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- Verified Buyer
High quality bag designed for everyday use. I can snugly fit a modern 13 inch laptop inside. Water bottle pouch is large enough to accommodate most bottles. Zippers are extremely high quality along with the fabrics chosen. I don’t expect to buy another backpack for the rest of my lifeI really like this pack. I use it as an every day pack for the local park where my dog and I go. Enough molle loops if you need to hang something on it, without overdoing it. My dog’s ball thrower, collapsible water dish, leash, and the occasional poop bag all ride on the outside of the pack, courtesy of those molle loops and elastic loop web dominators.I bought the Foliage Green which looks to me like a faded olive drab color. The one liter Nalgene holders on the side is what sold me on the pack. Water bladders can be nice, but dogs aren’t interested in trickle down bite valves - they want their water now and bottled water can be an uncomfortable carry without side pockets.It rained pretty good today and I could see the water beading on the surface of the pack. Whatever the coating on the pack fabric it does a good job of keeping the water out, nary a drop inside. The rubberized bottom is a nice touch and I like that the exterior will take a severe beating. I won’t feel concerned tossing this pack down in the dirt and the rocks. It’s really a well built pack.How does it carry? It is okay, seems to carry fairly high and tight on the back which is good for me. I bend over to pick up sticks to throw for the dog and the pack hugs my back with no floppy movement. Yes, as others have noted, the pack is stiff and so are the straps but they are more than comfortable enough for a day carry. The straps fit me very well, do not slip off my shoulders; in fact I rarely use the sternum clip it comes with. There are certainly more comfortable packs out there. I have two Osprey’s that would outstrip this pack for comfortable back panel and carry, but then my dogs throwing stick, water bowl, and poop bags would be riding inside the pack right alongside my coats, shirt, etc.One other thing that sold me on this pack - the colors it comes in - they are all colors I know and recognize as rugged, outdoorsy colors. So many of the main pack manufacturers are catering to the younger generations with the bright fuchsias, neon yellows, lime greens, ad naseum. Nice to find pack colors that a baby boomer can recognize and relate to!I like this pack for what it is, a simple day pack. No waist belt, nor does it have any kind of weight transfer frame work, just a padded back. I like that freedom of simple on/off and carry. It will tote what you need for the days outing, lunch, coat, etc. A definite BUY in my book, am very happy with this purchase!7/21/18 Update. After two months of daily use I can add a couple notes on this pack: The shoulder straps carry just right for my frame, no slippage at all so I ended up removing the sternum straps completely to save the ounces and flapping around. Now the bad: The back panel is the weak spot of the pack. It looks like a seven year old designed it, some kind of poly? mesh with a thin foam underlayment and no support sheet of any kind. You WILL sweat at the slightest exertion or heat with this pack.What would I change? Put a serious light frame and ridged foam/air mesh with this pack and it would be perfect! Couple that with a removable waist belt and I would pay double price for it! I still like it for what I use it for, every day hauling dog equipment on the outside and my clothing items inside, but my four star rating stands.9/17/18 Update: It was just a matter of time and I did get tired of the sweat inducing foam pad on this pack. I picked up an Osprey Stratos which has and elevated mesh back so no more sweat, plus it has a hip belt for better load transfer so more comfortable for long distances. I miss the molles on the Maxpedition but they really need to step up their game on back panel comfort.Great for a emergency or get home bag! Like other Maxpedition bags you can stuff and stuff it, but it will like others bags get more round as you fill it.. There is no rigid or plastic back support only padding so over stuffing will round the back and can make it uncomfortable to wear. This is the perfect size for me, it made me re think my choices of supplies and how to pack them. I was totally shocked at how much this would hold, I started out in a Gregory jade 34 totally comfortable with hip straps but too big for car for my liking. So after removing 2 MRE's I got down to a Gregory jade 28 with hip straps, real comfortable to walk with on as gear is only 20 lbs but didn't like the no organization options that hiking bags offer. So thought I'd give this a shot but didn't think it would work as the jade was 1750 compared to the 1400 of this bag! The organization options in this bag are truly great. The full clam shell opening in the main bag makes it easy to fit your gear together like a jig saw puzzle to use every inch. The smaller front admin pocket takes work and a few different tries to get items to not only fit but be easy to get at. The very front small slip pocket does hold more than you think if used properly and for more flat type items such as maps, zip ties, chem lights etc. Not a huge fan of molle bit too military for me but not so much on this pack its pretty nice looking for what it is. The area under the front pocket with the elastic cord worked great for a rain jacket in a stuff sack, nice and compact and fit perfectly and also holds the bag up. The water bottle pockets are small, I cant get a 1 liter water bottle in it, not the Nalgene kind anyway but my metal one works fine. I did attach a MM dump pouch to one side in case extra room is needed its compact and don't look too bulky on the pack. On the other side I tried a condor pouch gadget 6x4x4 but way too big and didn't attach as snugly as Maxpedition pouches. So I got the Anemone but its a bit small, needs one in between the two sizes to be a good balance. Ill figure something out to put in it I'm sure! The top V strap was the perfect place to store 100' of paracord. The quality