"Awesome Multi-Purpose Bag" - Review of Mountain Hardwear Paladin Backpack - 2000cu in

The bag layout consists of a large top-loading main compartment, a rear side-loading laptop compartment separate from the main compartment, a front pocket & a top pocket on the actual top-loading part cover. The main compartment has a divider towards the back for a portfolio / folders and a clear thin pocket for some papers / map, etc. Additionally, the far right and left of the interior main compartment have long pockets on the sides that run the entire length of the pack. There are also two exterior water bottle pockets and an interior pocket on the top of the top-loading cover (it has a keyring clip in it as well) with a few small padded pockets that have little velcro flaps for a cell phone, pens, etc. I find it to be a very useful bag because it is somewhat long and slender as opposed to some other bags this size that are short and fat. Because of this I find it not only carries well but also fits beautifully under the seat for airplane travel. It swallows a lot. I just returned from a long weekend trip and carried the following: - laptop in laptop pocket; - main pocket: three small bags with cables, camera battery charger, computer USB cards, PC cards, GPS unit, GPS unit bracket, GPS unit power cords and PC cables, large headphones in case with MP3 player, portfolio, magazines, glasses case, computer network cables, spare flashlight batteries ... and still had extra room; - front pocket: gum, clif bars, laptop power cord, cough drops, pocket digicam; - top fleece-lined pocket: PDA phone sync cable, bluetooth headset, corded headset, flashlight; - top of inside pocket: keys, spare change, travel wallet. I find this to be a great bag for traveling and around town use. The material is very rugged and holds up to rain without any issue. It also handles weight well and the top-loading (I prefer) seems to eliminate the issue of zippers being a PIA when it's loaded up. Highly recommended.
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