Great daypack

I'm currently a college student so I have to lug around quite a few number of items across and around campus for several hours. The thing I was most pleased about was the amount of...Read complete review

I'm currently a college student so I have to lug around quite a few number of items across and around campus for several hours. The thing I was most pleased about was the amount of room and pouches/storage areas this pack has: there are five levels of storage [meaning 4-zippered sections (well one is very small which is located at the bottom of the pack) and one that is closed with a clip], two of which have dividers and pouches for pens, your glasses, keys, etc.. The dedicated laptop sleeve fits up to a 15" laptop with a bulky battery, although you have to wiggle the pack to get the laptop to slide in.

The pack and the straps are adequately padded and feel comfortable.

I will agree on what people have said that this pack does make a difference in weight. It feels more comfortable (and bearable) to carry a 6-lb laptop around now (among other things)! The weight is nicely distributed so you don't feel as if you're about to fall backwards.

There are many straps, allowing the user to adjust the size of the bag depending on your load. You can also adjust the pack pretty far down, so if you like your pack to sit at your butt, then this is good for that.

I also have fairly wide shoulders (~14in armpit-to-armpit and ~18in from arm to arm) and the pack fits comfortably.

HOWEVER when I reach my arms out the pack does feel a bit small in that the straps feel like they're going to tear from the pack (perhaps due to my wide shoulders).

Now let's go into the bad:
1. For the person that claimed that the whistle is like a canary stuck in a gym bag full of socks, I'll have to agree. I don't know why they put it on there, as nice as it is, if it barely makes any noise.

2. Since the bag is very adjustable in terms of its straps, the straps do get annoying if you're one of those people that like to hike their packs all the way up. Also there's a chest strap on it as well so that gets in the way too.

3. The dividers between the sections of the pack are fairly thin. They're not padded, just made of the backpack material. I haven't damaged it or anything, but I'm always afraid that something's going to poke its way through.

4. For me the pack has to sit parallel to the top of my shoulder to be the most comfortable. The padding/backing of the pack is very stiff, stiff in that it tends to stay as straight as possible, and since my back curves at the bottom near my butt (thank you tail bone), it can be uncomfortable in that respect. Just make sure the pack lies on the straigh part of your back.

5. The zippers catch not on each other but on the part of the pack that folds over the zippers (for protection I'm sure). I've worked out a strategy to bypass this but it happens when I'm careless.

Conclusion
Overall a very good bag, a huge improvement over the Swiss Army Knife pack I was using before (that thing had no back support). There are some small things about it that can take some getting used to, but I'm still breaking it in so I expect my opinion will change within the month. The most important thing is that it doesn't kill your back like other packs, its comfortable and seems to lighten the load in your back. All in all I'd recommend it to any student.

For those that are considering whether to buy the regular Surge vs. the Women's Surge, the difference is the length of the back (regular is longer). Not sure if there are any others differences but that's the one I caught.