I guess if I was running the main bag fairly empty but wanted to have that space available if I need to pack out, I'd put all that stuff in the main bag, pockets and all. Then if I need to fill the main bag up with meat I'd rearrange everything to the outside of th pack. Similar to the way I'd have to rearrange my Nomad if I was adding a heavy load. Some things would go to the top of the sleeve pockets vs at the bottom, some to the lid if I didn't want to crush them....for me, if the main bag was empty and compressed as much as possible, it would have my spotter, tripod, etc inside it to eliminate the need for extra pockets. And with the panel loader, getting into it would be faster than opening two separate side pockets.