I was super excited about this pack when ordering. Once I received it, really the only Pros (for me at least) was the dedicated platform pouch, the bottomland color, the quietness of the exterior material, and it seems very sturdy.
Other than that however, I found the pack to be oversized, overly heavy even when empty, loud against my back when walking (swishing back and forth from side to side), and much too wide on the sides extending past my body width; so when it's on your back it's impossible to sling a gun on your shoulder when the bag is so wide, which is kind of a big deal after bow season ends.
The bag does hold climbing sticks well on the side, but again... You can't put anything else on your shoulder if you have the sticks unless you put them on the bottom, in which case they are hitting you in a$$ with every step or interfering with the saddle fit while walking in.
The securing strap method for retaining the platform is an overly obnoxious C-clip, that I could barely get on let alone get it off, instead of an actual clip like the rest of the bag has which causes way more frustration and hassle than anything. I couldn't imagine trying to work that quietly in the woods without cursing it out...and you're definitely not going to work it with gloves on! That part was probably the biggest disappointment for me.
You can make mods to the bag and use the trophyline straps to hold sticks etc, and can use separate smaller bags for the inside to separate some of your gear and accessories since the inside is basically just a giant dump-pouch.
Overall, this bag just definitely isn't going to work out for bow or gun hunting as much as I really wanted it to...and the search continues:(
I picked up a second pouch for my specter venatic saddle. looks great and holds my 8mm rappel rope perfectly
Haven’t used them in the field yet but have messed with them at the house and climbed with them a couple times and I think they’re great!’