ANDRE GUY S I have nothing to measure the belt size, but my pants waist is 32 (for my pants) - and it fits me just right. If you are much bigger than that, you may not want to buy this backpack. It is relatively small.

DAVID B At least a 42 in Men's pants size. I'm a 32 and I have to tighten it almost the whole way to sit on my hips.

SAVITHA R Hello Anneke I travelled internationally by Lufthansa in 2011 and used this bag as carry on. There were no issues then. Airline regulations change quite often, so I recommend checking with your airline on the dimensions of the carry on they allow. Thanks

GLENN S My son flew to Europe in August and carried this on a Delta flight with no problems.

MATTHEW H I flew Continental to Belgium about a year ago and had no issues taking this carry-on. It may depend on how full you have it, though. I think what helped was cinching down the straps and carrying it with the grey handle on the back like a duffel.

RANDY S I've never brought the Courser 40 on a flight, at least not yet. I normally use the pack as my hunting/hiking pack, but I am planning to use it as my carry on for my trip to Italy soon though. Carry On requires vary from airline to airline, so I recommend searching your specific airlines carry on restrictions. I can tell you that the pack is a little bigger than most backpacks you'd use for school, but not huge by far. If you packed it full and maxed out the pack to capacity, it'd probably a call made by the flight attendants. I've carried on a duffel bag stuffed to capacity, which is twice the size of the Courser. If you are planning to bring an additional check-in bag and are unsure if you'll get away with using the Courser as a carry-on, I suggest flattening the Courser and packing it with you check-in. It wouldn't take up much space at all and it is always good to have a day pack when traveling. For the most part, I am pretty happy with the bag, but it has some design limitations such as height adjustment and support adjustments that make it slightly uncomfortable to use for long periods. I have a different day pack that is a lot larger that accommodate height and width adjustments for different people, but the Courser has a must better design for overall comfort. All in all, I am completely satisfied and happy with the Courser. It is an excellent buy. If you are still unsure about it, I suggest looking at a few other packs as well and comparing them. You'll want something that is comfortable as well as functional for your Africa trip. Hope that helps. Good luck.

SAVITHA R Dear shopper As much as I love this bag, I wish I ordered the S/M. I am 5'3" as well with a small torso, but my husband is 5'10", so I ordered a M/L so we can both use it. But turns out, this was a bit larger for me, May be just the right size for him. I took it on one international flight travel. It has potential to load lots of stuff, but only if you are ready to carry it for a long period of time. Next time, I plan on packing just enough to be able to handle. So I would recommend to go with S/M if you plan on using it by yourself, not with a taller person Otherwise this is a great product. Hope this helps

JOHN G I think S/M will fit you fine. I am gave my M/L to my wife who is also petite and it fits her well. This is a very comfortable pack and adjusts well.

RICHARD K I am a father of two teenagers. A sixteen year old daughter and a fifteen year old son who are about five foot three, and five foot five. Both weigh about a hundred pounds. This pack fits both of them really well. The size adjustments work well enough that all of use can use this pack effectively, and comfortably. Hope this helps.

BENJAMIN H My wife is 5'6" and 128 lbs and this fits her pretty well, it might be a little much for a significantly small person.

BRUCE C My Courser fits my sleeping bag with no problem (a Marmot down bag). I am a bit of a minimalist packer but it serves me well for anywhere for 2-6 day hikes. I've been very happy with this pack...plenty of features and space and very rugged. It replaced another Kelty I had for years... highly recommended!

JUSTIN G Yes, I've always been able to pack my sleeping bag for an overnighter. If I'm out any longer than that it gets pushed to the outside.

RICHARD K Yes. I strapped mine to the outside of the pack, and I was carrying a men's Kelty Mistral bag. Cheers

TYLER M I can fit my sleeping bag in here if it's in the stuff sack. I do have to tie my sleeping pad to the outside of the pack, however. ( I have the Kelty Light Trekker-20 sleeping bag or something like that)