of this pack is the usual except I am starting to notice poor stitching on the pack and loose strings which I've never seen before. I love the hard feel of the material it holds up GREAT over time and keeps the bag looking new. The pack works in my car and is a smaller footprint. Very impressed as usual with this gear. I just wish there was a flashlight sheath-phone/ radio holster combo, the tri admin pouch is too much for my needs. Should be a new product, the double duty pouch! This is a very small pack but if trying to keep a small footprint with a lot of room if creative this will work! So you know going into this, it's small, check out you tube videos of people wearing pack to see just hoe small, it's the best way to judge it without purchase. I had to buy and try and it did work for me.I chose this bag after watching many videos, and reading many reviews, before finally finding one in a shop and having a proper feel. They were asking £110, so I went to grab a coffee, and checked online prices at the same time. Amazon had it on offer for £79, and with a voucher code I found, I got another 20% off. Excellent :)The bag is very, very tough (as is all Maxpedition gear) and very comfortable to wear for prolonged periods of time. I have a 54" chest, which means that the majority of backpacks are too slim to be comfortable, however, thanks to a clever design, this pack doesn't out any strain where I wouldn't want it. Curiously, my other half uses the same bag and finds it comfy too, and she's a rather svelte figure standing 5 feet tall.I'm into buschraft, so my gear goes through some pretty tough situations, usually involving rain and falling over in woodland, and this bag has never let me down in the 10 months since I bought it. It's been to three continents, and temperatures ranging from -15°C to 35°C, and it still looks almost new. In fact, the only visible wear is from rubbing (against flora) and fading from sunlight exposure.Despite being rated at 23l, please don't think of this as a small bag. There's a load of room, and Maxpedition are honest with their specs (for example, my 40l Berghaus Remote holds less), but if you find yourself needing more storage, then the outside has plenty of Molle webbing to fix attachments to. Personally, I have a Maxpedition Roly-Poly and a separate first aid kit attached, with a jacket/poncho fixed to the bottom using the built-in bungee.Overall, I heartily recommend this bag to anyone for pretty much any use. The only possible negative aspects could be the size (in which case, either buy compatible addons, or a different bag) and the cost (which I believe to be fair for a bag of this quality), and that's not a reason to knock off a star.Maxpedition gear in my experience is always of the highest quality and uses really high specification materials.I bought this bag as an EDC bag and was at first worried it might not be big enough, but it will hold more kit than you'd think and has the benefit that the main compartment zips all the way round allowing for the bag to be opened out completely flat.There are 3 compartments, each with smaller pockets inside. A front flat pocket allows convenient storage of small regular use items: wallet, phone, ID. A larger pouch, secured with a clip can hold larger items: EDC pouch, tablet computer etc. The main compartment can hold much more stuff - a full size laptop (although a huge 17" monster might be a squeeze), pack-it cubes, clothing etc. Full clamshell opening maximises storage and access.I went for straight black but the usual Maxpedition range of tactical colour are available (limited options through Amazon when I bought it). The material is 1000 Denier water resistant ballistic nylon and both the front and sides are covered with PALS webbing.Compression bungie strapping is fitted beneath the second compartment on the outside of the main compartment - ideal for stowing a rain jacket, umbrella etc.Total capacity is 23 litres and it is the only backpack of its size in the Maxpedition range to feature twin bottle holders. These were actually a huge selling point for me. Not having to take up storage inside the bag yet allowing two 1L bottles/coffee mugs is very useful. These pouches are deep and can be cinched close too. A really great feature.The straps are very adjustable and there's a 1" sternum strap if you need it. The main straps are 2.25" padded and feature more PALS webbing s you can attach whatever you like.Love this bag!Can't fault Maxpedition gear, I actually had this bag in khaki for over a year, sold it then bought a competitors bag, realised I had made a terrible mistake literally after a week or two, sold that one and now re-bought the pygmy falcon ii in black, very pleased and will not be changing, this bag is cavernous. It has all the right pockets in all the right places, if there was one thing I could change it would be I would like to see the back have the same padding and iPad stash pocket as seen on the Hazard 4 Watson sling bag, if the two could be combined I think I would have the ultimate backpack!That will never happen so I use this bag as my daily carry and am very pleased, I also have the beefy organiser which seems to be sized to compliment this bag. 5 stars for Maxpedition!!This bag is my EDC Bag. It is very comfortable and holds all my stuff. The products of Maxpedtion are not really cheap, but no waste of money. I have several products of Maxpedition and I am very pleased with them. I also have products of Condor and these are also great, but cheaper. This bag is great for a one-day trip. You can not store a water bladder inside, but you can take 2 water bottles, one of each side. In my opinon this back is better than the Falcon II, because this pack is much deaper and it seems to pull backwards. For a longer trip I have bought the Maxpedition Condor II. It has more capacity as the Falcon II. So I have a smaller and a bigger pack.Kind Regards from GermanyI love this backpack, it can take a ton of kit, is comfy and rugged as hell. Deffo get one of the maxpedition water bottles to go with it they fit perfectly in the pocket (as you'd expect) but carry a decent amount of water for walks/camping etc.
