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 On: 2007-03-08
Im a grunt (infantryman) in Americas armed forces. Last deployment to Iraq I had this well-designed Camelbak product to carry my water and other essential gear on missions, such as MREs, demolitions, etc. This pack stood up to not only an entire 7-month combat tour (constant operations in urban terrain), but also all the months of grunt training prior to and following.
Great water capacity (3 liters) with large bladder mouth for easy, quick refilling (a godsend when compared to the small mouths of standard issue Camelbaks). Has two attachable compartments (a larger one and a smaller one) that can be easily removed/reattached depending on your needs. There is also a long, thin zipper pocket on the base of the pack where a camouflage tarp thing is stored (is supposedly for covering the Camelbak to make it camouflaged). I tore this out and threw it away early on as the pocket is more useful empty than filled with that ridiculous tarp thing. There is also another small compartment underneath this one with two zipper openings (on either side).
The bladder compartment is unzipped from the side where ones back rests against the pack when worn. The padding there is great, as well as the padding of the straps. The straps are well-made and durable. Ive flung this pack off and on hundreds and hundreds of times in stressful situations (usually grabbing it up solely by the right-hand strap), and the straps havent torn off like most packs straps do.
There is also some MOLLE weave (military people will know what this is) in two or three places for you to attach other gear.
The only negatives with this Camelbak are two minor things: 1) the clip for the cross-chest strap was so fragile that I think it broke literally after a few days of "grunt use", and the strap length is not adjustable. This is minor though because I never needed to or wanted to use the strap, and 2) the zipper for the compartment that holds the bladder becomes difficult to operate smoothly after several months, it begins to require some muscle power to jerk it unzipped/zipped. This, also, is minor because thats just the way zippers are, and its such a great Camelbak that this is easily forgiven: Im surprised that the zipper actually still functions after all my abuse!
Of course, the bladder wears down after several months of heavy use (Im just now needing to replace it), but that is normal and to be expected.
Overall, an excellent piece of gear for military types. Rugged, long-lasting, functional, especially for grunts who need to carry a bit of extra gear (not too much extra though). Honestly, I love my Transformer, though its almost in tatters by now! Still, Im taking it to Iraq with me AGAIN (with bladder replaced).
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