Study and well constructed bag. I carry a maxpedition gearslinger daily with the essentials and have been looking for a backpack style go bog that distributes the weight across my entire back and has a little more capacity and functionality. I dumped my old trunk go bag which was a old medium rucksack style bag and put the contents and more in this bag. I just bought a Baja Dry Sack by SealLine 10 bag and it fits fine inside the Condor II with a change of clothes (less pants) and a 6x8 lightweight wool blanket. 2 Mountain house entrees and a breakfeast. Holds my Esbit 3-Piece Cook set and mcnett tactical towel. There is still enough room for 32oz water bottle inside. Outer pockets have duct tape, a field repair kit flint and steel with firestarters in a Altoid tin, 100ft parachord, 2 heavy duty contractor bags rolled, compass, notepad, Isreali bandage, sas survival handbook, playing cards and a Heavy duty thermal blanket (Olive drab on one side - Mylar on the other) in the hydration pouch. The 5.11 6x6 and first aid pouches fit under large compartment zippers on the molle system. They are currently on my gearslinger but can be switched over quickly. Plenty of molle leftover for the Gerber and flashlight pouches on my gearslinger to be moved over as well. I haven't used the straps on the bottom but have been looking for a tarp and sleeping bag pad to put underneath. The interior slit pouch has a contour map of each of the 3 regions i visit most frequently in a ziplock.The waist belt and chest belt work just fine. They are not designed to transfer the weight, however they are designed to keep the bag from shifting. They do this just fine. The waist belt is high enough that it doesnt hamper my draw capability. I have seen reviews describing the side straps as compression. They are not designed for this. I use the straps to help keep my hatchet handle tight to the bag and unshifting. The other straps keep my folding saw from shifting around on the opposite side. Id say I only have it loaded to ...30 maybe 35lbs. The shoulder strap system isnt designed for 50+lbs nor should it be. You need a frame backback if you want a tent, 3 changes of clothes etc.I did have to return my first bag because the handle stitching had a flaw in it and created a larger hole the bag material than i expected, I suspected it was just where the stitching machine severed the nylon weave creating a hole. Not major but i exchanged it because i in part wanted to see if it was an abnormality or standard and didn't want the bag to start off with a weak point. Got the next bag from amazon and concluded it was just a abnormality. So much so i have 2 Condors now, foliage and kahki. Well my son has the kahki but im claiming both.Update - the bottle pouches from maxpedition are expensive but have tog get a bottle holder or something for my nagaline 32oz and metal cup it nests in. Hydration bladders are fine but you cant boil out pathogens is something plastic. The ezbit 3 piece stove does have a cup 16oz. Keep hydration capacity and refilling in mind when outfitting.