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I haven't put this through it's paces quite yet, but I can say it is a considerable upgrade over any sub-$150 bag or soft case. It splits the difference between size, protective ability, and storage about the best you possibly could. Any more room for storage or more padding would push this into the bulky range. It definitely has more storage than any other mono bag, but it's still a bit restrictive in that category. I can either fit an amp or all my cables in the big pocket- not both. However it is much more secure of a pocket for keeping something breakable like an amp in it. There are tons of fun places to hide tools, picks, cables, pens, protein bars, and straps. The big pocket easily fits all my cables (I carry quite a few), two straps, a mic, and a 24 oz water bottle- lose a cable or two and the mic and a 64 oz bottle could even fit in there, though it'd be a little tight. It really isn't that much bigger or unwieldy than any other $100+ bag; in fact it's stiff enough that you don't feel like you gotta be nice to it when shoving it into the back of Ford Focus station wagon filled with your bandmates and your girlfriend's weird performance art stuff. Very easy to toss out the back of a van with no worries- it will bounce. I never thought I'd be able to say that about a soft case. It's also very light- it weighs less than my previous, less expensive bag when loaded with the same stuff and just *feels* lighter somehow. The straps, especially the backpack straps, all feel lighter- the same 2 mi walk feels much less labored than with my old bag. Like I said I haven't put it through it's paces yet, but this bag has been around long enough to know that the most heavy users will get about 5 years worth out of it before it feels time to replace. I think that's worth $250, same as 3 years of heavy use was worth $129 to me with my previous bag. I really appreciate not having to switch from bag to case when going on tour, around town, and on an airplane. If I was forced to check this on an airplane I wouldn't be too worried, and I would gate check this thing every day of my life with 100% confidence. Dirt has been easy to get out of it so far, and the fabric seems designed to accommodate that. Finally, the padding and cradling around the endpin is super well designed and is the main reason I upgraded to Mono. This part is critical for any bag, and these folks spent good effort to make this part secure and worry-free.

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