This was a great pack. I used it all summer as a backpacking guide for my summer camp. All my personal gear fit in the bottom compartment and I used all of the top part for cooking gear, food, tarp (sometimes up to a 15'x30') and the 3 lb first aid kid, then put some other stuff in the top compartment... and up to a gallon of water! When I was out with younger kids the food for 14 people for 3-4 days was typically carried by the other councilor and me. I used every cubic inch of this pack and then some this summer. I think there were time I had loads up to 60 pounds and it held out. I didn't do any great distances with those kind of loads, but the pack held it. Some signs of wear and tear after 50 days of heavy use, but nothing broke. I didn't have much luck with the water proofing, but it looks like the biggest problem is at the seems (I'll probably SeamSeal them). I took this pack on a 56 mile hike (pulling 16 mile days) with ~30 lbs of stuff and it wasn't too uncomfortable (by the end of the day it was starting to hurt, especially around the hips), but not anymore than any other pack. It would be nice to have more ventilation on the back, but I just hike with the shoulder straps loose when it gets really hot - probably part of the cause of the sore hips. The pockets are super roomy, the side water bottle pockets held a quart Gatorade bottle in additional of some other things with out any pop outs. I really like how roomy the top most pocket is. It's great for putting the quick access items like rain jacket and map.

All in all, it's a good work horse if you have a lot of stuff. It's a great price, STELLAR weight, crazy amounts of volume, and lots of versatility. It could use better ventilation and better waterproofing.