Although I will use this for riding my motorcycle and mountain bike, I primarily wanted this for exploring in the woods. I needed to carry a lot of equipment to document old home sites and graves. I wanted to be able to evenly distribute the weight, carry water & food, and not get hung up walking through brush. This has worked on all accounts. I have been out on several trips now carrying 40 ounces of water (2 1/2 bottles), pistol, taser, 100 ft tape measure, layers of clothing, food, sharpies, note cards, camera, underwater camera, gps, dog food, flashlights, metal detector and accruements, marking tape, and other miscellaneous items. Everything but the metal detector fits inside the vest pockets, with some room to spare. It allows me to spread out the load. Although that's a lot of weight, it is fairly comfortable. I'm only 5'4 and about 180. It would fit a much bigger person. I tried the Troy Lee vest first and had to return it because the large was way too small. I moved the water into the smaller back pocket, which allows the larger one to be free for clothing. I can still carry 2 1/2 bottles of water in the flask. All in all, this is the vest backpack that I hoped it would be. I do wish they had added Velcro inside the front pockets to aid in securing a holster - the pocket is too big, so I've got to figure out how to make it not move around. Edit, 2022: The vest is still holding up very well. It holds a LOT of gear. I'm still very pleased and only wish it had one place to clip the taser holster. Otherwise, it is perfect. On Tuesday, I carried the following items on a 3 1/2 mile no-trail hike: water, food, 3 flashlights, crayfish measuring tool, camera, jacket, brushes for the grave stones, dry erase placard, first aid kit, extra socks, garbage bags, flagging tape, flags, snacks, phone, compass, id, and more. There was room to carry more! It is not uncomfortable.