MOUNTAINTOP 65L Internal Frame Backpack with Rain Cover

After taking it out for two hikes with a total of 14 miles I can say that I really like the pack for the price. It's not the greatest but for a 65L pack under $100 you won't find one better. Now remember if you've already used one of the bigger brands like Osprey or Gregory, you should stick with those high end packs because this is a beginner/intermediate hiking pack on a budget. There are pretty decent packs out there that are 50L that are still under $100 but I was looking for between 60-70 liter packs so that narrowed it down pretty fast. After a full week of researching online and in all the local outdoor stores I narrowed it down to three brands. Now mind you their are some other packs that are still 60L or above but they are too cheaply made and probably won't make it past one hike.The first one was the Scandinavian Gear 65L pack. What turned me away from this pack is the side mesh pockets are way to shallow and wide to hold a water bottle or anything that is on the taller side and most things put in there will likely fall out. The second reason was the metal frame was visible from the outside and the strap adjustment for it was not easily adjustable and looked flimsy. The second brand was High Sierra and I was looking at three of their packs. The Titan looked good but it was over $100 so I had to cross that one off just because of price. Now it was down to the 65L Sentinel and 75L Appalachian trail packs. I didn't think I needed a full 75L pack since I lean toward the lightweight backpacking crew so I crossed that one off. Then I was left reviewing the 65L Sentinel for $55 here on Amazon. I had it in my cart and was ready to buy it because I had a few High Sierra backpacks when I was in grade school so it was a brand I trusted to have quality packs. But the one and only thing that bothered me was the lack of hip belt pockets. It had none on both the 65 and 75 High Sierra packs. I know its not a make or break deal to have them but I was used to having pockets there on my regular day pack backpack. So before I checked out I went to research more into the third pack I had narrowed down to which was this one. This pack was $14 more than the Sentinel but it had the hip belt pockets I was looking for! Another plus was that it was at least a pound lighter than the Sentinel so I bought this one instead.Now its still pretty cold here in April and it's been raining so I got to test out the rain fly on it as well and it fits over it fully stuffed perfectly and keeps it dry. It has so much space in it and it fits all of my gear comfortable inside it. It even fits my Marmot 15 Trestles sleeping bag in the sleeping compartment on the bottom. It was a bit tight at first but I just compressed the sleeping bag down as much as I could and now it fits like a glove in there with it partitioned off from the rest of the bag with the inner zipper. I like the water bladder pouch but I do wish that it was just a bit taller but that's just nit picking. And on the two small test hikes I have done in the Dunes nearby I have been please with it. And for me my base weight is now 18 pounds using this pack.The only reason I give this pack a 4 star instead of a 5 star is that the shoulder strap padding isn't enough for me. On both hikes the sides of the shoulder straps rubbed against me and it started to cause some discomfort. It wasn't terrible but I fear on longer hikes it could build up and give me some serious shoulder pain. Now remember its not the padding itself per se, but the side of the shoulder strap where the padding is hard and rubs against the outer and inner shoulder. But I'm planning on fixing up my own little pad to solve this problem to cover the sides of the shoulder strap so that I won't have much problem with it on future, longer hikes.I know I read some other reviews on here saying that the shoulder straps came off or that the bag ripped. I just want to say that you do have to remember this is only a $70 pack so treat it as one. Don't go buck wild on it and throw it around and fill it til it's about to burst. Be easy with all the zippers and compression straps. I packed it down with all of my gear except for food and it wasn't stretched or anything, I still had plenty of room for my food without stressing the bag out to its breaking point, but like I said earlier I go on the lighter side of hiking. So don't stuff the bag to the max and put some extra padding on the should straps and you'll have yourself a pretty decent backpacking bag for at least a couple years or until you want to make the leap up to the big leagues with the $300 packs!Overall I had to send the pack back because of the lack of shoulder padding and it didn't fit my torso quite right but if you have the right torso height and body shape this pack will be a bargain buy for you.

