Favorite Gear Bag?

I'm designing a new bag for climbing, hunting, fishing ("adventures") for holding all your gear while in the field and when traveling.

What features would you like in it? What would be your dream gear travel bag? Thanks!

I've always been a fan of clamshell style packs simply because you don't have to pull everything out to get to stuff at the bottom. That being said, I've yet to find one that truly carries as well as a top loader.

On climbing day trips or weekend trips, top loaders with minimal pockets are fine but, on extended trips of all kinds it's nice to have a good amount of pockets for organizations sake. I like to be able to pull out whatever I want, quickly, in the dark. Not possible if everything is in one pocket.

Brain pockets are nice for quick storage of smaller items. Should have a keychain leash.

Another thing that has always bugged me about current packs is if you pack your main compartment full, any remaining outside pockets are rendered useless and are a pain to put anything else in.

Also, earth tones. These bright red, bright orange, etc. packs you see these days are great if you want lots of attention and great colorful Instagram photos but I want the option to hide my pack.

I always thought an idea like this might work well:

Oh yeah, and a dedicated reservoir pocket that's close to the back that you can access from outside the pack.

I'd want something that's durable and waterproof similar to the Creek series from BD. Here's what's great about the Creek series:

Full length double zipper to access the stuff in the bottom of the pack and to make loading super easy. Simple: Two pockets and a hydration port. Simple closure and rope attachment. Waterproof sides and bottom with an easy "hood" to waterproof the top.

Here's what I'd add: beefy attachment points for ice tools and crampons, and large stuff pockets on the outside, similar to the Trango Crag Bag. Ideally, I'd be able to stuff a shell in one and a guidebook in another.

Hip belts are crucial and so is padding. Personally, I want a pack with beefy padding that I can load my whole rack in and carry 2 hours without my shoulders hurting. Misty Mountain and BD do a good job on their beefy packs, with Misty using Bluewater webbing that they just pad the shit out of. The webbing makes it super easy to adjust as its pretty slick, and obviously durable.

Where I feel you could really make a big difference would be to have all this available in a 18-25L pack, as I have seen 40L packs with similar features, but never the multi-pitch packs.

Lastly, I'd disagree with Dan to some degree, in that I want brightly colored packs. It makes things safer in the alpine, makes pictures look better, etc. I think the key is options... bright colors, earth colors, and neutral colors. You could also always have an earth toned rainfly built in that could be used to stash the pack like Don suggested!

Make the interior color light/bright so gear is easier to locate. It sucks digging through a black lined bag in the dark.

Put a decent hip belt on it. My favorite small packs are the DaKine HeliPro line because the hip belt is more than just webbing. It is nice to be able to transfer the weight to your hips, even with a moderately light pack.

Another nice feature is the ability to really cinch the pack down. If the pack is 1/2 full, I like to be able to pull the bulk closer to my back, making for a slimmer profile for climbing.