I've always avoided netting pockets on the outsides of backpacks, on the principle that they would snag or wear out --Has anyone had experience with this?

They're definitely fragile. I've got two on my new day hike pack, and I use them but treat them with kid gloves. They're great places to store a garbage bag or two, and I often slide the tip of my Mora sheath into after I clip it to a strap, ditto my Thermarest Z-seat etc... but I don't let them become high traffic areas or they're going to rip for sure, and because of that, I don't store anything important there.

not exactly, tho I have found the two mesh water bottle pockets on our packs tend to allow the water bottles to slip out if you aren't paying close attention ... simple solution to that was add a biner to the bottle and clip the biner to a solid attachment point on the pack, YMMV

While I do like mesh pockets for water bottles they do snag and tear easily. I have had them tear on shopping carts even. I had one pack that had drawstrings with cord locks on the mesh pockets, but that seems to be rare. Like the other person said, carabiners and attachment points work well for retention, but can get annoying when one needs to remove the bottle.

A Ray Jardin's misused idea. He designed packs (Go-Lite) that had a mesh pocket on the back where you could stow a wet tarp or rain gear to dry. Other pack makers picked up the look but not the function and added them on the sides and bottom where they wear out quickly.

I am currently trying to deal with the problem of water bottles falling out of net pockets.

My current solution is to have a small carabiner to clip onto the water bottle. This works in the sense that I don't loose the bottle.

The problem is that I store the backpack in the trunk of the car. Inevitably, BOTH water bottles work their way out of the net pocket. I would prefer to just grab and go when I need to use the backpack. Instead, I have to fish out the bottle out from under something, place them back in the pocket and go. Not as convenient as I would like.

I am thinking about experimenting with a bit of velcro on the mouth of the net pocket. Would sewing on an elastic band around the mouth of the pocket be a better choice?

I'm also a fan of clipping the water bottle in with a carabiner. I also have a couple of packs where the bottle holder zips completely shut.

it's another one of those "it depends" sort of deals.hiking out West on open trails it might work just fine.back in the woods with snags everywhere mesh would be a branch trap.
a real pocket can hold anything,mesh is a sieve.
like it has already been said,someone put mesh on a pack to dry clothes on the move and it became a icon of hard core outdoor gear and spun off everywhere.the mesh pocket and a clip to hold bottles is that belt and suspenders deal-----

What about lacing a shoelace around the opening, through the netting. Instant drawstring closure.

Great idea. I'm going to try it.

tnx.

I never liked the idea of them and I always have found them problematic. When I first tried to use them my Nalegens tended to fall. Guessing they got squeezed up and out as I moved with them, sat down or bent over.

One laptop backpack I had for work (used to travel about 45 weeks a year for many years) had them and I lost a water bottle, countless soda bottles and a few snack bars, usually on a plane where it was stuffed under the seat in front of me.

It has gotten to the point where I will only use them if I'm willing to lose what I put in them and I generally am not willing to lose anything anymore.

High Sierra used to make a large laptop backpack that had tall/deep zippered side pockets but they would only last me a year and after going through two, at + $100 each, I relented and moved to a Swiss gear pack that had the two zippered side pockets in lieu of the netting pockets, but those were about 30% smaller and barely fit a 24oz bottle.

I had to look quite a while to find zippered side pocket in a laptop bag and rarely see them in a BOB-type pack.

If anyone has good suggestions, please share.

My GR1 has lasted extremely well. When I need a water bottle pocket i use this one http://www.itstactical.com/store/hydration/its-skeletonized-bottle-holder/ and it works great.

No affiliation.

My North Face Recon backpack has two mesh side water bottle pockets. Each pocket has elastic cord with a slide lock. You just put in the bottle, slide the lock tight then loop the loop on the other side of the lock over the neck of the bottle. Since it is elastic, it stays tight. I have never had anything fall out.

The pockets do snag occasionally, but so do straps, etc.

The Recon also has a large outside mesh pocket on the back. This also has a fastening clip. I have it stuffed with small things (mostly snacks) and nothing has ever fallen out. The mesh makes it much easier to find things.

OK, I hate to admit it, but it was my SO's idea to use the excess end of the loop to put over the bottle neck.

I've found that the smaller daypacks with a mesh pocket on the outside are VERY handy. but I don't use them in the wilderness. I use them as an "urban pack" ... often when overseas. its super handy to be able to toss a couple of items under the mesh, like bandana, some sunscreen, or a soft hat (rolled up).

cheers,
Pete

Modification worked like a charm! My nalgene is now confidently secure in the netting pocket. I'm going to leave the lanyard for a few weeks to make sure but every looks great.

Thanks.

Was thinking about this a bit more while driving on a day trip yesterday.

Didn't mention before that I will keep wet items (bandana, gloves, pack towel, etc) in the mesh pockets in a camping/hiking/wilderness setting to help reduce dry time. I have never lost these.

Still, I'm staying away from side net pockets...

The net side pockets on my Mountainsmith waist pack are of mesh. No tears in about five years of fairly steady, moderate use.

Not all mesh is the same. The mesh on my pack is a tightly woven synthetic; I have seen some mesh pockets on other brands with more loosely woven material. My impression is that any of the packs from main stream manufacturers are durable and will give satisfactory service.

My daypack (9 yr old Northface Recon) has a mesh back. One day I decided to try fitting my hardhat in it -- that was a mistake because now everything is stretched out. I don't use it a lot because there is no way to secure the top and smaller items can fall out. I do find it handy for wet items to hang out for a while - like a rain jacket or hat. I found I used it for things like gloves and my maps for ready access. It also comes in handy while geocaching because I can carry a ziploc bag of goodies for trading and refurbishing older caches.

It also has 2 mesh pockets on the sides that are great because they can be used for either waterbottles or in my case my camera and GPS. They can be cinched down tight with cord locks, nothing has ever fallen out. They don't seem to a problem snagging on anything in the bush but then again I try to stay out of the real dense stuff! The back pocket is the one that snags for some reason, maybe its because of my ducking under branches but I always seem to have lots of tiny twigs collecting in it.

Never trust pockets with open tops (I'm pretty sure this is one of the NCIS rules)