There’s a healthy amount of padding on the hips and shoulders of this pack, although it does squash down fairly quickly in use, and can be sweaty. There is also some rather strange lateral padding across the neck, which just gets in the way. Bellows pockets on the side are big enough for a flask or water bottle, but do impinge on internal space a little. Compression straps can also get in the way of the pocket zippers. Fabric feels durable.