I Would give the backpack 4.6 stars. I am replacing a 10 year old Jansport Odyssey 38. straps started to fray and elastic was loosing it. The new model of the 38 has been scaled way back and no longer would fit my needs. I wanted a backpack I could use for work, put under the airplane seat and use as a daypack for hiking. It is 35 liters, and is wider than my Odyssey, but the Odyssey achieved 38 liters by bulging out 12". The semi stiff back panel is flexible enough to cram under an airplane seat.PROSVersatile, with many pockets. Like the semi hard back and covers on upper center, and lower side zippered pockets.Bottom zippered compartment is perfect for my raincoat, I always have it and it is out of the way.Front center compartment has the small inner pockets for pens, calculator, etc. In part makes this an urban crossover pack which I wanted.Inner main compartment is huge, with another unzippered pouch inside which is great for my electronics.Back zippered pouch easily handles my 15.6" laptop and provides protection, it has another sleeve in it too.Upper "Star Wars Looking" hardened zippered compartment is felt lined, great for glasses or headphones.Small zippered pouches on upper sides are for the misc stuffCONSWould have liked more padding on the shoulder straps, but OKWaste strap could have been more padded, and would have been good to have a place to tuck it away. I wrapped mine around the front and clipped them together.There is no mesh bottle holder. That being said I put my 750ml Camelback in the side zippered compartment and it disappears, they are that big. I can easily fit a 1 liter in them.Zippers are very stiff and have to have the material lined up to operate smoothly. I need to lubricate them somehow, I haven't done that yet. I wish the big compartment had 2 zippers. Also they zip from the back to the front, they should zip the other direction, so things don't fall out if you forget to zip all the way. 2 zippers would be better. This way the water bottle would be an easy grab and then the mesh pocket would not be needed.OVERALL4.6 stars, mostly due to the shoulder padding and the zippers. I have gotten many compliments on the backpack. Pricey, yes, but some of the features I would find are top quality like my Gregory Baltoro 70. I haven't used it as a daypack, but it will be fine. Construction is good. I will need to pick up a rain fly for it, it is not waterproof.