Mayhem EVO 45L Backpack

First of all, I really like this pack and I think it's very well designed for a single overnight mission. I have a Taller torso so I needed to go with the EVO 45 versus the EVO 30 L model. It holds quite a bit of gear. I like the top lid having two sequestered pockets, each with its own zipper: one on the left and one on the right that lay on top of each other. I also like the addition of the bilateral internal Daisy chains. I use tiny little carabiners to suspend gear like 550 cord etc. and the craftsmanship is spot on. The oversize zipper tabs are nice and easier to pull them long thin ones. I liked the blaze orange contrast to make things pop quite a bit more. There are a lot of great things about this product, but I need to focus on the areas where it can be improved. (HEY MountainSmith, I have more than 35 years in the backcountry and am more than happy to talk to the designers or even test gear for you!)

There are a few detractors which need to be addressed:
1. While this is rated for up to 55 pounds, a bit heavier load than the EVO 30L, the way spelt is identical to the EVO 30L. Hence, I question whether the waist belt is beefy enough to hold up to that extra weight over an extended period of time. I've only had it a few weeks using the EVO 45L now, but the padding in the waist belt is not a very firm pad and I feel it might break down sooner than it should. To remedy this, I think a dual density foam would be ideal in this case.
2. First: need more Molly webbing on the back of the pack to attach other pouches if needed. Search and Rescue (especially us in mountain rescue) is very niche and requires different configurations which are not afforded well by the current design. Second: The fixed runs of Molle straps on the waist belt don't mesh fully with the available webbing due to the snapping retention tabs being too short to encircle all of the Molle webbing on both surfaces. While the fixed funs of Molle webbing on the waist belt and the accessory pouches line up well, due to the short length of the retention tabs, with the snaps you are only able to use a total of three of the runs of the fixed webbing: Either two runs of the fixed webbing on the waist belt and one on an accessory pouch or two runs of the fixed webbing on the accessory pouch and one on the waist. You can't fully interlace all four of the runs of the fixed webbing, which is the purpose. Solution: Simply make the retention tabs longer.
3. I bought the medium accessory pouch to create a chest rig like the pictures in your product description, but there are no instructions on how to set it up. On the EVO 30L, a chest rig setup can easily be attached through the polymer buckle on the shoulder straps. However, this cannot be done on the Evo 45L because the existing strap doubles back through the buckle narrowing the space that you could attach the chest rig through the polymer buckle. The shoulder straps MUST have separate attachment points in this fashion that can move vertically along these shoulder straps.
4. The shoulder strap configuration needs to have the accessory pockets set lower on the straps so that they're not right up against your cheek when you bend your neck down. The strap padding should be long enough to move the accessory pockets lower on the straps by at least 4 more inches. The other option is to make the strapping system separate such as a small medium large torso strapping system. (However, you still need to set the accessory pouches lower because it will still hit the same place proportionally on a person who has a short, average or tall torso.)
5. You need to make a product video which shows how to utilize each of the different areas of the backpack. I DO NOT intend rudeness when I say this: Take a look at how Mystery Ranch does their product videos. Have examples of how how to reverse the stash pocket so that the blaze side is out; show a picture of the ice tools inset into the Hypalon sleeves; in the video show how to attach the optional chest rig set up that you show in the pictures; demonstrate some internal configurations utilizing the Molle strapping inside the stash pocket or the purpose of the Molly webbing on the inside of the backpack lid; demonstrate a radio setup utilizing the left shoulder strap radio pocket with the retention Velcro in place over the antenna, etc., etc.

OVERALL: I love this pack!

This pack is the most versatile pack on the market. Pockets and storage everywhere but nothing gets lost due to the different colored zippers and pulls.
The blaze orange interior makes it impossible to loose even the smallest item. The strap pockets can hold a marathon bottle, GPS AND radio. The external tiedowns hold trekking polls, snow shoes, and mountain axe perfectly.

Great all around pack. Love tthe interior accsss and organizational possibilities

I'm sold. Lots of pockets, designed for on-the-move access to essentials, and when you need to get into the main storage area boom, open the clamshell and your into all of it. So important when you're operating under extreme conditions and every moment is critical.