I used one of these as my first survival kit carrier that was bigger than an ammo pouch. I don't know how medics can stand it- it rides/hangs badly, the pouches are too big in that there is no way to really organize small items and too small becuase there is no space for really big items. I found that snow, mud and sand also had a knack for getting into the middle of the thing, so anything in the slip pocket between the big and middle pockets would be full of ice and/or gunk if needed, if not just destroyed by the moisture.

While it is more expensive, the CountyComm "EOD" bag currently fills the role that the M-3 used to fill for me. Tough, light, easy to organize. And it is easy to access- one big zipper across the top, a pocket along the front and two small velcroed pockets along the back, with a lanyard mounting point in each corner. I've laced to to several packs by thier compression straps through the MOLLE channels, and even worn it as a buttpack. It also comes with a much better sling that what the M-3 has.

Going up from there in the same catagory, I have to be another vote for SpecOps Brand (their Buttpack) and Maxpedition (any versipack), and I'm going to toss Tactical Tailor (thier larger utility pouches) and Emdom USA (Wideload and Fatty Wideload) into the mix as well. High Speed Gear Inc as a maybe (thier Waistpack), I'm trying to get ahold of them with a question on a seam failure, but thier reputation is impecable (this is the very first failure I've heard of with thier gear). I wouldn't recommend these brands for all people and places becuase it is hard to make this gear NOT look tactical, but that's hard to do with the M-3 as well.

If you want quality gear that isn't above and beyond mil-spec and/or doesn't look too tactical, Mountainsmith and Kelty are very highly thought of. Suprisingly, LL Bean has had some pretty good items in the past, but I'm not as familiar with thier current line; Cabelas has some very good stuff in thier line up right now.

Oh, and I do still have my M-3. It isn't utterly useless, it just wasn't field tested I think. It makes a great little over night bag to stuff in your car's trunk.