JanSport Rockies II

This one is an excellent pack for the money. I bought two at this price. ($99) The tall pack is expandable up to 7k cubic in. allowing you to get the kitchen sink in there if you so desire. I like a lot of stuff and I like to be comfy when I go out and the JanSport pack has lots of external goody storage. The cap also doubles as a dayuse waist pack. On my last trip the trail was extremely rough and the pack took a bit of bouncing and the cap/day bag's straps at the top worked their way loose. the pack is so balanced I never knew the difference until I stopped and saw the fault. The problem lay in the fact that I didn't knot the ends of two d ring tensioners together.

The hydro compartment is a bit hard to load and unload--aren't they all. I read some other reviews of this pack and it was stated that the sleeping bag compartment being only accessible from the outside------no big deal there as I'd rather not have to drag all my stuff out to get to my bag anyway. This pack is a great "big guy" rig as it weighs in at over 7 lbs (closer to 8). The shoulder straps are good and wide and have a unique curvature toward the bottom. The waist harness system is comfy and a bit bulky at first, but you appreciate the padding when the loads go over 50#. The second large (not large tall) version I bought I'm giving to my nephew as a bribe to go with me to the Smokies for a week trip on the AT. That being the case that size version of the Rockies II has gone untested by me. I have made a lot of short to long day runs with this pack as tests. I feel I got a deal for a pack that retailed at 180+.