Deuter Cruise 30 Day pack

thoughtful design
I wanted a smallish pack for day outings on non-technical routes, but one that's still well made. I think this pack will suffice. I'm a largish, middle-aged man, and am sometimes frustrated by the fact that packs in this volume range are "one size fits all." This pack seems to fit well when compared to others in the category. The pack also has some interesting features which, though they add weight to what should be a fairly light pack, may prove to be useful. The ability to use the compression straps to attach snowshoes to the front of the pack is cleaver. I was also pleased with the design of the internal shovel holder. It's actually big enough to do the job. I do have some concerns about the zipper that opens the back panel up to offer easy access to the pack's contents. While it's convenient, it also worries me. It appears to be load-bearing, which means that if it fails, it could spell disaster. While such zippers are great on backpack style camera bags, they have no place in the backcountry. Given that it's there, I'll just have to be that much more carful to not to stress the zipper by overloading the pack. The fact that the pack lacks a "floating lid" (a feature that I strongly prefer), may help me in this effort. This is my second Deuter pack, and they seem to be one of the more inovative companies out there right now. While I'm not enamored with the zipper or the fixed lid, I think I'm going to be pleased with it.