wally wrote on Apr 24^th, 2009 at 10:36pm:

So "how tough" are the plastic/rubber welds?  I worry about a product like that not taking 20 yrs of dragging around by the shoulder straps....jerking in and out of the boat by the straps. comments?

While I can't say if it will last 20 years, I can tell you that one of my packs that I've been using as a solo food pack has performed well for the first 5 years (with a 2 week minimum trip length each year).  Since it is my food pack, it stays exposed to the elements for the entirety of the trip (e.g., I don't think its ever been under a tarp during a trip) and is hung overnight.

My gear pack (larger cousin of the one on sale at Campmor) has been used for 3 years (so far) and is still working well.  The only deficit to the design is that the deep tubular shape means that you are sometimes digging blind down at the bottom.  

All the packs I use have excellent shoulder straps and waist belts, and almost all are adjustable.  To me, having the pack secured to your torso during portaging nearly eliminates unanticipated load shifts, so I'm pretty insistent on waist belts (and sternum straps, where possible). This probably comes from many years backpacking in the Rockies where there are many instances where if you fall, you die!

dd