tl;dr: Backpack - 5 stars; Bladder - 2 stars My daughter has just taken to riding her bike...and she wants to go everywhere! So, I bought the two of us hydration packs for our long journeys. Since I was going cheap, I decided to get two different brands (one for her and one for me) just in case one of them turned out to be a dud. Unfortunately, that one turned out to be mine. I got the "Mubasel Gear" pack for my daughter, and I'm much happier with her pack's bladder. The bladders and straws between our two packs look almost identical - save for this pack's being 2.5L where the Mubasel Gear pack is 2L. The difference is how the straw connects to the bladder. On hers, it's a quick-fit connection where the bladder has a valve such that it remains closed when the straw is not connected. This pack has a threaded connection which has no such valve. So, if you go to fill the bladder without the straw connected - like I did this morning - water starts pouring out of the bottom of the bladder! While this does not sound like much of an issue at first (I know some of you are saying, "Just connect the straw before you fill the bladder!" it's not as simple as that. First, you have to thread the straw through the loops on the backpack straps then up through the top of the back into the bladder pouch. Now you need to screw the end of the straw into the port on the bladder - which is now harder because the straw is threaded through the backpack, meaning you can't twist the straw around to actually screw it into the port. Once you manage all of that, now you have to hold your whole backpack up to the fridge to fill it with ice and water instead of just holding the bladder. So, anyway, I get through all of that and clean up the spill (remember, I first started filling without the straw connected), and then we head out on our ride. 30 minutes in, and my back is starting to feel wet. Sure enough, the bladder is leaking. I'm almost certain it's because of the screw-in port. On the plus side, it's a slow leak. In the 2.5 hours we were riding, I probably lost ~500ml due to the leak. The downside: the water did not stay in the insulated compartment with the bladder. It leaked through and made a puddle in the adjoining compartment - with my wallet and phone! In comparison, my daughter's pack, at the end of the ride, was completely dry - and we filled her bladder to the brim at the start. The backpack itself I am very happy with. Plenty of storage, great compartments, maybe just a tad small for me (I'm 6', 180lbs) or perhaps just smaller than backpacks I'm used to, but it was still very comfortable. Also, all of the seams seem well made, and I would fully expect this backpack to last at least a few years. I half expected the insulation to be a total gimmick, but it did seem to help. While I didn't have any ice at the end of our ride (only filled about 1/4 to 1/3 with ice), the water was still nice and cool. And the padding+weave on the pack helped to keep my back cool - or maybe that was just the leaking water :-) If you already have a good bladder, and you're looking for a new backpack, then I would highly recommend this pack. However, if you're looking for both the pack and bladder, I can't recommend this simply due to the bladder issues I had. I may give my bladder one more shot and see if I have the same problems. If I continue to have the same problems, I will either need to find a new bladder, or I will end up buying a pack like I got my daughter.