Mountainsmith Drift Lumbar Pack, Heritage Black

I got this for my biking and skate skiing. Both sports dont do well with anything on your shoulders. Well made pack. Im a seamstress and make or alter most my gear but they are just so well made that it needs no additions. I have a touring one for back country skiing as well. Again worth every cent. So well made and though backpacks look better these are vastly more efficient for certain sports.

This waist pack is very well made, very comfortable to wear, and I love the color choices. I like the yellow interior as it makes articles easy to find. I was of two minds on the main pocket -- it has one small flat interior zippered pocket but no other organizing partitions. For my purpose (cross-country skiing), I came to like it this way. With no partitions I could fit in more gear, especially my big mittens if I need to shed them, yet I could also rest assured that my keys and credit cards were easy to access and wouldn't accidentally fall out.I crammed in as much as I could to demonstrate capacity. I agree with other posters who point out that the main pocket is difficult to fully open with one or more water bottles in place, even if it's not crammed full.Any of my three water bottle test cases fit in the holder. The largest is 10" tall x 3" wide and holds 22 oz. The disposable bottle also holds 22 oz and the thermos holds 12oz. There's no security cord for the water bottles, a negative for me. (I lost one once in the snow after a fall.) As I was interested in carrying only one water bottle, I did not test it with two.To use as a shoulder bag, the hip belt tucks away behind a padded panel, and a padded shoulder strap is included.- Main zippered compartment: 7.5x7.5x3.5" (heavy mittens + midweight gloves + fleece neck gaiter + knit headband + sunglasses + Pixel 4a cell phone + trail map). Inner flat zippered pocket 5.75x4.5" (keys & cards)- Kangaroo pouch: 5x5.75x~1.5" (thick knit cap). Don't put anything small in here that you'll hate losing, or anything too large that could pop out. There's a key clip for waterproof keys.I put snacks in the 2nd water bottle holder and tightened down the strap to hold them in.The Amazon description calls it a 5L bag, but I calculated only 3.6L. (The product tag doesn't say.) It weighs 10 oz + 1 oz shoulder strap.

Excellent product very well made. super comfortable, holds more than i expected. Quality!!

Loved the look, feel, and size of this pack, but it didn't sit well on my body. Uncomfortable to wear if I put any weight in it. I think it's the squarish shape. I don't have this problem with my Northface pack. Also, as someone else mentioned, the outside water bottle pockets are narrower at the bottom and slanted inwards, making them a little tight and awkward to use.

Three stars because Mountainsmith materials and workmanship are worth 5 stars, but the pack's design/layout is not practical or convenient 1 star.Pros: 1) love the waist cut-outs to keep me cooler! I avoided the wide waist supports until I found this pack. Good support, but ventilation is present. 2) Quality zipper has a lip over it for greater water resistance. 3) Pack is water resistant. 3) Satisfied with bottles the water bottle holders hold - but I guess tall ones could slip out if you lean over. 4) Obviously well-made and durable. 5) not too wide. You can swing your arms when hiking without smacking the water bottles.Cons: #1) water bottles push into the only zippered pocket, severely decreasing this main pocket's usable space and making it awkward to access items in the pocket. I think it'd be easy for small items like lip balm to be accidentally pulled out and lost while pulling something else out between the water bottles. You have to open the zippers wide to get optimal access but then it's hard to get access to close the zippers. 2) There is only a small zipped, flat pocket (such as for credit cards and driver's license, maybe a couple keys) inside the main zippered pocket. There could have easily been a divider in here to create more usable separation of secured space. 3) the outer "compression" pocket doesn't compress well enough. There are still gaps where rain could get in, so that tiny drain hole is needed but expect items to get wet. I would be concerned about losing what I put in here, esp if I sit, squat, bend over to tie a shoe. 4) there's a key clip! But guess where it's located? Yes, in the loose compression pocket, not the zippered one. Don't let that fob get wet. 5) no loop cords to keep water bottles in place. Compression straps sort of do this.I feel I'm being generous to give this 3 stars. I was shopping for something like this and inadvertently stumbled on to one of their larger packs that I could use for musky fly fishing. I got that first and love it. It's well-designed. I expected to love this Drift pack, but I'd hate it. If Mountainsmith made a few tweaks it would be a five-star pack.So I am returning this and still looking for a sm-med pack with 2 water bottle holders for Midwest day hikes. Mtnsmith has a new pack that looks nice, but it's currently too expensive for me...but maybe not for you!