Lowe Alpine Appalachian rucksack

[Digby]

Do you own a Lowe Alpine Appalachian rucksack? Have you been pleased with it? How does it perform? What do you like most? Are there any drawbacks? What are its best features?

[Marmot]

Now this is a subject i can talk about.
Lowe alpine bags are more geared towards walking, this is obvious due to the large side pockets which would get in the way for a climber, as you can see most berghaus bags - for example the berghaus extreme expedition, has no, or flattened side pockets
the lowe alpine back measuring system is very clever, and ensure that bags are fitted correctly to your back length
ive had my appalachian for about 3 years and has gone on all my expeditions, the only down side is that its so bit - close on 100 litres i tend to fill it, alot of weight usually!
its gone though alot, been used as a bear bag and on river crossing and all zips are fully functional and haven't jammed, the matterial is strong stuff and hasn't worn
A useless design feature is the draw string closure thingy inside the main bag which separates the internal chamber into two chambers, a feature i have never used
It does have a fixed structure, which is great for support, but tends to make the bag fill up alot of space even when empty