[dublinben]

Your criticisms are pretty off the mark for ultralight backpacks. Nobody is expecting lifetime durability from a backpack weighing only 17 oz. Frameless bags (capacity <20 lbs) regularly omit the waist strap to save weight.

Some people want to buy a 5 lb backpack made of 1000D nylon that will outlast them. Other people want a 5 oz backpack made of an exotic material like Cuben or silnylon that will let them achieve a baseweight of under 15 lbs.

[CmdrSprinkles]

My point is more that this looks like it might not even have one trip durability. Even your example are two very durable materials designed to not tear. This is cheap plastic...

As for dropping the straps: You are right. A light backpack doesn't need them and I even removed them from my "taking a train into the city" backpack. But considering that one of the example pictures was a "look how durable this is! It carries 25 lb of rock with no issues", it is a factor.

Hence, if your use case is that you need something that looks nice while you go to school or walk around town, this is great. If you need any form of durability because having your bag break and needing to carry stuff by hand isn't an option: this isn't.