I bought this before leaving to Wyoming for 6 weeks for course work. The average day involved 8-12 hours of hiking around mountainous terrain regardless of the weather. Everything has held up just perfect. Included rain cover was very handy. The pack was perfectly comfortable too, just make sure to use all of the straps for it. If I left the sternum strap undone, it became uncomfortable, but with all of the buckles and straps on and adjusted properly, it was perfectly comfortable. Held quite a bit of gear but it can compact pretty tight thanks to all of the straps and zippers to secure things. I managed to fit all of my field gear (notes, lunch, 2-4L of water, hammer, rain gear, first aid kit, etc) plus a cheap sleeping bag inside of the pack, and could have fit more. I plan on traveling later in the year and will update how it works as a carryon.

For the price, pretty hard to beat. We got this for our son who's 11 (a little over 5'1") and it fits him comfortably while it has plenty of room for him to grow. It's well made, has a great layout of pockets and strapping, weighs almost nothing and seems quite durable so far.

He and I have been camping a number of years and he'll be doing a lot more in Boy Scouts, so I wanted to make sure when he moved up to a frame pack it was a good one. Previously he'd been using smaller frame-less "junior" backpack, that while quite good, didn't allow for attaching much, nor holding nearly as much inside. So it was time to move up to a larger one. Honestly, we couldn't be happier about this model and if anything, I sort of wish I had a bigger version of this for myself, as I really like the logic of it's design. I have a backpack that's quite a bit more expensive, but I think this one makes more sense in the way the pockets and straps are placed.

I independently purchased the WASING 50+5 Internal frame for my own adventures.

The reasons why I purchased this bag were (in order of importance): capacity, weight, max height, price, and color. I am 5' and the weight/height were important because it's easy for some of these rucksacks to get really tall and wide (especially for my frame), really fast. The capacity of this bag says 55L---it seems quite generous, however I haven't packed it completely out yet.

Capacity: While packing this bag, I attempted to use the lower compartment for storage of my sleeping bag (which is a youth size, thank you shortness). I blame the bag partially and the sleeping bag partially because the thing would not compress using the front zipper. I tried to stuff it in through the top and use the drawstring as some suggested, and that worked but left my bag bulging and uncomfortable. For future trips with this bag, I will be purchasing a very lightweight, compressible sleeping bag. When I take the sleeping bag out, it fits my tent poles straight from top to bottom without worry, so I believe my trekking poles will also fit well (but I usually do not pack them). I have a pretty easy tent to fold, so that went in without a problem and everything else followed. Plenty of room for me to put three changes of clothes, hygiene items, my tent/poles, cooking gear/pocket stove/kerosene, and bug/sun screen. I usually only backpack in the warm-ish months, so I imagine this bag would not suffice for an extended winter trip.

Weight/Height: The weight of this is excellent for me. It really feels weightless. The height is just right, however the shoulder straps cannot be moved down (only tightened) so they sit two inches off my shoulders, putting stress on my S-spine and weight on my hips. At 5', If I moved them down to support the weight, the bag would be below my bending point. My neck is not super long, so my head seems to hit the brain of this pack at every turn. It will take some finagling to figure out how to wear my hair up with this bag. This also brings me to say: terrible kidney pads (I don't know if that's what civilians call them, but that's what I do). They dig into my lower back without any weight in the pack, so I will be seeking out some new covers or something.

Price: Exactly the bag I expected for under $50.
Color: It is not red, it is hot pink, which I love.

Features: The compression straps on this bag are in all the right places, quite literally. The only thing I cannot stand is that there is no way to clean up the extra strapping while the bag is in use. The flat pocket on the front is perfect for things I need to stay flat without worrying about the squishing of the inside of the pack. The pockets on the side, traditionally used for water bottles are a little on the small side--I have not yet tried but truly doubt my 32oz Nalgene will fit (I ruck with a Camelbak bladder in my bag).

Overall: Once I get some kidney pad covers and figure out how to put my bladder inside and still be able to use it, it should be just "fine" for my use. Nothing exciting about this bag, and I would have gladly paid a little more for adjustable shoulder straps.

I just got mine in the mail and took it for a trial hike today. Ouch! I packed it with 31 pounds, which I have been carrying in a small North Face backpack for the past week on the same trail. I adjusted every which way but could not get comfortable. There was a major gap between my back and the pack. When I had it set properly on my hips, it just dug into my back and hip bones so badly with a down coat on. I tried lowering it so my bottom could cushion it a bit, but then it killed my shoulders. I'll try it for another week because I like the color and size, but no way am I doing a 14er with it if it doesn't adjust better. My torso is 18 inches. I'm 5'6 and 120 lbs. I'm updating this after several more hikes. I think I found the best way to adjust it. It's more comfortable but not great. Increased it from 2 to 3 stars.

I was excited when this arrived, it had lots of pockets and straps and seemed well made. Unfortunately, we just did a test hike and almost immediately it was uncomfortable. The bottom landed right on my hip bones and caused lots of discomfort. Tried adjusting it every possible way and just couldn't get it in a good place. I am 5'9" and weight 150 lbs so fairly slender but the hip belt only covered my back and I couldn't get into the pockets while it was on. We tried it on my son and it seemed better but still not great. Sadly returning it.