Just got home from my first weekend with the Escape pack. It performed flawlessly: it didn't slip down, and it carried the load very comfortably - a couple of rest stops, I forgot to take it off. The padding is just enough to be comfortable, and the torso adjusted to a perfect length. The feature set was perfect: everything was just where it was most useful.

The framesheet conformed well to my back, and didn't twist or flex under a load. The padding was not as thick as other Granite Gear packs, but it's more of a closed-cell foam than an open-cell foam, so it doesn't have to be as thick to give equal comfort. And it is as comfortable as any of the other Granite Gear packs I've ever used. I can't comment on the "Aircurrent" ventilation - I was hiking in 85-degree heat, with 80% humidity (except when it was actually raining.) Under such conditions, my back has always been wet, regardless of what pack I used (including the old external frame packs, with the drum-tight mesh backbands that held the bag away from your back.) It wasn't any hotter than any other pack.

The only flaw I noticed was that, if I turned the pack so the water bottle pocket pointed downward, the bottle fell out if it was full (stupid gravity!) - so I learned not to spin or twirl it.

It also worked well as a pad extender at night.

I'm really pleased with this pack.