I own several Maxpedition packs, slings, and bags that accompany me while bicycling, shopping, hiking in the woods, or just hanging out at the local coffee shop. Depending on what I’m doing, I might be carrying a notebook, iPad, books, extra sweater, water, raincoat, lunch, or a dozen other things, and different packs are better for different tasks. The Noatak is great for biking, the Neatfreak for work, and the Versipacks for short hikes and daily carry. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The Versipacks are very convenient on short hikes, but look a bit too “commando” for every day use, and don’t carry well on a bicycle. The Neatfreak is low key, but barely big enough to carry an iPad, charger, and a few pens and pencils. Even though it shares a lot of the military style and features like PALS loops with other legacy Maxpedition packs, the Pygmy Falcon-II doesn’t look out of place in the city. The new Wolf Grey color makes it look more like a piece of luggage and less like commando gear, yet it’s still a good color for blending in when hiking. The interior organization provides plenty of storage for electronic gear, pens, pencils, and books, while still providing enough room for everything I need on a day hike. The two water bottle pockets allow me to carry two or three pints of water externally, and an interior sleeve provides a place to hold a hydration bladder for longer hikes and bicycle trips. The bottom of the pack is a piece of heavy duty waterproof material- a necessity in the wilderness- and there’s plenty of space to attach external pockets and lash on bulky clothing. Most small backpacks cheap out on the details, and have thin shoulder straps that roll under load, but the straps on this pack are firm and wide and comfortable under a heavy load. It looks small, but with a rated capacity of 1100 cubic inches (18 liters) it can carry a lot more than you might expect. It’s a small pack built to the same standards as Maxpedition’s biggest packs, and that alone was enough to convince me to buy it.