An item such as a backpack may best be judged, in my opinion, by its durability. So, I will qualify my review by first saying that as I assess this one, mine is almost new, and I may edit my review at some future time. I bought this bag largely because of good reviews from almost everyone on Amazon and elsewhere, as compared with indifferent reviews on some other similar backpack/bags. It is definitely versatile, no question there. Can be used as a backpack, a large shoulder bag, or a carry on. It has three handles on it so that it may be carried vertically or horizontally as a suitcase. Also important is the fact that it is partitioned inside. I own another backpack which basically has two rather large compartments, and the problem is that everything makes its way to the bottom of it, rendering poor weight distribution. This one also offers good accessibility to all of the compartments without having to remove everything. Personally, I expect that despite the term "weekender" used to describe it, I could pack more like a weeks' worth of summer gear into it, or 3-5 days worth of winter things. As I said I may do a follow up to this review after a thorough travel test with this, but so far, it at least appears to be the best one I have seen in this size range. FOLLOW UP: After having used this bag for a couple of fairly lengthy trips, I give it even higher praise than before: it has proven to be durable as well as versatile. The only slight problem I can see with it is that with it expanded, it will not go into some overhead comapartments if heavily packed. This is, of course, from overstuffing it, not because of any fault with the bag itself, but just beware if you fill it to the limit it will no longer go into the overhead of some planes.