I bought this rope bag, and a 70m 10mm rope to take climbing when while on an extended sports climbing trip. I was thoroughly disappointed when the bag came in. I would like to take a second to bring to light a few oversights that were made while the description for this bag was being written.

"A 3 x 3ft tarp keeps your cord out of the dirt, and it stashes in the Porta-Cord Rope Bag's hydration pouch to act as padding when you're using this Metolius bag for a peak-bagging trip."

-3x3 ft is not nearly enough to flake any rope on. I was literally laughed at by one of my friends when he saw the napkin i was trying to get my rope on. Because this tarp is too small i now find myself cleaning my rope FAR more often than i should.

"Two large side pockets hold descent shoes or extra layers on a multi-pitch trad climb. "

-The only time i was able to make use of the side pockets was when my rope was flaked from the factory. Regardless of how i put my rope into this bag it takes up too much space to allow me to use the side pockets. Additionally the side pockets are too small, even when empty, to fit a pair of sneakers. So unless you're descending in flip flops, you better clip them to your harness.

"This bag even includes tough top handles that double as haul loops and let you rig up a rope bucket to reduce belay clusters on an aid climb."

-Maybe this is true, i don't aid climb. But when you look at the bag there is no structure built into the bag to help it hold its form when hung by the loops. Also the loops are not stitched in a manner that i would trust them to support weight.

Over all this bag is not worth the money or the hype. I would really be interested in reading the review that got it the "Outside Gear of the Year Award". For me it has been nothing but a disappointment. The tarp is too small, the bag is too small, and it really isn't that well designed.

-Jeremy

I live an hour away from the Red River Gorge, so when I read the description for this bag I thought it sounded perfect for a day trip crag bag. I was wrong. The bag is really only designed to hold a rope, so you'll be wearing your harness on the approach and attaching all the rest of your gear to the outside of the thing which is obnoxious because if you bend over, your draws, shoes and whatever else swings around and smacks you in the head.
The tarp is a total pain in the butt because its the exact size as your flaked rope with no room for error, so I have to meticulously feed the rope onto it or I get to spend time cleaning my rope again.
Lastly the bag isn't very durable. The snap button below the hood tore off after a couple months of use and the rest of the bag seems pretty flimsy.
So in my opinion, if this bag is big hassle for my 5-20 minute long approaches, I couldn't imagine dealing with it on something more substantial which is what the majority of climbers face. Buy the Metolius Rope Master and toss it in a real backpack, and you'll be way happier.

For the last year this has been the pack that i have used the most. With a little effort I can fit a 60m 10.5mm rope, harness and shoes in it. The side compartments are plenty big enough to hold one 1litler of water each.
I've used this pack on 3 different walls now (the nose, moonlight and Washington column). It doubles fairly nicely as a rope bucket. Great as a day pack to put water, food, extra shoes and a jacket in. And it fit our entire rack for the nose in it for the decent. I wouldn't haul with it though. I wore right through the brain of the pack after dragging it up one pitch.
The tarp is plenty big enough to put a rope on it. granted bigger ones are nicer for craggin but it was nice to have a tarp to use on a multi pitch climb and be able to stow it away in my pack and not have to leave anything at the bottom.