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

How do owners of the Decathlon Quechua MH500 secure a tripod to the pack?  In the review videos i have watched the side water bottle pockets appear to be at an angle that would make them great for water bottles but they don't appear to be very well suited for tripod use.

Has anyone that has the 40L version ever brought it as a carry on (either overhead bin or under seat)?  Any issues with that use case?  The dimensions show it as slightly longer than most carry on requirements but it looks like it could be cinched down to get within the threshold if needed.

wollumeg wrote:

How do owners of the Decathlon Quechua MH500 secure a tripod to the pack? In the review videos i have watched the side water bottle pockets appear to be at an angle that would make them great for water bottles but they don't appear to be very well suited for tripod use.

This is covered in R1 link below my signature, Article 3 but I might have more options to suggest depending on your tripod. Can you post a link to it?

See also Article 6, FAQ 18.

Has anyone that has the 40L version ever brought it as a carry on (either overhead bin or under seat)? Any issues with that use case? The dimensions show it as slightly longer than most carry on requirements but it looks like it could be cinched down to get within the threshold if needed.

Nick gave you some good advice here (although I disagree on using cheap packs for any photo gear.) What airline(s) are you planning on flying?

Also, what countries are you flying from and to?

Thanks for pointing me to the specific areas of your original location. I will re-read those.

I have two tripods currently:

The larger is https://www.amazon.com/Leofoto-LS-364C-Travel-Tripod-Section/dp/B082MRFBX7/ref=sr_1_4

The smaller is https://www.amazon.com/Leofoto-LS-223C-Portable-Weight-Included/dp/B07GKKB416/ref=sr_1_6

I prefer to bring the larger one with me when I can.

I only fly within the US currently. I use Delta or Alaskan airlines normally. Their carry on restrictions are 22" x 14" x 9" or 45 linear inches.

wollumeg wrote:

Thanks for pointing me to the specific areas of your original location. I will re-read those.

I have two tripods currently:

The larger is https://www.amazon.com/Leofoto-LS-364C-Travel-Tripod-Section/dp/B082MRFBX7/ref=sr_1_4

The smaller is https://www.amazon.com/Leofoto-LS-223C-Portable-Weight-Included/dp/B07GKKB416/ref=sr_1_6

I prefer to bring the larger one with me when I can.

I only fly within the US currently. I use Delta or Alaskan airlines normally. Their carry on restrictions are 22" x 14" x 9" or 45 linear inches.

Ah, thanks, all these details help a lot.

I just took quick measurements for you with the pack empty, the MH500 40's frame is roughly 20.5 inches H (you can reduce that a bit by carefully bending the frame to get more space and air flow behind the TMP, which quite a few people do) x 12" W x 8" D (up to 10" depending on how you pack) so you have plenty of leeway when using it as a carry-on.

Decathlon Quechua MH500 Tripod Carry Options

In the original Article 4 review of the top 9 TMP daypacks I had, fairly I think, reported our findings without using any mods (modifications) or DIY on the packs. Here are all your options if you are willing to use a bit of ingenuity:

1) Tie your tripod vertically on the left side via the two hiking poles bungee lash points (no mods.)

2) Use the old soda bottle trick for this one. Find a strong soda bottle with an inside diameter that's just a bit more than the outside diameter of the tripod's folded legs, cut off the top at 5-6 inches from the bottom with sharp scissors and drill 3 small drain holes at the bottom. Now place it inside the front mesh pocket and slide the tripod's feet inside (the bottle is rounded and protective which will prevent tearing of the stretchy mesh.) Finally, angle the top of the tripod slightly to the left and tie the top of the folded legs to the upper bungee lash point.

3) Use the same method to slide your tripod'd feet inside the right side mesh pocket (it has a deeply angled bottom because it sits just above one of those two awesome angled side bottle pockets) and secure it using the top compression strap, which by the way features a buckle, a small grab loop and a strap sleeve, 3 thoughtful and useful features that I know from experience many $200-400 packs do not have...

4) Use the 4 small awesome bottom lash loops to cinch your tripod horizontally to the bottom of the pack using two straps or bungees. Note that these loops were absent on the pack we originally tested but they are present on the MH500 40L I recently bought, so they appear to have been quietly added by Decathlon at some point. You can also use them of course for a Z-mat, a jacket, a bear can, etc. They are a fantastic addition to these packs and only reinforce the MH500 standing at the top of our rankings.

Of course, you can also easily stash your small Leofoto LS223C inside the pack. Ditto with the LS-364C CF if you really needed to, like at the airport.

Does this help?

Questions are welcome.

Thank you Chris! I can envision all the methods you have explained here. I am very hopeful based on the measurements I can use this as a carry on for an upcoming trip. I went placed an order for one (along with one of their highly rated down jackets). I currently use the Shimoda action X30 which is a very nice pack but way too heavy for hikes IMO. The MH500 should save me half a pound a believe.  The only think I may miss is back panel access but I don't think that is a deal breaker.

wollumeg wrote:

How do owners of the Decathlon Quechua MH500 secure a tripod to the pack? In the review videos i have watched the side water bottle pockets appear to be at an angle that would make them great for water bottles but they don't appear to be very well suited for tripod use.

