If you want something to stand up to the rigors of camping and backpacking, and, if you need something to strum and make noise while sitting around a campfire with others, this guitar might be acceptable. Altough, there are cheaper 3/4 guitars that might serve your purposes better. The fret board is basically unusable for any serious chord work, especially barred chords. The shape is so strange,that it is almost impossible to hold without a strap.

I come from a classical guitar background although I played in rock group when I was younger, and now doing a lot of jazz, have been playing for 40 years, and have owned every conceivable type of guitar, not to mention instruments that I have played over the years. There was even a Dobro in my collection.

As a travel guitar, it is an abomination. If you are serious enough to schlepp a guitar with you on your business trips, you cannot practice with it.

There are infinitely better alternatives from Yamaha, Soloette, and Miranda (all of them avaialable in both nylon and steel string). These are silent guitars that need to be played with a headphone or speaker since these guitars do not have a resonating body, so you will not bother your neighbors in the hotel room next to yours.

I own the Miranda classical love it for travel since it breaks down into the smallest package of all and easily fits into the overhead of almost any airplane. It has literally acompanied me literllay around the world and sat in the trunk of cars with temperatures ranging from +120 to sub zero.

I bought this guitar based on the good reviews. The design looked convincingly compact for travel, and it is, and the Martin name told me a lot - or so I thought. As you've picked up by now, it is best played using the strap, which is not the hassel other reviews would imply. So far, everything is as expected and perfect. Great design, good fit & finish, compact, name recognition, and not a bad tone at all. The problem is, it is not playable. The fretboard is completely flat, a big design error. I have strong fingers and have been playing for over 40 yrs., and I could not play a 'c' barr chord sounding any more than 3-4 strings. The action is too high, but the lack of curvature makes it impossible to play properly. With a sweet neck, curved fretboard, and good action, this guitar would be a real winner. Martin has instructions to lower the action: buy a new bridge piece and cut 1/16 inch off, no kidding. But the neck would still be flat. My priority is playability. I would accept a cosmetically lesser guitar, if it played well. This guitar made me sound like a real beginner who just couldn't make chords. It's no fun when you can't play the thing. Also, there are warnings about temperature exposure, and the light construction looks like it would easily warp. So, you can't leave it in the car. I had to constantly watch the temperature on a summer trip, and make sure I carried it in & out of hotels rooms. I was afraid to even stop for a meal because the temp. outside was in the 90's. I'm returning mine and going for an acoustic. It won't be THAT much bigger, and I will find something playable.

When I first saw this guitar a few years ago in a local music store I thought it was the coolest looking thing, but never could justify a use for it. Well just recently I stumbled across another which was used and so I tried actually playing it for the first time. I was surprised to find that the tone was great for its size! Like the other reviews say it is not the tone of a 3000 dollar martin, but for a convenient travel guitar it sounds great! I played it for about 30 minutes and decided that it would be useful to take to the beach and camping, so I bought it and couldn't be happier! Although it was made in Mexico, the quality is outstanding! My frets are perfectly trimmed and my wood feels smooth and great! Unlike what some of the reviews said I think martin should be proud to have this guitar in their series. The neck is nice to play on, and I honestly can't complain about playing sitting down. I am very happy with my purchase and I am sure you will be too!

Before I bought the guitar, I was a little worried about the tone but I figured the space saving size on camping trips would make up for it. It is a perfect size, as I figured, but I am surprised at how good the tone can be with one exception: it does get very thin sounding (for me) if you play with a pick. I got much better sound results by using fingerstyle picking and fingertip-strumming. I also have no problem with holding the guitar as long as I use the strap, cinching the strap up a little higher for when I am sitting and a little lower for standing, and I was able to find a very comfortable position for my pick hand/arm. I am very happy with this guitar. On a side note, I just took it on a camping trip, played it while I was covered in sunscreen and mosquito repellant, fell on a steep hill with the guitar strapped on my back (it hit the neck on the ground and I thought for sure it would have broke the neck off - it didn't) and it dropped once from out of the back of my van when I opened up the back hatch while it was in the soft case. I came home, wiped it off and it cleaned right up and looks and plays brand new even with all the abuse it went through! :) The neck is very stout (especially towards the 12th fret area) as it has no truss rod but it is a very comfortable guitar to play. I am looking forward to many years of playing this guitar while hiking and camping. Thank you Martin Guitars, you made me a very happy camper.

I think this guitar is good if size and portability are your main concerns. As others have noted, it has a banjo-like sound, and while it's not entirely upleasant, it may be inappropriate for the type of music you wish to play. However, my main complaint with the guitar is not with the way it sounds but rather, with the way it feels in my hands. I don't mind so much that it can't be played without a strap, but even with the strap, the shape and weight distribution of the guitar (neck heavy) make it very uncomfortable to play. A few years ago, I tried the Baby Taylor, which a friend of mine had lying around in his apartment. Not only was it more comfortable to play, but it had a rich, full tone that belied its small size. Had I tried the Baby Taylor first, I would have bought it instead of the backpacker.