Black DiamondUnisex Street Creek 24 Backpack Hiking Bags & Packs (pack of 1)

I've owned a few Black Diamond bags over the years and have always found them well thought through. This bag however is really my favourite taking top spot over the BBEE11.Let's start with my first Black Diamond bag:In 2006 I really got into rock climbing big time. I was off to Chamonix to spend a week climbing bolted sport routes and had never bought a pack specifically for rock climbing, just for hiking. I got a 33L speed pack. It was no wider than my back, tall, hugged in close to the body, one big stow compartment and I could sling a rope over the top under the hood. This pack is simply the most comfortable backpack I have and if I need to haul a lot around for a day, I use this.Next the BBEE11. This little bag is deceptive in it's capacity, which I suspect is due to it's minimal design. You can really get a lot in, or if you don't need to, just a few things without it feeling empty. This has been my most used pack and used in so many scenarios it's ridiculous. This little bag is great, but there was a new scenario in my life. Having a kid. Now I have a lot more to carry around!Next up is the Bullet 16. In the search for a bigger everyday do-it-all bag I tried this one out. More capacity than the BBEE11 but not overly big, and without unnecessary weird exterior straps and stretchy net things (i'm looking at you Lowe-Alpine, your packs really are horrible!). However, this is still a normal pack in the sense that you have to zip it shut, which means when you reach the limit, things that are the wrong shape just won't fit in any more; cue 5 minutes of faffing around re-organising the bag to put the bigger stuff at the bottom. Also there is a big problem with this pack; the shoulder straps are too far apart. They are made with someone much broader than me, and I'm not really a small person at 178cm. It's just not comfortable.Enter Street Creek 24. And here it is, the bag that removes all the compromises of my previous do-it-all packs. The stow bag design is simply brilliant. It's a tube bottom to top, no tapering or top zip to close up. In addition it has an extendable draw string top for when you need to extra-load it. It has all the extra zip up small compartments for bits n pieces, think phone, wallet, hand sanitiser, keys, sun cream, snacks etc. What's really nice here is if you don't fill it, when you close it up, the top portion flattens reducing the volume of the bag so it doesn't look/feel big and empty. So do I need my BBEE11 now? Maybe not. Do I need the Speed33L? Yeah, but just for hiking/climbing trips.

I was looking for a bag that I could take to the office and to the climbing wall afterwards, this is perfect. The dedicated laptop section fits a MacBook pro 15", and the main compartment is easily roomy enough to hold everything else. Comments re the front pocket opening when you pick it up and that the rain can get in the top baffle me. The pocket stays closed for me, and there is a roll-over rain cover stowed in a zippered compartment for when you need it. It's big enough to take everything I need for a 5 day business trip.

Nicely constructed and light; the fabric has an unusual rippled texture to it.I returned this as the height of the bag was 45cm and felt a bit small on my 190cm frame!

Get it!!!!! Brilliant. Like a tardis.

Bought it for both work and climbing, it is perfect for both!