For reference: I compared this to the Maelstrom 40l, and a similar bag to the Maelstrom we had at home. I have traveled a lot and have more bags and rollers than I care to admit. After a recent trip to Europe where my US regulation carry on wouldn’t fit European airplane overheads, and cobblestone streets and sidewalks made my wheeled luggage more like wrestling with a bull, I decided to rethink how to pack for my next trip abroad. PROS and what stood out AND the trick I learned: The Diamond Candy is sewn with smaller stitches, which will hold up better. It has the largest storage pockets on the waist band and holds my iPhone 12 easily. The water bottle holders are larger. The padded tablet pocket floats and keeps my iPad from touching the ground. A huge plus for protecting it. Bright colored rain cover. Multiple attachment points. Multiple, easily accessible pockets. Fabric zipper pulls that are NOT finger-sized loops (which would be easy for pick pockets to unzip.) The liner fabric and pocket fabric inside the back is higher quality. Ideally I wanted to use the Doughnut Colorado that I already have. What changed my mind? the comfortable shoulder pads, waist band with storage pockets, and outside pockets that come in handy when at the airport, on a train or walking. The trick I learned will help me board the plane and not have to fuss with accessing what I need once I sit down. HERE’S THE TRICK. Get an airplane seat storage pocket to hold ehat you need when you’re flying (tablet, book, power bank, eye mask, ear plugs, glasses.) Lay this backpack on the bed, place the seat storage pocket on the backpack. Unclip the sleeping back straps. Use them to make an X across the storage pocket. Clip them into the trek pole clips. This means you now have loose trek straps. Easy peasy. Cross them in an X across the front. Clip them into the (now unused) sleeping bag clips. This workaround actually provides more attachments in front. I travel a lot, and I can’t express how much easier this is going to make going through security, waiting in lines (wearing the pack. No luggage to wheel), and transitioning from putting my things in the overhead, wishing I had taken out this or that. I have tried wearing travel jackets with pockets so I have much of what I need. THIS seat pocket solution and strapping it to the back of the backpack is the easiest solution of all. Read more
Im quite sure this wasnt intended for it but ... for the money you pay I can argue it's the best hunting day pack online. I purchased mine 3 years ago and am prepared to leave a legit review. Saddle up. I am just now about to buy a 2nd one as the first is finally starting to tear. I have used this on literally hundreds of hikes and hunts in the national forest. This backpack is exactly big and strong enough to hold about 35lbs of venison in game bags, and have a buck horns sticking out the top. Then hike a mile+ uphill to the truck. This is including all the smaller organzier pockets full of gadgets. Impressive for a framless (what i call schoolbag or napsack style). I could get away with still using it but I'll replace before this company realizes they could charge double with few improvements. I customize mine a little- I don't use a water bladder. But the holder thing for the hose on your chest strap is PERFECT fit for a flextone grunt call. Mine permanently lives there, and I can make grunt calls, or a snort-weeze combo hands free! I love all the organization pockets for my gadgets. The small pockets along your waist strap are a convenient size. One side i put my Windicator, and extra SD cards (trailcams), the other side fits either a small rangefinder for bow season, or a classic primos bleat can during rifle. The kicker is the blaze orange rain fly. I use that for orange during rifle season, or while packing meat out just so people don't mistake the horns sticking out of my pack for a live deer. There's a small compartment at the top by the hanging strap that's great for keys/wallet.... or a stash roll of TP. Negatives- the zippers all still work great, but I cut all tabs and replace them with paracord because they do make a metal jingle sound nobody wants in the woods. There's lots of extra exterior straps that are fairly unnecessary so I cut them off. The lining inside the front compartment is a cheap material so it's prone to fray. Especially if you put a heavy knife or something abrasive in it. All very minor or fixable issues. My pack is tearing at the seam on top as mentioned so obviously the value of this pack has to end somewhere. But im hard on gear in general, and 3 years with 9 deer hauled though the woods is a solid performance. I expect this to be a maximum average lifespan for this pack with the stress it was put under. I don't think it gets any better than this for under $50 Read more
I have only bought Kelty packs my entire life because they are the best, hands down. However, our family sets a budget for the 'cousins' to get each other gifts, so I had to find a pack for our son and I researched the reviews extensively and chose this one. This pack is literally rivaling my old Kelty day pack in quality and construction. The material is lighter weight than a Kelty pack but I've tested it and this material is strong and very good quality. Rip-resistant. Zippers on a backpack are one of those things that differentiates a good pack from a bad one. You could argue there are burlier zippers for a pack that has to go through a lot of wear and tear and these zippers are great so far. Shoulder straps are very good. Adjustment straps are the way they should be. Comfortable fit. Son loves the compartments for laptops, tablets and books as he wanted this partly for daily college use. I read other reviewers say it wasn't a 40L pack. I didn't scientifically measure the volume but maybe they just don't know how to use the expandable straps to get the full size/volume out of it. Seems plenty big to me to use as a day pack. The only one thing I wish it had is a hole at the top for a hydration bladder hose, because there is a compartment inside that seems like it would fit a hydro perfectly but no hole to run the hose through (although this is not advertised as a hydro-pack, so I can't blame for that). But if you wanted to put a bladder in it, you could simply run the hose out the top of the double zipper if zipped both to the center-top and ran it over the shoulder. That's how I converted my old Kelty into a hydro pack. Maybe not ideal but works fine. Rain cover fits nicely into one of many small compartments at the top for easy-access if a storm pops up. Great little lightweight pack. Read more
