Have just purchased this compression bag and although the bag itself is fine no thought has gone into the design with respect to the actual usage of it.
It is impossible to fill this bag fully prior to compression as the straps are about 300mm too short, they need pulling to the side round the top in order to facilitate filling the bag but as they are too short, even when fully extended, when the bag expands at the top the straps pull the bottom up loosing about 20% of the capacity.
I put a sleeping bag in mine and had to remove the straps from the buckles so the bag would open up lengthways sufficiently to get the sleeping bag in.
It was a nice snug fit but the straps being too short would then not reach the buckles making the 'compression' part of its name impossible.
My initial thought was to return it, but then what?
My cure was to cut 2 more lengths of strap about a foot longer than the originals from a couple of ratchet straps, the cheap orange ones, melted the ends so they don't fray and stitched a fold at each end as on the originals.
Sorted, not only does the bag now work as it should but the black bag with the orange straps also looks great, much better than it did with the black straps.
If the bag performed and looked like it does now I would have given it 5 stars instead of 2.