I've got a heck of a case of GAS - Gear Acquisition Syndrome! Peak Design fuels my needs. I've owned a few of their straps (The leash and the cuff) for a few months now, and can openly say I'm very happy with the anchor link system and the overall fit and finish of the straps themselves. They ooze quality. When I first saw the Everyday Backpack, I knew I'd have one at some point, and well, here we are!
I grabbed the 20L charcoal colored variant, which fits my straps pretty well with the red stitching and black Hypalon accents. It's considerably smaller than my 5.11 Tactical Rush 12 (24L) at 12L, but it has a number of advantages over it. First, it's shell is pretty much weatherproof. I can't tell you the number of times I've been stuck out with the Rush 12 in rain, only to have it get damp inside. I've never lost anything to water, but having some of your backpack goods get damp after a walk to work isn't super fun. The Everyday Backpack on the other hand has stood up to snowstorm walks without breaking a sweat! It's also structured well! The inside has a few modular folding panels that Peak Design called Flex-Fold - These provide some extra structure to the bag, and extra organization for carrying cameras, lenses, external hard drives, shoes, lunch, or whatever else you want to use the bag for.
These Flex-Fold dividers allow for another great feature the Everyday Backpack has over the Rush 12 - Side access. With the Rush 12, everything was basically dumped into the bag, and it would have to be fully unzipped to take stuff out of the bottom, the Everyday Backpack can be unzipped on either side to quickly access things. To assist with that, the straps also have a quick release, allowing you to easily swing the bag around in front of you, open it up, and grab what you desire on the go.
Now, the 12 liter storage capacity isn't a lot, but it's very flexible and expandable up to 20 liters if necessary. The one handed mag latch to open the top facilitates that. I've taken the bag configured for 2 shoots so far, and it held everything I needed plus more. Heck, if I needed more I could just strap it to the outside with the hidden outer straps.
The one spot I found it lacking though was organization. Now, the side flaps do have a fair number of pockets which are very stretchy and high quality, however I think the Rush 12 has a much more organized admin pouch on the front. The Everyday Backpack makes up for this with a couple hidden areas and a tablet section in the laptop sleeve, but I've made up for the rest by getting one of the charcoal field pouches for extra organization. I can just throw it in the main compartment which I don't use for a huge amount anyway.
Overall, it feels good, looks good, holds well, and catches eyes. This is a fantastic everyday bag and has performed well beyond my expectations. I wouldn't use it as a main bag for a 2 week trip abroad like with the Rush 12, but it would make a fantastic day/tech bag, and is perfectly capable for overnight trips.
Now, the only thing to catch more eyes and raise more questions than the bag itself would be the Capture Clip v3, oddly enough. This little quick release plate secures easily to a backpack strap and holds my camera very steady. It's made sure it's very easily accessible when needed, and doesn't jostle around a lot when moving. I'm still up in the air on this vs a strap, but I can see this being a lot more useful when travelling/hiking. Another fun note on the plate that secures to the bottom of your camera is fully compatible with Arca Swiss style tripod heads. I have a Zomei Q666, and it fits on the head without issue.