“It's all about the design”

“I use a backpack every day. I don't drive, so I use it to pack everything from groceries, work material, school material (graduate lit students carry a lot of books--a lot), changes of clothes, food, water, etc. Since I carry so much, I like the lay-out of the pack: two side pockets, a small front pocket, and the main body pocket; this design is the single reason I settled on the mountainsmith as a replacement for my worn out Rokk Socorro. Unfortunately, some of the compression straps are in weird places that makes zipper access difficult--that is, access to necessary materials. I nearly have to unpack everthing to get one item, a hassle for sure. The waist belt also seems a little insubstantial, but I've probably not walked more than five miles at a go with it yet.”