I am a large guy so I had it packed to the hilt, with 2 laptops and the gear to support, some mags and books some gifts and other stuff and the zippers worked easily no stressing.When I returned I had about 1/3 what I took with me and it was compact like a day pack by pulling the reinforcement straps tight and its small again.I used the rain cover when I landed in Hono cause we walked in rain to ou