Way back in high school, I had an older backpack from this series, which I really liked. I ended up using it during a paintball campaign, and it ended up trashed with paint, so I decided to relegate it to holding my paintball equipment.

So I bought a new one, and I have been using this for the better part of 10 years. In general, it has proven to be a great backpack that I have used for all sorts of various tasks and trips. The compression straps help it hold a slimmer profile if you don’t have much you’re carrying, but it can also expand to hold quite a bit of stuff.

Plenty of organization in the middle pocket

However, about 3 years ago, the aluminum back support bar that functions as the internal frame started rubbing near the bottom of the backpack. It seems that over time, the material at the base of the backpack had gotten thin, and the frame started rubbing against whatever I put in the bag.

The frame that rubbed through the bladder lining and would rub against whatever I put in my backpack

It ruined some book covers, board game covers, and even the outside of my old laptop. Most annoyingly, if I threw a can in there, it would even manage to puncture the aluminum, and I would then have a sopping mess in my backpack, dripping down my legs. I solved the problem by ensuring that I always had either some t-shirt in between anything sensitive and the frame or some folded up cardboard shoved at the bottom of my backpack. It was kind of tacky and annoying, though, and if the protector ever slipped down, something could get ruined.

Where the frame actually rubbed the plastic computer case. Imagine what it did to less resilient paper and cardboard…

I decided to remove the support bar, and it obviously hasn’t ruined anything since, but I do notice the lack of support. It no longer feels like a structured backpack and more just a sack, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a backpack with an internal frame.

Other than that, though, it’s great. As long as you don’t need to bring a sleeping bag, tent, and pad, you can fit about everything one needs for a week or even more. There are plenty of pockets for organizing things, and the fabric (other than the base of the bar) has proved to hold together without fail. It is not water repellant in the least, though, so you will want to either be careful or have a backpack rain guard.

In general, I am satisfied with this backpack, but the frame ruining items I put in there has made me a little wary about buying another Redwing backpack. Granted, it only started doing that after about 8 or so years of use, so take it for what it’s worth.

Pros:

Lots of pockets for organizing

Slim profile with straps, but can expand to hold quite a lot

Cloth has held out for 10 years

Cons:

The back support ended up wearing through the bladder canvas and rubbing against and ruining things at the bottom of the backpack

No protection from the rain