I am a college student so I filled this backpack with heavy textbooks and this backpack has held up fine. I love the padded shoulder straps, they are so comfortable! The backpack has one main compartment, a  second slightly smaller compartment, and a front compartment that has several small pockets and zipper areas in it ( great for pens and pencils.) There is also  2 small zipper areas on the outside, one for a Mp3 player with a headphone cord opening and one on the front for money or whatever you choose to put in it. 2 side pockets for bottled beverages, and a mesh pocket on the strap that I use for my cell phone. I also plan to use this pack for hiking trips. I love it!