Silent Warrior from United States, TX Public Profile

This ruck is excellent in every way in my opinion except for a couple of things.

First, the carry handle that is located between the two straps is absolutely in the wrong place. It seems to me that this ruck was designed not so much for rucking or long hikes, but rather for use as an office or school backpack. When the ruck is worn high for hiking, as a ruck should be worn, the handle pushes hard into the upper spine, lower neck, and is quite literally a pain in the neck. If I didn't love the rest of it so much I would have just sent the product back; however, I just decided to cut out the handle with my survival knife. Now it fits high on my back and there is no painful push against my neck/upper spine. Tomorrow, I am taking it to a shoe repair guy to patch up the area that I cut.

Second, if you wear a tank top or a t-shirt with short sleeves on a long hike, those long Velcro straps on the ruck's straps will rub the inner part of your upper arms pretty raw. You need sleeves to keep the friction down.

Other than those two points, this is an excellent ruck. It is far roomier than I imagined when I bought it. I have a Camelbak Motherlode, which is supposed to have more space, but this 5.11 Covrt18 ruck is significantly roomier. With this 5.11 ruck it seems there is an appropriate compartment for just about everything, from my Sig P938 (I keep it behind the black flap in the small multi-use compartment), to my medi-kit, my survival kit, my survival knife, compass, chow, GPS,