Field Report Worksheet - Vol. 06

Copy this per bag. Answer from use, and leave blanks blank; an empty field is information about how little the bag has been tested.

Identity

Model, colorway, material stack, and the SKU-level names rather than family names
Acquired (month and year), price paid, and whether it replaced something
Published capacity, dimensions, empty weight, load limit

The brief versus the role

What the product page said it was for
What it actually carried in the first month
What it actually carried in the sixth month
Which existing bag lost a role when this arrived, if any

Load and geometry

Largest object that must fit, with its measured dimensions including case
Which cavities can be filled at the same time
Which pockets went unused, and whether they were too small, too deep, or too undivided

Access

Steps required to reach the most-retrieved item, counted
Steps required to reach the most-secured item, counted
Anything that must be opened, moved, or set down first

Body and comfort

Load at which it stops being comfortable
Where it makes contact, sweats, or shifts
Whether the harness adjusts once and stays, or needs constant correction

Weather

What the fabric did in real rain, as opposed to what the datasheet claims
Whether seams, zippers, or openings leaked first
Whether a liner or dry bag was needed anyway

Wear at inspection

Zipper drag, slider alignment, end stops
Strap roots, handle attachments, bottom corners
Repeated fold lines, checked in oblique light for cloudiness or bubbles
Coated surfaces for tack, flaking, or immediate darkening under water
Leather, if present, for dryness at flex points and edges

Verdict

Kept, demoted, or sold, and the specific reason
The one sentence this bag taught
Whether the lesson was about the bag or about the owner

That last question is the one that makes the file worth keeping. Most retired bags in this volume were not defective. They were evidence about a person who had not yet measured their own load.