This is my 1st backpack. Since I was on a tight budget I put a lot of time into researching packs under $100. So many to choose from! After researching online I was able to find many brands locally but the quality/workmanship was poor. This bag had everything I was looking for so I took a chance on it. No regrets whatsoever. The workmanship is excellent. No loose threads, all stitching is tight, all zippers operate smoothly without catching, buckles function properly & strap lengths are more than adequate. Whereas the pack is not waterproof, it is water-resistant enough so that nothing inside got wet even though I didn't use the supplied rain cover. I would highly recommend!I loaded it to a weight of 30-lbs and started hiking near home. It was easy to adjust and felt very comfortable. A couple 10 mile hikes and all was good. Then I used every available compartment and attachment. When fully loaded it weighed 48-lbs. Time to head for the hills. For me that was far too much weight for comfort on the trails. Whereas the pack was stable and well balanced I couldn't seem to get that comfortable feel, just too much weight pulling back on my chest. It was suggested by other hikers that the discomfort was caused primarily due to the location of the "magic straps" (load adjusting straps at top of shoulder straps) being located too far back on the shoulder strap. I had them pulled in as far as possible but that wasn't enough. If I grabbed the top of the pack and pulled it forward ever so slightly, the weight distribution on my chest was greatly relieved. For the remainder of my hike I removed approximately 12-lbs and all was better. For my current level of strength I'll try to limit my loaded pack weight to 35-lbs max and all will be good. ;)EDIT: I initially had problems with comfort but that was resolved after I realized that I could adjust the "magic straps" better by moving the slide-bar buckle further down the shoulder strap, away from my back. This allowed me to bring the load forward which made a huge difference. I can now comfortably carry that full 48 lb load, but choose not to. I had way more stuff than was necessary!Things about the pack that I would change:1) use quick release buckles exclusively, no slide-bar buckles2) raise the lower side compression straps so they are slightly above the side mesh pocketsSo few changes says a lot for this pack. I would highly recommend!

The top hatch is a bit flimsy, but the pack is comfortable and carries lots of stuff. It is good for domestic travel for a few days, but not rugged and tough enough for international travel. I use it to travel by buss between cities. .

The backpack is VERY nice quality for the price!I traveled with this backpack across Europe for 1 months and it was great.Good things:-It is super comfortable to walk long distances (the weight gets very well distributed and it does not hurt the shoulders or the hips).-The rain cover stored in a small pocket is very convenient.-It has a single metallic bar to support the back, so it is sturdy and light (see picture)-The price is unbeatable.Bad/sad things:-The zipper of the bottom pocket is prone to malfunction if someone lifts the backpack by grabbing it from that pocket (which will happen at the airports). Hence, you can definitely loose what it's inside that pocket when registering it as a baggage.-You cannot take this as a carry-on, and all the straps this backpack has are very prone to entrapment when you register it as a baggage, so you MUST put it inside a large plastic bag. We recommend buying one of those plastic black ones (for garbage) that have a mesh inside, so they are quite resistant to tears, and re-use it each time you travel by plane.- It fits the same as a sports bag (see orange bag on picture). I expected to be able to fit more.Do not buy this type of backpack (Mountaintop or other brands) expecting to fit more stuff than what you can fit in a smaller and lighter sports bag. If you do so, do it for the convenience of being able to carry it on your shoulders and protect it from the rain. This is probably excellent for hiking.

I give this bag a 5 * rating because you get exactly what the description says. I used this bag on two trips to Europe (over 30 days) and loved it. The overall quality of the bag is really good.I am 5 6’ and was able to adjust the bag comfortably.Best feature:The bag has two access points to get to the main compartment, one at the top and one at the bottom. If you pack something at the bottom you don’t need to empty the whole bag to get those items. You simply unzip the bottom compartment giving you access to the lower items you packed. I can’t stress how practical this is on long trips and was my favorite feature of this backpack.As for the size (65L), I had enough place for all my things comfortably and I rarely filled it to the brim. The top portion of the bag extends if you need the extra space, or can be compact if you don’t.After a few trips, I learnt that less is more and I prefer to travel using a smaller backpack for my travels (40L-45L).

I would recommend this bag however three and a half Kms into my hike I noticed the straps digging into my shoulders. I could have just adjusted it wrong lol but overall decent bag

The media could not be loaded.  Énormément de différentes poches et sangles de rangement. Le bas est complètement séparé du haut avec un zipper d'accès au bas du sac, très pratique pour les items plus lourds mais quand même avoir un accès rapide.

Ce sac était un peu trop petit pour moi, et je suis 6 pied. Pour quelqu'un de plus petite taille c'est idéal par contre