Peak DesignOutdoor Backpack 45L

Let’s start at the beginning - price. Yes it’s expensive. However, you do get what you pay for in most things, and this pack is no exception. It’s made like no other with high end/performance materials and manufactured accordingly. The whole thing is top notch, robust, and built for anything you or Mother Nature can throw at it.Comfort: its harness is infinitely adjustable. I won’t go into details - go to Peak’s website and there are very detailed walkthroughs on how to fit it. If you can’t get this pack to fit you better than your favorite pair of broken in boots you’re doing something wrong.Function: Again, visit Peak’s website for a thorough walkthrough. IMHO, this is one of the most well thought out and versatile backpacks I’ve ever owned. And I have a lot of them. From specially designed camera bags to mountaineering to hiking to day packs, all from major brands with tried and trusted names. As it comes without any add-ons it’s a great travel bag that can go from the office to an international trip with ease. The main compartment is incredibly spacious and has just the right number of internal pockets to keep things organized but not so many you can’t find things once you’ve packed it. Access through the magnetic roll top is good, but it really shines in that the whole compartment is accessible without digging through the back panel, which fully unzips (double zipper pulls!) and opens like a suitcase, exposing everything except for one zipped pocket at the top. The secondary large compartment runs down the middle of the back of the pack and is accessed by pulling the loop at the top to release the integrated cinch cord. There are two narrow flex pockets that run down the side of this otherwise single large outer pocket. Because it closes via cinch cords it’s basically open at the top (that doesn’t mean it’s contents are not secured) it allows items to be strapped across the top or have excess material flow out while keeping the bulk secured in the pack. See the listing or the website images with bedrolls or rope hanging out. The two very deep side flex pockets are easily accessed with the cinch cord open or closed and both have secondary smaller less deep flex pockets ½ way down on the outside that are secured by their own removable and reconfigurable cinch cords. There are two more zippered pockets running the length of the back on both sides of the same back panel that utilizes the internal cinch cord. The zippers for these are almost hidden. There are repositionable cinch cords and lashing points all over the pack, and it also comes with two extra cinches to use however you see fit. More pockets, lashing points, and stuff through options on the shoulder straps and waist straps. The waist traps also easily store away behind the back panel for when they aren’t needed or throwing the pack into that airplane overhead. It also comes with not one but two repositionable / removable chest straps that could also be used elsewhere on the pack if you wanted.The only thing missing for standard use out of the box is a rainfly. I happen to have several from other bags that fit it just fine.Do yourself a favor and visit Peak’s website for details on this pack. There’s also a number of great video reviews out there if you look.I’ll be taking mine to Scotland this summer.

I really, really, wanted to like this bag. My intention is to use as a carry on for international travel, and then hopefully continue to use it for moderate photo based hiking using the Peak Design Capture Clip on a shoulder strap, and carry layers, snacks, and hydration pack on those same trips. My favorite photo backpack for that purpose is the Lowepro PhotoSport with the Peak Design Capture clip. However, after my main bag was lost for an entire hiking trip, I now try to as a minimum to carry on all necessary stuff for 2-4 days of the trip including electronics, toiletries, and several changes of clothes in addition to my hiking stuff and camera. The Lowepro PhotoSport is my perfect hiking photo backpack, but is not big enough for the above use case.I also have the Peak Design 30L travel backpack which works very well for travel and meets my volume requirements. I have toyed with the idea of using this backpack also as my hiking backpack. But I just find that the strap system is just too uncomfortable for up to 10-14 mi of multi terrain hiking. So I only use that travel backpack for non hiking trips.Therefore, after reading and watching maaaany reviews of the new Peak Design 45L Outdoor Backpack (PDOB) , it looked like I might have my solution.However, I must say after getting the pack a few days ago, I am pretty disappointed with its capabilities.First, in real life, the bag just seems much smaller than the advertised 45L. I suppose if you roll the top of the PDOB all the way up and stuff it full, it might be around 45L, but I would never want to use that backpack without cinching down the rolltop at least part way. My intention was to use the stuff sack portion of the bag to hold my layered clothes which consist of rain pants, rain coat, and a light stuffable puffy jacket. I was very surprised to see how narrow the bag was and how small the stuff sack was. Even though my layers don't take that much room they basically overflowed the narrow small stuff sack area and it was difficult to pull the draw string tight enough to get the panel to close over the layers. Not good for light rain situations.Then I planned to use the main area of the bag under the carry straps to carry my electronics, toiletries, camera during transit, and 2-4 days worth of clothes. Again, I found this area quite a bit smaller then I expected. Also, it had zero structural integrity and wanted to stay tightly compressed all the time (perhaps this might relax over time). So it was a bit of a challenge to pack out the main area without this structural stability. As others have mentioned it was also a bit finicky to get the carry straps out of the way to unzip the back, but this was not a big deal to me.Then, after all the years of people complaining about Peak Design carry straps being uncomfortable, and because of the reviews I saw, I really expected the carry strap system to be the ultimate in comfort. I was very surprised to find that they were not, at least to me. Even though the pads were thick, they were quite hard. Also, the shape over the shoulder was more like a fold then a curve. Again, I suppose over time that these straps might break in and be better. But I was not sure I wanted to take that risk as the bag is very expensive.And ultimately, the PDOB had to contend with the comparison to the latest version of the Cotopaxi Allpa 35L (CotoA) which I had also picked up as another possible choice.Even though the CotoA is only rated at 35L, to me, practically it carries more than the PDOB. Although it is quite a bit wider than the PDOB, it is all very usable and still meets the airline carry on restrictions. And if you don't pack it full it can be compressed to fit into smaller spaces. Some reviewers have said they have successfully gotten the CotoA under their airline seat. And it is much easier to access and pack out the interior of the clamshell opening CotoA then the PDOB.The straps on the Cotopaxi are very comfortable and I think would work well for hiking. The bag itself is a little big for my hiking use case, but if not packed out should have a pretty low profile. I do admit that the clamshell access is a bit slower for hiking use, and it is more likely that you will get part of the pack dirty since more of it will touch the ground when opened. I also do not like that it does not provide a hydration pack solution, but at least it now has an outside water bottle pocket. It was a bit of a challenge to attach my PD Capture Clip. However, I used the PD provided allen head screws vs the knurled knobs. These screws were a bit longer and allowed me to attach the clip below the chest strap mounts on the shoulder straps. I have a fairly heavy camera (Canon R5 with 24-70 F2.8 lens), but I cannot even feel the weight when clipped in.And finally, although this was not a huge driver for me, when using the bags as a travel bag, the CotoA is much better at providing access to desired items via its two outside pockets vs the PDOB.The CotoA is big enough that I may even decide to carry a packable day back and hydration pack with me as my hiking solution. I have the Venture Pal 40L Lightweight Packable Travel Hiking Backpack Daypack and think I can make it work. I have placed a hydration pack in the back pocket of the Venture and ran the drinking tube over my shoulders and threaded via the carry strap loop. Even though the Venture was not designed as a hydration backpack, itworks pretty well and all packs down and fits with the CotoA. I can also hang my camera on the Capture Clip on this backpack. Even though the straps are thin, it is still pretty workable.So it is obvious that PD is really trying had to find innovative unique solutions to our travel and hiking use cases. I just think that no matter how much I am trying to like this bag, I cannot recommend it for the type of use I have in mind.