>>1309812Good to hear, you've made a great choice. I agree the pack is in no way lightweight--but it's still comfortable when weighted. I carried maybe 25lbs or so at Mammoth yesterday on a family hike and I didn't feel like tearing off the pack at any point.
I'm very likely going to get the aston pocket in the future since it makes no sense for me to get a set of pouches to the panel. I used the buttpack as an internal pocket/dopp bag, but I have a used Tool Roll on the way to put some FAK items in it.
As for the bottle pockets, I totally agree--I have a slimmer Nalgene Oasis that I'll be sticking on both sides for better fitment instead of using the silo types.
Definitely going to be purchasing the belt before my next trip, soon. Glad you like the pack so far, go get it dirty! I just got back home so its' getting wiped down.