What do you most experienced gentlemen think of the Eagle Industries line of packs?
My Eagle pack is my first Eagle product so I don't have enough experience with it to give an informed opinion. As someone else mentioned, there have been long wait times for Eagle gear. I ordered my AIII-L pack in May and received it in September.
Also, as Mr. Graff has brought up, relying on the bladder alone doesn't seem to be the best of ideas. I was just down at the local hunting store and noted that they have a BHI 3-day pack. I also noted that said pack has no external features other than a few straps for holding stuff to the bottom and sides. While certainly large enough for my needs, the lack of external fastening points makes me wonder where I might fasten a water bottle or such.
I agree that relying on the bladder alone is not a good idea. IIRC there was a thread here on Nalgene water bottles or the Camelbak in-line filtration system earlier which had some good material on the same subject matter.
When camping I will take a hydration system and a Nalgene bottle. This is because if I need water for cooking, it is easier for me to go down to the stream and filter water into my Nalgene bottle than into my hydration system. My pUr Hiker's output valve fits exactly into the mouth of a Nalgene bottle. Also, you may need "pourable" water in a hurry (e.g. for fire suppression) and you can't easily pour water from a hydration system w/o removing the bladder from your pack and dumping it onto the fire.
What I'm looking for is something large enough to take to work (holding clipboard, organizer, lunch and water bottles), but also good for walking around the woods. The BHI 3day would seem to be ideal, except that I'm forced to use the bladder system. If nothing else, the pack would look a lot better if there were a few daisy-chains sewn across the front panel.
I think there are two options here:
1. Buy a separate Nalgene water bottle pouch and attach it to your hip belt on a BHI 3-day or Eagle A-III pack. This is the one I use:
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/commerce/command/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=226&prrfnbr=48656
I use this system with my week-long pack and the aforementioned weekend packs.
2. Buy a daypack that has a hydration sleeve AND mesh bottle pockets on the side. You'll have to buy a separate hydration system but you can stick Nalgene or other bottles in the mesh pockets and have both hydration system and bottles readily available in a pack. This is the one I use:
http://www.kelty.com/Kelty/index.cfm?fuseaction=Packs.Home
(you'll have to click on the Velocity pack)
Two mesh bottle pockets, hydration sleeve, stowable hip belt and 1,900 cu in of capacity, for around $60 list. Add a standalone hydration system for $30 and you're still under the $120-140 you'd pay for a BHI or Eagle pack -- sans hydration system! Skunk-approved carbon-fiber type pattern is an added plus.
Not quite as tactical as a BHI or Eagle pack, but it gets the job done. It's not tactical because it has reflective tape on the sides (for nighttime biking) and there are no quick-release drop buckles so you cannot ditch the pack in a hurry if you need to do some fast E&E.