Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Bought this backpack(Medium size) in early spring 2015 and have since gone on two backpacking loops, one 30 miler through the sawtooth mountains, ID, and a 27 mile loop through the Cascade mountains in OR...as well as 10+ day hikes in texas. First off, this thing fits me like a glove...made for my back. It's basically like the backpack is giving you a great big bear hug, and it really feels like you are carrying less weight than you are. I usually stay around 30 lbs or less, so this is *usually* of no big concern, but you never know what may happen that can cause you to have to load your pack down. Example: During my loop in Idaho my Australian shepherd's pads got badly injured and she couldn't walk any further, so I had to literally put my 46 lb dog in my pack and carry her out. And though it was very heavy (I was probably at ~75 lbs) the backpack kept everything amazingly stable!(Picture is attached) Secondly, it is one of the best ventilated of a pack this size that I have tried. The mesh suspension system on this pack really makes a difference in terms of keeping you cool/not-so-sweaty during the hotter part of the day. I live in Texas(105+ in summer), and I run hot naturally, so having a pack that stays relatively cool is of great importance, and this thing does it as well as any. The pack also compresses and packs down very well. All the strapping and buckles are well placed and do a good job of really securing the load. In fact some things just worked out by chance better than I could've imagined:The elastic cords on the shoulder straps (that I believe are for Ice picks /Trekking poles) I ended up using to secure my Olympus outdoor camera, and it worked better than the dang case I bought for it! Kept the camera right in arms reach but very secure the whole trip. One minor drawback is that the zippered pockets on the front of the hipbelt are so small they are almost entirely pointless. They will not fit a phone, gps, or even a clif bar. The only thing I put in there were some blueberries I picked on a trail, and my compact knife sharpener. However, on the rest of the pack the pockets are conveniently located and hold quite a bit more than they seem they should, so this makes up for it in my opinion. Another small annoying thing was, for me, when I had the shoulder straps buckled together, the buckle itself sat a little too high up on my chest, and was just slightly annoying after 5+ hours on the trail, to where I ended up unbuckling it for the large majority of both loops. Overall, though, this pack has just been amazing thus far for me, and I know it won't be for a long while, but my next pack will almost definitely be an Osprey.