The advantages of the zipper is easy access, especially for day usage , or during times of the year (late season / winter) where a talon is not enough for insulation. The drawback, is the extra weight, and the potential for water to enter. However, for normal backpacking usage the water issue is not a big deal due to the flap and compression and zipper orientation.
Personally, the 6300 bag is large. On a bag the size of the 6300 I would want one all the time. It's a gigantic bag, and I could not imagine having to go through the entire bag.
On the 4800 and 3900 size bags I can go either way with it. For standard Backpacking , I don't need it as I can organize my stuff decently. However, I often use the pack bag without a talon for long day usage, and when I do this I vastly prefer the side zip. It makes finding stuff and access so easy, In fact I rarely even touch the roll top except at the trail head.
Once again these are just my observations and preferences. If I had to choose one, I would go with side zip to allow myself the better day usage , or non talon usage.Statistics: Posted by kevin_t — Tue May 06, 2014 7:17 am
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