Mountainsmith Tour Lumbar Pack

Love this bag! I plan on using it for short day hikes to carry my own gear and enough water for both myself and my dog. I opted for this 2016 version for reasons of being frugal. The 2020 version was way out of my budget. This bag alone does have some weight to it so with the amt of what I plan on carrying, the bag does tend to pull away from the middle of my back. I assume the 2020 version is probably lighter. I have ordered the add-on strappettes to solve this issue and am eagerly awaiting their arrival. I'm only 5'4" and I have a rather short torso so it does almost look like a backpack on me. But I wanted to go with a lumbar pack because my hydration backpack wasn't large enough to accommodate water for myself and a separate bottle for my dog. Additionally, I was overheating too much with the unnecessary coverage over my back from a backpack. The material feels super tough and the zippers are nice and big, they don't feel or look cheap! The bright yellow interior really helps you look for items within the bag. The bottle holders will easily accommodate two 32oz nalgene bottles. Although the bottle holders are mesh, they do have a solid middle panel running down the length of the pockets to give added structure and strength. I'll likely switch to Nalgene's Lite version bottles to reduce a smidgen of the weight as I have the tritan one now, a taller tritan-like bottle and also a Hydropak. My only two complaints: I wish both sides of the lumbar panels have pockets (there is only one pocket on one side only) and that if the straps for the waist buckle had a place to tuck in the loose ends. Right now the loose ends just dangle and are quite long. They do have elastics to hold them in place but they don't hold the loose ends tight and will become undone with on-going movement. I am otherwise super happy with this bag. It can definitely hold a lot (2 water bottles, a light jacket, small to medium size first aid kit, snacks for myself and dog, flashlight, keys, wallet, cell phone, extra cell battery and a enough room for other small items. You can strap trekking poles to the bottom of the bag but it doesn't cinch tight enough to make it a tight hold or you could strap a towel or mat there instead which will be a tighter hold. I love the webbing on the outside as I'm able to clip a dog bowl and any other miscellaneous items to it in multiple places on the front of the bag. You aren't tied to only one location on the bag. You can easily bungee cord your jacket on the outside. There is a fast access pocket right behind the ribbed panel that lies against your middle back. You could easily store a map or cell phone there. I didn't think the black and yellow looked that great in the stock photos but it's actually really nice in person! Again, for reasons of saving some money, I went with the black and yellow as it was the least exepnsive and I'm more than satisfied. Also inside the main compartment, there is a neoprene panel which I assume protects small electronics from other items in the bag. I have heard of some folks using that pocket to hold a water bladder instead of using water bottles. You would just need a horizontal style bladder and there is a port for you to run the tubing through if you wish (even though the port is for a headphone cord). Get this bag, you won't regret it! I just highly recommend getting the strappettes as well for more comfort and stability (and also if you plan on packing your kitchen sink in there too!). This also makes a very nice carry on bag for traveling. The lumbar panels have a place to tuck in and it comes with a strap to wear this bag as a messenger style. I took a pic of the bag with my 60-ish lbs dog for size comparison.