First, let's have a look at the main bits!
Front view with MaxP Large Tactile attached, Milspec Monkey velcro patch panel on the front of that, and patches applied to that and to the sewn on large patch area at the top of the lid.
Just above the top row of PALS on the lid is a full width zip which when undone reveals that the inside of the lid is a full width & height pocket to fit documents / maps / medical quick reference cards into. This pocket also extends vertically behind the large velcro patch area.
Back view with showing the nicely padded shoulder straps, the nice thickly padded back pads and the comfy padded waist belt (that is removable from the pack). Also shown are the couple of things I've attached to the waistbelt as tests so far (MaxP universal flashlight sheath for the TK40 and MaxP Jumbo RolyPoly dump pouch for rubbish etc)
Side by side comparison of this pack and the Rush 24. As you can see this one is slightly taller, and when loaded, a little deeper. The MSM pack also has compression straps at the top and bottom of each side, and top clips so you can unzip the top part of the zipper e.g. to get at a pouch in the top and not risk having the bag unzip further or other stuff fall out.
You can also see one of the large velcro down flaps that cover the slits for hydration hoses to poke out through (either side of the top grab handle) on the MSM pack; and as you can see it has PALS up both sides of the pack as well as on the front of the lid.
Thinking of the PALS grids, it's probably helpful to note at this point that the PALS grids are as follows:
Sides: 8x5
Front: 7x8
Bottom: 5X7
Removable panel inside: 9X6
Inside the MSM. At the back of the pack you can see the panel with PALS grid on it. This is removable (held in place with 3 wide, full length velcro strips) to make it easier to attach your pouches to it. It is also fairly rigid and will stop stuff in the pack from poking you in the back.
On the inside of the lid of the pack you can see the two massive mesh pockets. Hidden because one of them is drooping down is a loop of elasticated webbing that you can shove pens through - the top mesh pouch on the lid has a flap pocket behind it (it is secured at the top with a bit of velcro). This flap pocket is slightly deeper than the mesh pocket itself, and would be a good place for notepads / maps.
You can also see the two hydration bladder pockets on each side of the pack. They are too small to fit a 100oz (3 litre) Camelback storm with it still in it's neoprene sleeve, but will fit smaller bladders OK. I plan on using them to hold my lightweight packaway waterproofs and my wooly hat/gloves, but you could use them for a tarp or pretty much anything else. They are elasticated at the tops. Plat A Tac say they will take 2 litre bladders.
Also visible are the four retention straps (two horizontal - one at the bottom and one about half way up and two vertical) that are fitted inside the pack. Handy for holding stuff down so it doesn't shift about!
REMOVING THE WAISTBELT:
First flip the pack over onto it's lid:
Open up the large padded velcro flap over the waistbelt's centre section:
Tear the waistbelt off of it's securing velcro strip:
Stick the padded velcro flap back down again.
This photo also shows a better view of the nice thickly padded back pads with the ventilation channel that runs between them. Also visible is the full PALS webbing on the bottom of the pack to let you strap tent / bivi etc onto it and the fact that they've sewn nice sized finger loops into the webbing for adjusting the shoulder straps. Handy!
OK, moving onto some of the detailed bits of the pack.
Let's start with a view of that huge document pocket on the inside of the lid...
And now for a good view of the elasticated pen loops above the top mesh pocket on the inside of the lid, along with the flap pocket behind the mesh pouch. This pocket is the same width as the mesh pouch and the same height as it.
Because it's at the top inside of the zip it's ideally placed for just unzipping the very top of the lid (leaving it secured with the top two buckles) and pulling out a pen/pad whatever.
Here's the top of the sack. You can see the grab handle and the two velcro-down flaps over the hydration hose exits. The top of the photo is the side of the pack nearest your back.
The black oval is a rubbery cover over a small button-hole sewn slit. I assume that this is for a radio antenna to poke out through if you are using the pack to carry signals kit.
And here's a pic of one of the hydration flaps opened showing the buttonhole sewn slit for the hose to poke out of.
A close up of one of the three drainage grommets fitted to the pack. Nicer than just having a hole with a grommit, this has a grid of small holes, presumably in the hope that it'll let water out but keep more dust/sand out of the pack (if you're in the sandpit on service) than just a drainage hole would.
And here's the placement of the three drainage grommets on the bottom of the sack. One at the bottom of the lid on the front of the pack, and two either side of the PALS grid on the bottom of the pack. (This photo also nicely shows the PALS grid on the bottom which is made of a double layer of webbing - presumably for strength and to help reinforce the bottom of the pack against scrapes).
And here's a very cute feature. The buckle at the end of the sternum strap is also a whistle. Not a fantastic whistle mind you, but better than not having one at all.
Can't really comment on long term comfort yet, as it only arrived on the 24th and I haven't had a chance to go out for a long hike with it, but I filled it full of stuff and I can state that the shoulder straps, waist belt and padding on the back of the sack are all comfy
I got it from Assault Order UK - http://www.assaultorderuk.co.uk/ and they were fast on the shipping and had good comms, so a thumbs up from me. They also sell the other Plat A Tac pouches and stuff.
P.S. The waist belt is too short if you're a fat bloke like me (50" waist), but the Maxpedition Janus pouch should fit because the buckles used on this are all ITW Fastex, same as the ones MaxP use. I have one on order at the moment and will report back when it arrives. For the time being I've made a DIY belt extender using a length of 2" nylon webbing (matches the waist belt) and two pairs of QR buckles.
