For those that have the ZPacks Arc Haul, I am curious about the features, especially if you have used the pack on the trail. In particular, I am curious about the belt pockets. I have used pockets in my Osprey Exos and other packs for small incidental items from time to time, but generally don't keep much in them. However without having a top lid where I normally keep a rain jacket, first aid kit, and maybe a toiletry kit (toilet paper), Steri-pen, and perhaps other odds and ends such as a cell phone or head lamp from time to time, I think I would use the belt pockets often on this pack. Any insight from others in how useful you find these pockets and maybe a sampling of what you keep in them would be useful.
I am thinking that the first aid kit and rain jacket and maybe some other items could ride in the back mesh pocket okay. However I also have some concern as to whether these items might fall out of the mesh pocket during trail use. So, I guess that's another question - how secure do you feel items in the large mesh pocket are? I usually try to keep my tent, sleeping bag, clothing bag, etc. inside my pack. I use a Tarptent Double rainbow unless I am hammocking, and it doesn't seem it would fit well in the outside mesh pocket. Is there plenty of room inside the pack to contain most items and only use the mesh pocket in case of need for wet gear, camp shoes, rain gear, or the other small things that I might want handy? Someone had mentioned somewhere about having the large mesh pocket split in half horizontally as a custom feature on, I think, an Arc Blast. This might be intriguing to keep wet gear separate from things I just want to keep handy. Does anyone wish they had done that?
I also seldom use side pockets for anything beyond holding my trekking poles when not in use or a snow stake (see below), as I use a water bottle and hydration tubing for water on the trail, and even if I carry extra water, I dislike having it on the outside of the pack getting warm. Do those of you using a hydration bladder with this pack, do you miss the hydration pocket?
Finally, I like to clip a few things onto attachment points of the pack such as a mini-carabineer to hold a bottle of hand sanitizer, a pinch light (usually combined on one) and a snow stake that I use as a trowel, which I usually slide into a side pocket and use a bit of cord to attach it to one of the loops that compression straps fit through. It looks like this would still be feasible with the Haul.
I am about to bite the bullet and order quickly hoping to receive it my Mid-April, so any quick insight is appreciated.