I definitely made the right decision in spending the extra money to get this bag. It is a high quality product. First off, since this is a multi-purpose bag (hence the name), when writing a review it is important to consider what the reviewer is using the product for. In my case, I use it as an everyday carry bag. For that purpose, this bag is fantastic. I am astounded by how much stuff I have been able to fit in this bag - school materials (books, etc), simple first aid supplies, sunscreen, small tools, trauma shears and my stethoscope (I work in health care), extra pens/highlighters, the Maxpedition fold-up drawstring bag (another excellent product by the way), one change of light clothes, flashlight, extra medications, extra knife, paracord, and more. Yes, I carry all this stuff around with me every day...you never know, and so far the weight of the bag has been perfectly manageable. The materials are quality. The teflon/polyurethane coating on the nylon had its first test yesterday when I left my water bottle open and it spilled all over the bag and sat there for five minutes before I noticed it. Now, I must tell you: this bag is very good at resisting water penetration but is not completely waterproof. It will withstand liquids spilling on it excellently, but if you let it sit in a puddle for awhile the liquid will eventually soak through. In my case, some of the water soaked into the material but did not make it all the way through to the inside of the bag - as far as I'm concerned that is pretty damn good considering most other bags I've used would have had a huge mess inside after that. I'm impressed. I read reviews stating that Maxpedition has replaced the original strap with a much lower-quality one. This proved to be true - the strap was so sub-par that I could not help but wonder why they bothered to include it. However, this was not a big deal for me as I had a much heftier 2-inch strap at home that is now performing very well with the shoulder pad on it. My advice is that if you buy this bag, make sure you get a better strap for it unless you do not intend to shoulder-carry the bag. As far as the versatility of this bag is concerned, I have no doubt that if I ever needed to repurpose this bag to serve another function I would have no problem doing so. This bag will serve almost any purpose you can imagine, within reason. For instance, I have a RapDom messenger bag that would likely make a better hiking/outdoors bag than this one, but that all depends on individual preference. Another thing to expect when you receive this bag: The material is very stiff and will take some time to break in. This is due to the teflon/poly coating on the bag - but by sacrificing a nice pliable feel, you are getting impressive water and grime resistance and ease of cleaning.
