Gents, if I may, with reference to the quality of the MLC material......

I was a big fan of the Patagonia travel bags when they first came out and the original ones were all produced in either 1000D or ballistic nylon. These days Patagonia and some of the other brands decided that their clients might be more interested in purchasing products that are produced using recycled material. As a result the new MLCs are now made of this recycled PET fabric which is mostly Polyester, cheaper and easier to recycle than Nylon. That said, this PET fabrics are not cheap.

I understand Patagonia's good intention about using recycled materials but having tested some of these fabrics myself, I have to question it's selection for hard use products like travel gear.

Helm