I'm still a beginner so I wanted a guitar to take with me everywhere. I read enough reviews about the backpacker to avoid it from the start.
I started with a Fender CC-60S. It sounds
crazy good to me for the price, especially, for it's current sale price. Though it's compact enough for car camping, certainly better than a dread, it's still a bit large when compared to parlor guitars.
Of the parlors that I tried the JD won out. It's the smallest of the ones I auditioned, and I auditioned a lot of 'em. The JD is even compact enough to pack on my motorbike and that really put it over the top.
Before deciding on the JD I tried out every small bodied guitar hanging on the wall at the two flagship guitar stores near where I live. I played all the precious ones, too; ones that I would never consider taking camping but am sure could be found in the possession of
glampers in luxury "tents".
Something else that was perfect about the JD, for me, was it being a laminate able to handle environmental challenges better than a solid.
All that said, it sounds
fine for where I'm at in my learning. I'm still just strummin'; working on scales, modes, and the like. Occasionally I put it all together for something somewhat musical. From what I've read, when I start learning to fingerpick I'll like the JD even more.