I also wasn't a big fan of them doing what they did for the book straps. I spoke to Kyronix on it a few times on TC1 and there was some good dialogue.
My thoughts based on that conversation are that they put it out there that the book straps as a vet reward (spent time on the art / menu selection etc) and while it really doesn't make sense to have them as a vet reward pick they were pretty much past the point of no return in a sense that they targeted a book strap as a vet reward (ie we weren't getting it as a Huntsman challenge). Additionally as Kyronix has said before with recipes (of new items) that it involves changes to UI menus etc which are more involved than they probably had time to do at that point (ie it couldn't be a recipe).
Long story short they had an idea for the book strap (based on some ideas by players) and it came out as they expected so they couldn't allocate double the time to overhaul it even if many of the players think it doesn't make sense.
Another thing that came out of the conversation was exactly like what
@Sellingahouse posted. Essentially this item will be used by some players and if others don't like it or think it's not a good pick then they do not have to select it with their choice. It's not something people want to hear but it's true and as someone who dislikes his fair share of what comes out (ie pure deco items) I've learned that if I don't like it I simply don't spend time/resources on it.
I personally will keep my backpacks the way they are and continue to manage them as I have been for 20+ years. It's not ideal for a vet reward in my opinion but it's also not a sky is falling issue either.