Spyder Sopris Backpack - 2008 BCS

The pack is nice and looks good ...just when i seen it on the website it looks red..when i got it in the mail it was a hot pink color....but overall the bag is nice

I bought the black-colored version, which doesn't seem to be in stock any more. The black version has a big white spider on the back (which appears faint gray on the spyder.com image).

Took this out for 10 days in Utah (resort-side and backcountry). I carried: 1 L water bottle, fleece, vest, sunglasses, camera, extra mittens. That about filled it up, so obviously this thing is only appropriate for day trips. The diagonal ski-carry worked out well, although your planks hang really far off to the side over your left shoulder - I couldn't tighten 'em down any further. I am a 5'10" male, the pack fit well on my back. I could see it being troublesome for shorter people because the back panel is pretty tall. The roll-top enclosure takes some getting used to, but it certainly does a good job at keeping the snow out. Actually the whole thing is pretty water/snowproof - believe me I took some spills and nothing got wet. And the material is really tough so I expect to get a lot of mileage out of it (and for $100 daypack, I better!).

I'm back at school, and using it as a smaller bookbag. It carries my 15" (screen) laptop just fine, but it's a stretch to add more than one large textbook in addition. It's also pretty "strappy" - I'm gonna try to rubber-band the waist straps to keep 'em from dangling. If you're looking for something that will double as a campus-style bookbag, this is certainly not the best backpack - maybe look at some of the TNF bags.

I think the "Bottom Line" in the product description above is 100% accurate ("Everything you need, nothing you don't"). This is a technical backpack designed for the backcountry. If this doesn't describe what you will be using the pack for, I'd keep shopping. If you're skiing resort-side (and just off-piste) honestly most bags will do fine.