Eagle Creek Thrive 90L Pack - 2009 BCS

I bought this pack and used it for a 6 week trip through Italy and Greece this last summer. As far as the quality goes, it was absolutely incredible, but what else would you expect from Eagle Creek. However, in my opinion, this pack rides the line between a expedition pack and luggage a little too much. By that I mean its neither one or the other, so it doesn't function as well as one or the other. If you wanted to be carrying it on your back, it was heavy completely packed down, and when you added the day pack clipped onto it it was almost too top heavy to handle. Combine that with the really hot and humid Italian and Greek summer weather and you've just got too much on your plate. You do have the option to clip the daypack on your front, which helps a lot.

The daypack is really nice to have, unless you are bringing a laptop along with you, which I did. I know its my fault for having a 17" macbook but the daypack was just about an inch too small to fit it into it. The only option I had was to try and squeeze it into the small outer flap pock that is against your back when wearing the pack. It also left the laptop exposed which turned out to be a pain. Since the main pack is too large for carry-on, there really was no other option for the laptop. Also, if you are a photographer and plan to take a DSLR and an extra lense or two, you really don't have much room in the daypack to work with. Your only real option would be to pack another pack to use while walking around at your destinations.

If by chance you got sick of carrying the entire rig on your back, too bad because you just had to keep carrying it. There really isn't any other option, like wheels, to take the strain off if you got tired, or let you stop sweating for that matter.

I bought this pack for a 3 week trip to Italy. The pack would have been perfect but it was a bit heavy even by itself at just over 6lbs. You add stuff to it and if you have very far to walk in the heat and humidity...your done. The day pack was a great size for a jacket, snacks and a travel book. The bottle holder is too small for a full size nalgene but worked for the smaller camleback bottle I used. Knowing the straps are safe from baggage carousels, handlers and the like is a nice feature. The rain shild a plus for sure. Overall liked the pack but it was just too big and heavy for my liking. I switched to a 50L pack weighing only 3 lbs.

I love this bag so far. I used the day back for a week long trip to Mexico and it held up great. It holds a surprisingly large amount of stuff.

As for the main pack, more to come later. I'm going to use it for a two week trip to Africa this summer.

A few features to note: The water bottle pockets on the main pack are a little difficult to reach, but are large enought for nalgenes. On the day pack the side pockets are too small for a nalgene, but were great for sunscreen, chapstick, and snacks. The day pack also has a nifty back pocket that is hidden where you can stick your passport/ipod/camera. The main packs rain cover is great and very easy to put on, and the bag has a great feel over all. Unfortunately the bag is too big for carry-on, but I think the 65 L model would probably fit in an overhead bin.

If you have any questions, let me know. I got the Smoke color and it looks awesome.