This is a perfectly good, usable backpack, but not quite what I had expected. Military spec? Not in a million years. I have genuine ex-Army Northern Ireland Patrol Pack, and you can't compare the two when it comes to quality. As I said, it's a good backpack, albeit with some strange design features (or even flaws), like the straps on top aren't long enough to accommodate a roll mat The zips for the side pouches should've been sewn in upside down, to prevent them from creeping down and the biggest mystery for me is the fabric they used on the shoulder straps and back area. Normally you would expect some heavy-duty padded webbing, here they used some thin, shiny blouse-type fabric. Not only will this not stand up to rough usage and moisture, I can also see this being extremely sweaty. The overall stitching also looks rather flimsy to me.
On the plus side: it is lined inside, so should provide some resistance to water and it's a good, usable size. The detachable pouches that could then be used as a daypack, feels a bit gimmicky to me, but I suppose it's a useful feature.
A couple of weeks in the wilderness will show for definite whether this is all it's cracked up to be. I have my doubts, but we'll see.
Would I recommend it? I haven't found the perfect backpack, yet, and I've been searching for years. You get a lot of backpack for your money, for sure. For what you get, the price is reasonable. I wouldn't consider it a waste of money, but what I would say is consider other options.
Review by Old Man of the Woods
Posted on 09/09/2020
www.survivalaids.com