Front view with MaxP Large Tactile attached, Milspec Monkey velcro patch panel on the front of that, and patches applied to that and to the sewn on large patch area at the top of the lid.
Just above the top row of PALS on the lid is a full width zip which when undone reveals that the inside of the lid is a full width & height pocket to fit documents / maps / medical quick reference cards into. This pocket also extends vertically behind the large velcro patch area.
Back view with showing the nicely padded shoulder straps, the nice thickly padded back pads and the comfy padded waist belt (that is removable from the pack). Also shown are the couple of things I've attached to the waistbelt as tests so far (MaxP universal flashlight sheath for the TK40 and MaxP Jumbo RolyPoly dump pouch for rubbish etc)
Side by side comparison of this pack and the Rush 24. As you can see this one is slightly taller, and when loaded, a little deeper. The MSM pack also has compression straps at the top and bottom of each side, and top clips so you can unzip the top part of the zipper e.g. to get at a pouch in the top and not risk having the bag unzip further or other stuff fall out.
You can also see one of the large velcro down flaps that cover the slits for hydration hoses to poke out through (either side of the top grab handle) on the MSM pack; and as you can see it has PALS up both sides of the pack as well as on the front of the lid.
Thinking of the PALS grids, it's probably helpful to note at this point that the PALS grids are as follows:
Sides: 8x5
Front: 7x8
Bottom: 5X7
Removable panel inside: 9X6
Inside the MSM. At the back of the pack you can see the panel with PALS grid on it. This is removable (held in place with 3 wide, full length velcro strips) to make it easier to attach your pouches to it. It is also fairly rigid and will stop stuff in the pack from poking you in the back.
On the inside of the lid of the pack you can see the two massive mesh pockets. Hidden because one of them is drooping down is a loop of elasticated webbing that you can shove pens through - the top mesh pouch on the lid has a flap pocket behind it (it is secured at the top with a bit of velcro). This flap pocket is slightly deeper than the mesh pocket itself, and would be a good place for notepads / maps.
You can also see the two hydration bladder pockets on each side of the pack. They are too small to fit a 100oz (3 litre) Camelback storm with it still in it's neoprene sleeve, but will fit smaller bladders OK. I plan on using them to hold my lightweight packaway waterproofs and my wooly hat/gloves, but you could use them for a tarp or pretty much anything else. They are elasticated at the tops. Plat A Tac say they will take 2 litre bladders.
Also visible are the four retention straps (two horizontal - one at the bottom and one about half way up and two vertical) that are fitted inside the pack. Handy for holding stuff down so it doesn't shift about!
REMOVING THE WAISTBELT:
First flip the pack over onto it's lid:
Open up the large padded velcro flap over the waistbelt's centre section:
Tear the waistbelt off of it's securing velcro strip:
Stick the padded velcro flap back down again.
This photo also shows a better view of the nice thickly padded back pads with the ventilation channel that runs between them. Also visible is the full PALS webbing on the bottom of the pack to let you strap tent / bivi etc onto it and the fact that they've sewn nice sized finger loops into the webbing for adjusting the shoulder straps. Handy!
OK, moving onto some of the detailed bits of the pack.
Let's start with a view of that huge document pocket on the inside of the lid...
And now for a good view of the elasticated pen loops above the top mesh pocket on the inside of the lid, along with the flap pocket behind the mesh pouch. This pocket is the same width as the mesh pouch and the same height as it.
Because it's at the top inside of the zip it's ideally placed for just unzipping the very top of the lid (leaving it secured with the top two buckles) and pulling out a pen/pad whatever.
Here's the top of the sack. You can see the grab handle and the two velcro-down flaps over the hydration hose exits. The top of the photo is the side of the pack nearest your back.
The black oval is a rubbery cover over a small button-hole sewn slit. I assume that this is for a radio antenna to poke out through if you are using the pack to carry signals kit.
And here's a pic of one of the hydration flaps opened showing the buttonhole sewn slit for the hose to poke out of.
A close up of one of the three drainage grommets fitted to the pack. Nicer than just having a hole with a grommit, this has a grid of small holes, presumably in the hope that it'll let water out but keep more dust/sand out of the pack (if you're in the sandpit on service) than just a drainage hole would.
And here's the placement of the three drainage grommets on the bottom of the sack. One at the bottom of the lid on the front of the pack, and two either side of the PALS grid on the bottom of the pack. (This photo also nicely shows the PALS grid on the bottom which is made of a double layer of webbing - presumably for strength and to help reinforce the bottom of the pack against scrapes).
And here's a very cute feature. The buckle at the end of the sternum strap is also a whistle. Not a fantastic whistle mind you, but better than not having one at all.
Can't really comment on long term comfort yet, as it only arrived on the 24th and I haven't had a chance to go out for a long hike with it, but I filled it full of stuff and I can state that the shoulder straps, waist belt and padding on the back of the sack are all comfy
I got it from Assault Order UK - http://www.assaultorderuk.co.uk/ and they were fast on the shipping and had good comms, so a thumbs up from me. They also sell the other Plat A Tac pouches and stuff.
P.S. The waist belt is too short if you're a fat bloke like me (50" waist), but the Maxpedition Janus pouch should fit because the buckles used on this are all ITW Fastex, same as the ones MaxP use. I have one on order at the moment and will report back when it arrives. For the time being I've made a DIY belt extender using a length of 2" nylon webbing (matches the waist belt) and two pairs of QR buckles.
