I have had their top of the line (kumbu, or some such name). Top notch construction. I believe the very best in vests. However, if you are looking to carrying gear on longer hikes or over rough terrain while retaining access there are some problems with vests in general and in my opinion the only solution is a belt system.
While the Kumbu has lots of pockets, it is not comfortable when heavily loaded (I doubt that any vest is for that matter). On this one, the back pockets are not very accessible (which somewhat defeats the purpose of a vest). To get to lenses in the back side, I tied strings to them. This still required some contortion to reinsert them after use. Had the pocket been angled, they would be much more useful. The central huge pocket can hold a 500mm, tripod, or water. However, I found that with a 500, not surprisingly, I had to remove the vest to take it out. Furthermore, long walks with a large lens so stored was out of the question. If I were to get their vest I would stick to one of their smaller versions.
I have found a much better solution in the Kinesis system. I regularly use the belt, harness and camera holster. Large lenses such as the 500 can be carried with their large lens bag, or, as I have done in a lens pouch within their pack (however, either way getting to the 500 does require removal of the system, a terrible bother). The belt system and a front mounted holster can give you immediate access to a lots of gear while enabling long hard hikes with remarkably comfort. I have given up on shooting with a 500, and instead am organizing to use their hydration pack and a rigging system for holding a medium sized tripod on the back ontop of the hydration pack that will allow me access to the tripod without removal of the harness.
In short, carrying gear in a manner that makes it accessible and yet not hinder long hikes is beyond the capability of vests IMHO. Since photo packs are a) inaccessible and b)designed with 1960 backpack mentality, they do not solve the problem. Solutions such as a sling bag (I have the lowepro 300) are ok for light loads and mostly urban environments. Don't have any experience with the rotation 360 but does not look very workable to me. Seems like belts and harness is it. The only down side is that you wont make it to the cover of GQ in that outfit!
