`s quite possible - I`m 184m, with 51cm torso length, and I find the pack just about right, but I certainly wouldn`t mind a few more centimetres in both frame length (50cm) and shoulder straps (padding) length...

You being 196cm, and possibly having even longer torso than me (as Chris 222 suspects in that other post[1], even though you said it`s about 48-49cm), it could be you`re just too tall, indeed (even for "L" sized backpack frame, that is).

boogisha wrote:

You being 196cm, and possibly having even longer torso than me (as Chris 222 suspects in that other post[1], even though you said it`s about 48-49cm), it could be you`re just too tall, indeed (even for "L" sized backpack frame, that is).

And yes I did check that I had the "L" sized version when I grabbed it from the rack, and I checked that again before putting it back!

Tim van der Leeuw wrote:

boogisha wrote:

You being 196cm, and possibly having even longer torso than me (as Chris 222 suspects in that other post[1], even though you said it`s about 48-49cm), it could be you`re just too tall, indeed (even for "L" sized backpack frame, that is).

And yes I did check that I had the "L" sized version when I grabbed it from the rack, and I checked that again before putting it back!

Not sure how my reply came through, but I agreed with you, totally seeing how even "L" sized backpack could be just not long enough (it`s barely long enough for me, mind you, with my 184cm and 51cm torso length).

It would probably be better for taller people (the ones with longer torso length, that is) if there was an "XL" sized backpack , too (with 55cm frame length, for example).

Making a cut at 170cm and having one single size for all shorter people (45cm frame length) and one single size for all taller people (50cm frame length) simply won`t work for everyone, unfortunately, and that`s it.

Thanks for raising this point, being valuable info for tall(er) people (with longer torso length, to be precise, probably around or above 50cm).

Chris 222 wrote:

Tim, because I've helped other very tall people in the past I have a few ideas about packs that would probably fit you. But I do not have a clear picture of what you are looking for, so it would be great if you could enlighten me. I just need the basics: pack size range, type of usage, terrains, weather, etc Feel free to let me know here or via PM and I'll do my best to help!

Hi Chris,

Thanks -- but I think I'll go back for now to the Trekker 500 from Decathlon which I've linked to above. I had some discomfort with it initially so I returned it, only to realise that I got the version for women and that some straps are slightly different. I think that I will be OK with the version for men.

It gave me good distribution of weight to my hips, and is affordable. I think that I will get one of the new Shimoda Explore v2 bags as well later when they become available and use whichever one will pack my gear and other stuff depending on where I go and what I'll be bringing.

boogisha wrote:

Tim van der Leeuw wrote:

boogisha wrote:

You being 196cm, and possibly having even longer torso than me (as Chris 222 suspects in that other post[1], even though you said it`s about 48-49cm), it could be you`re just too tall, indeed (even for "L" sized backpack frame, that is).

And yes I did check that I had the "L" sized version when I grabbed it from the rack, and I checked that again before putting it back!

Not sure how my reply came through, but I agreed with you, totally seeing how even "L" sized backpack could be just not long enough (it`s barely long enough for me, mind you, with my 184cm and 51cm torso length).

I just posted that so that anyone reading would not think I mistakenly grabbed to shorter version to test on my tall body! Not because I felt you were disagreeing with me.