Got me the Hawg since I've been using a Mule for over 10 years and it still goes strong. The Mule is used when mountain biking basically only carrying the water, some spares and tools and a little bit of food. I've also used it for running but I now have a smaller one that suits running better.Getting to the Hawg, I liked the idea of a slighly bigger pack that would also carry a sweater, a SLR, food & water and a PSK. I didn't want a real camping daypack (I already have a Deuter), just something you can take for day hikes without going overboard. The Hawg might even be a little bit too big.
I went for the camo version as it fits the area were I live well, I usually avoid camo on account of the wannabees wearing it but I wanted a brownish colour and most other packs available had rather garrish colours. I mean who wants to look like a traffic light in the wild.
The molle attachment points are quite useful, I immediately added a knife (tan howler) with a similar coloured sheath. The upside down carry works well and you can still get the blade without taking the pack off.
I prefer kydex sheaths and it is annoying to carry them while wearing a pack as the belt is at the same level, hence the solution with the pack. The colour makes it also less visible.
You can adapt the size of the Hawg well to you own preferences and the Omega reservoir is great to fill. I think one of the key issues is that you can fill the bladder without having to empty the pack as it has its own compartment & zipper.
I don't know if the compartment is waterproof, hope so at least. It keeps that water cool;the thermo proofing is decent. You can lock the valve and it even has a cover to keep dirt away.
It fits enough stuff, for my use I would not have minded if it was a little bit smaller, I tend to overload. Lots of small pockets to put stuff in it. :thumbup: One of the nags is that none of the pockets can really be closed. One or to closable ones would be helpful for changes or a couple of smaller items.:thumbdn:
Another nag is the back. Yes it keeps you somewhat dry but to tell you the truth the netting on a deuter bag is more effective. :thumbdn: It is so easy to copy such small things to make a perfect pack.
Summary: its a great pack and I can really recommend it. Couple of nags but nothing major and if you can overlook the silly names that Camelbak uses on all its common sense pieces then this is one to get. Overall :thumbup:
