Disclaimer: I am probably using this pack outside of its intended scope. I’m a guide in the Grand Canyon and am attempting to use this pack as a hiking daypack/daily catchall for stuff I don’t want to de-rig the boat for. That said, first trip was pretty good! The pack is waterproof (I submerged it multiple times in slot canyons and took some huge hits in whitewater, it carried loads well, has easy carabiner loops for attaching to the boat and looks good. I have several recommendations. One: the zipper MUST be lubricated with tizip or 303 or both. If it’s not, and exposed to water or sun, the zipper quickly becomes “sticky” and when you pull the zip loop across, it often slides faster on one side than the other, misaligns, and therefore leaves an opening… and defeats the entire purpose of a waterproof pack. It’s easily fixed by sliding back and forth to each zipper garage and realigning, but would be mostly prevented by silicone lubricant application. Lots of items sold with these zippers (ie soft coolers, drysuits) come with a little bottle of Tizip- would be great to see this included. Second- pleaaaase add a webbing anchor at each end of the zipper because the misalignment also occurs mainly because you have to grab the material of the pack to pull the zipper across (it’s two handed use, definitely not one). This goes for both the main zip and the lid pocket. Other than that, I really love this pack so far. Lots of compliments from fellow guides too. If I continue to have zipper issues after proper zipper care then I’m afraid you guys will be getting this pack back, but hopefully this helps develop the best product! As we know there are very few high quality waterproof bags out there good enough for hard use. Cheers!
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