I've had one for a couple of years, large size, and I'm quite happy with it. I've seen the criticism's you mentioned, but have had no problem's with the drawstrings. (I'll probably snap one now) I think the padding is perfectly adequate, others may disagree. The first time I used it and rolled it up wet I noticed air bubbles coming up through the stitching, I thought that this may indicate it would absorb water, but has not been the case. The eyelets have a bit of rust on them, but remain intact. I think ESP used to advertise that that it was suitable for carrying fish back to the water, I have not used it for this as I don't think the walls are stiff enough or high enough.