Thanks to Lisa Cullity for the review!
Ok – so before reviewing this pack I wanted to really beat it up. And I did in Vermont.
This pack was submerged. Dragged through mud. Three times. Sat on. Fallen on. Filled with water. Tumbled down a mountain. Once I rinsed it off – It was just like new. A plus.
This pack has great stability and comfort. I am a 5’1″ female and it fits (just) on my back, and after the beast – not one chafe mark. The back padding is fantastic. The pocket that holds the bladder is great for stabilization. Every buckle, clip, and zipper held up – even though I left one pocket open and it got filled with mud.
Having pressurized water in a mud run is a great asset, for rinsing anything. The bulb held up fine, and did not come undone. This pack can use a 70oz or 100oz bladder. Nice to have choices. I was able to fit a dry long sleeve shirt, four bars, three clif blok packs, many individual aspirin packs, headlamp, glow sticks, gloves, lanicane, hat, beef jerky……and I’m sure I’m forgetting stuff…. but I still had room.
It has compression straps to minimize the size of the pack when it isn’t full.
Side note- there is a plastic plate in it, I took out for comfort.
Only flaws – it rubs the nylon shirts I wear – leaving scuff marks on them on my sides…. I would expect most packs to do that in spots. The zippers don’t work well when filled with mud. Imagine that…. again, don’t see how to design around that…
Rating: 5 star (amazing)