The bottle pockets indeed are not very well suited to secure larger objects. But on the right side there's a second pocket above the bottle pocket where you can stash the tripod and then you can secure it with a strap that is located just above that pocket.

wollumeg wrote:

Thank you Chris! I can envision all the methods you have explained here. I am very hopeful based on the measurements I can use this as a carry on for an upcoming trip. I went placed an order for one (along with one of their highly rated down jackets). I currently use the Shimoda action X30 which is a very nice pack but way too heavy for hikes IMO. The MH500 should save me half a pound a believe. The only think I may miss is back panel access but I don't think that is a deal breaker.

The MH500 will be be a revelation on hikes compared to a regular camera backpack. It's not the weight that matters but the way the bag handles the weight you put in it. I learnt this the hard way when I did a hike on rough terrain carrying all my camping gear in a Wandrd Prvke 31. It was a VERY painful experience that is not going to happen ever again. 

Hi all,

first of all let me say that I love both this as well as the „main“ backpack thread, just so much valuable information. I’m currently in the market for a new hiking backpack / daypack as I’m preparing to hike the Annapurna circuit in may. I will have a porter so I don’t have to carry all of the load - it’s a bit lame but I do want to be able to take pictures and I figured I’d be rather safe than sorry as I’m not used to hiking at the elevation levels that I’ll be facing. I’ll be taking Fuji equipment, current setup is the XT4, 16-55, 70-300, Samyang 12mm, 35 1.4, and I’m currently trying to get my hands on a cheap used XT20 as a backup body.

From the three backpacks I tested so far (Deuter DFP40, Vaude Brenta 36+6 and the decathlon 40l) I liked the decathlon the most due to it’s features:

• front access and enough space to stow the Tenba DSLR 10, which the DFP lacks
• hooks on the carrying straps to clip a chest holster onto, which I want to use for quick access to the camera with the 16-55 attached (thinking about either the fstop navin or wandrd route pack, both will work reasonably well)
• the amazing water bottle pouches that can be accessed without taking the pack of the back - allows for easy access of the telephoto while hiking
• carrying system seems to be much more comfortable than the Vaude from the carrying test I did so far. 

Now, this is somewhat like a once in a lifetime trip for me, so it really isn’t about saving money or getting away with a cheap pack - I genuinely believe the Decathlon is quite perfect for my setup. Being on the trail for about two weeks, the only thing I’m worried about now is the quality of the pack, it being so cheap compared to the alternatives. It doesn’t feel cheap, it’s just something I’m wondering about as I don’t want to take chances on the trip.

Does anyone by chance have tested it for a while now and has an opinion on the longevity of the pack or some alternative suggestions? I’m particularly in love with the water bottle pockets because they keep me from needing to attach a lens holster to the belt or similar for quick access to the telephoto.

I have used the MH500 a few times so far so I can't really judge the longevity of the pack but at least so far not even a simple stitch has come out.

ldb85 wrote:

Hi all,

first of all let me say that I love both this as well as the „main“ backpack thread, just so much valuable information.

Thanks, it's always nice to hear that I didn't waste my time, I appreciate your feedback!

I’m currently in the market for a new hiking backpack / daypack as I’m preparing to hike the Annapurna circuit in may. I will have a porter so I don’t have to carry all of the load - it’s a bit lame but I do want to be able to take pictures and I figured I’d be rather safe than sorry as I’m not used to hiking at the elevation levels that I’ll be facing.

Having a sherpa "muling" , as we say in my community, for you isn't cheap but by doing so you make a vital contribution to the local economy. On top of that, unless you already have the capabilities of an ultra-trail runner, you will find even the smallest efforts at such altitudes incredibly taxing. Congrats on making such a wise decision!

Still, I would highly recommend that you do as many training hike miles as possible between now and then, while closely monitoring your progress. Always listen to what your body says, and hold back or flat out rest when it tells you to...

I’ll be taking Fuji equipment, current setup is the XT4, 16-55, 70-300, Samyang 12mm, 35 1.4, and I’m currently trying to get my hands on a cheap used XT20 as a backup body.

From the three backpacks I tested so far (Deuter DFP40, Vaude Brenta 36+6 and the decathlon 40l) I liked the decathlon the most due to it’s features:

• front access and enough space to stow the Tenba DSLR 10, which the DFP lacks
• hooks on the carrying straps to clip a chest holster onto, which I want to use for quick access to the camera with the 16-55 attached (thinking about either the fstop navin or wandrd route pack, both will work reasonably well)
• the amazing water bottle pouches that can be accessed without taking the pack of the back - allows for easy access of the telephoto while hiking
• carrying system seems to be much more comfortable than the Vaude from the carrying test I did so far.

