Mountainsmith Apex Backpack

I collect back packs, I own an Alice Large, I own an Alice medium, I also own Alice small. This Apex 100 for hiking beats them all. I love the hydration bladder storage area, as noticed in the photo, the top of the pack is removable to make a very comfortable day pack. In 1984 I purchased a Lowie Pack similar to this pack, and it was not as well built as this pack is. For hiking, I would not use my Alice Large, not as comfortable as this pack is, but on the contrary, for camping I will use the Alice Large will hold a lot more. But I am extremely pleased with this Apex 100 Mountainsmith back pack, made in the United States of America, lifetime Warrantee outer storage compartments that an Alice Large, Medium, or even a small do not have! - The time to check all storage compartments is not when one I getting preparing for their first camping/hiking trip. I checked out the left side water storage by the belt, using a 1 lieter water bottle, it fit in the designated storage area just fine, and would not fall out, I tried to get the water bottle to fall out, in fact I had to work to get the bottle out, which tells me, out in the field, I will not be needing to bend over and pick up the lieter water bottle. AWESOME PACK! I will recommend this pack to any prospective buyer.

This backpack is huge. It can fit just about everything you need for an extended trip and then some. I have yet to use all the space and have used it for a seven day trip so far with no issues. It has a very durable construction and plenty of additional pouches for convenience when being carried.

I bought one to replace a 20+-year-old Mountainsmith pack I recently got rid of—not because it was no longer useful, but because I wanted to step into the 21st Century! And I did a lot of research before buying it and ultimately went back to Mountainsmith because of the high quality and relatively low price of my prior Mountainsmith pack.So far, I'm loving this Mountainsmith Apex Backpack. Among other things, the top, bottom, and back accesses to the pack's main compartment make life much easier than packs with only one or two access points. The pack is also very comfortable.I have yet to max out the pack on a long trip, but it has a lot of capacity, and the stitching, seams, and zippers seem high quality—consistent with the Mountainsmith pack I had in the past.

Does its job for its price, sits well on the back.All the complaints are minor:There are plenty of mesh pockets but only two zipped pockets, one large in the top flap and one small in the waistbelt. I find it incovenient to organize my small items this way but I manage. I use mesh pockets little since things may fall out of them.The waistbelt is well below my waist, just above my groin, and I do not see any way to adjust it. (I am 5 ft 9 = 175 cm tall, so it is not because I am short.) For this reason I do not use the waistbelt except for the pocket.Good for the price!

The Mountainsmith Apex Backpack, Anvil Gray 100 is a great backpack, it has better qualities then the Teton Sports Grand 5500 and much roomer too. yeah 10 out of 10 for me. XD

After needing a replacement pack after a couple decades, I went for this backpack after reviewing and researching the rest. While I was hoping for more compartments, it is still the best one for my needs.

One of my better purchases. You can't beat this pack for value, price and overall features. If you don't want to break the bank and you need something that's of highest quality, this the pack. I've had it a week now and I will update this review as I take it on some higher altitude trips.Make sure you take time to adjust it properly. Load it up and either have a friend or a mirror nearby so you can get a good view of how the pack is riding against your back, shoulders and hips. There are a lot of adjustments available and you'll want to fine tune all of them to get an optimal fit. I'll update this more in a few weeks.

This is my second MS pack, I bought my first in 1995, it is still in use with my son. The pack was used mainly in Alaska over the years - great quality.

Pretty good bad zippers and clips