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Here are some of my observations on the Side Access Zipper. I hope others chime in and give their preferences as well.

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.

Example of day usage gear

Side zip for sure. Never been a top loader only fan except strictly for backpacking, and even then not so much.

I'll agree 100% with your thoughts, side zip on the larger bags for sure,while not entirely necessary for the smaller bags.

Agreed. I've opted for no side zip on my 4800 since I plan to use if for backpacking in wet weather, I can organize my gear down as needed and it's one less place that water could come in.

We have two 4800 bags and opted for no side zips. For us that is way cleaner and simpler. The stuff we need to access during the day is on top of the pack and we have no problems with getting to it through the roll top. Since we are packrafting we like to keep the chances of water getting in as minimal as possible. A zipper introduces more complexity and another potential point of failure.

I have the 6300 and can't imagine not having a side zip.

My plan is to eventually get a 6300 with a side zip. From everything I've seen and heard, the 6300 is a very large bag, so not having the side access would make getting to items in the bottom difficult.

I would def say sidezip

I have the side zip on my 4800 but I wish I had not ordered it. I never use it and it renders the pack less than water proof. Just my 2 cents