Personally I would rate the Vaude harness equal to the MH500, especially if you bend the Quechua's frame a little bit so as to have more "awesome space" behind the TMP. The DFP40's harness is industry;s best and a notch above, but you are absolutely correct that the MH500's low-angle, side mesh pockets make a huge difference on the trail.

And speaking of which, consider taking along at least one high-quality insulated bottle which most people think are for hot beverages, but you will find that at Annapurna altitudes, water in a Nalgene-type bottle freezes faster than the average TV "covid expert" spouts a lie about the "pandemic." LOL. Let me know if you need recommendations about such bottles/flasks.

Now, this is somewhat like a once in a lifetime trip for me, so it really isn’t about saving money or getting away with a cheap pack - I genuinely believe the Decathlon is quite perfect for my setup. Being on the trail for about two weeks, the only thing I’m worried about now is the quality of the pack, it being so cheap compared to the alternatives. It doesn’t feel cheap, it’s just something I’m wondering about as I don’t want to take chances on the trip. Does anyone by chance have tested it for a while now and has an opinion on the longevity of the pack or some alternative suggestions? I’m particularly in love with the water bottle pockets because they keep me from needing to attach a lens holster to the belt or similar for quick access to the telephoto.

I've only used my own MH500 40L for a little over 130 hours but like allematic;s it still looks like new (I got tired of borrowing my friends' MH500s and grabbed one.)  Many other people in my community have owned these packs since they came out (mostly the 30 and 40 since 20 liters is a very small capacity, that model also came onto markets much later) and I've heard of only one broken shoulder strap, but that was due to a nasty crash while bouldering a very technical section, which also resulted in our friend being injured. Decathlon replaced his MH500, although they clearly did not have to.

BTW, I think you can do way better than the two chest holsters you mentioned above. I will have an update on the main thread about this hopefully sometimes next month. Or feel free to PM me.

Thanks to both of your replies, Chris and allematic. Even though you just had about 130 hours in, it’s still about thrice as what I managed so far, so it’s much appreciated. Up until April I will continue to put as many hours in as I can, but I will focus on the Quechua while doing so. I happen to have a DFP even from before I started reading these threads and will compare them, but will probably treat the Decathlon as the baseline instead of the other way around. Thanks a lot!

@chris: thanks a lot for your offer about the holster, I’ll gladly come back to it.

ldb85 wrote:

Thanks to both of your replies, Chris and allematic. Even though you just had about 130 hours in, it’s still about thrice as what I managed so far, so it’s much appreciated.

Hahaha, that's just me! If I could add up the other members I'm quite certain we would be in the thousands of hours.

Up until April I will continue to put as many hours in as I can, but I will focus on the Quechua while doing so. I happen to have a DFP even from before I started reading these threads and will compare them, but will probably treat the Decathlon as the baseline instead of the other way around. Thanks a lot!

@chris: thanks a lot for your offer about the holster, I’ll gladly come back to it.

My pleasure.

And here are a couple of other tips that may be relevant to your upcoming treks.

The first one (mentioned somewhere in the R1 articles I think) is to always throw the rain cover on if you are bushwhacking through thorny bushes or hiking "tight" passages through hard rocks such as granite. This will efficiently protect the mesh pockets which are super-stretchy on the MH500 (great for large bottles, also the belt's mesh pockets are actually the only ones of any TMP pack I've ever tested that do accommodate my G1X3) but OTOH they are also fairly thin - which is why they stretch so well (ya just can't have it both ways...)

The second is an old trick I use to protect these belt mesh pockets, which the rain cover obviously doesn't (I should really add this to the FAQs...) Simply cut a couple of sleeves from old rain pants or jackets and slide them over the waist belt when you approach tough terrain (be sure to first fill your pockets and test that they are wide enough to fit, ideally you want them to be just a little snug.) When not in use I just keep them at the bottom of the pack, they hardly take any space at all and this works a treat.

Tim_Richards wrote:

Hi all. I know this thread is quite old but hopefully someone can answer a question.

I have been looking at, and reading about, the Decathlon Quechua MH500 Backpacks and they seem great.

I've also been reading about the Peak Design Capture clip (https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/clips/products/capture).

Has anyone used these together (ie. for attaching the camera to a shoulder strap) and, if so, how did it work out?

For me this would be used to attach a Sony RX10 IV

Many thanks in advance

Tim

Hi Tim,

I tried to use the capture clip with a similarly weighted rig on my MH500. Didn't work well for me. It kept dangling and I'm pretty sure the shoulder strap would wear out eventually. The camera was also higher than I wanted.

I've been much more comfortable by carrying my camera in a small camera bag that is tied to MH500's threaded mesh panel and lies in front of my belly. Instant access.

Tim_Richards wrote:

Allematic,

Many thanks for sharing your experience

Tim

Hi Tim,

I second what Allematic said.

You will find extensive resources below my signature.

Link R1, article 5 has lots of info about tested front-carry options, including the one you are asking about.