Disclaimer: Our Sports Duffel was provided to us by Aer. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we strive to provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives.

OVERVIEW

I have been using the Aer Sports Duffel a couple times a week for the past two months as a sports bag and gym bag (both one that I bring with me to the office and one that I just grab from home). The Sports Duffel features a large ~35 L main compartment with two pop-out dividers built in, which split the main compartment into three partitions that are flexible in size. The dividers are not removable, but they are stowable if you don’t want to use them. There are a few small organization pockets, but these do not have dedicated volume, so those partitions will be the main form of keeping your sports gear organized.

The Sports Duffel has a zipper that runs straight across the top of the bag, rather than a U-shaped zipper with a flap that lays across the top. The length of the top is longer than the body of the bag and those excess portions fold downward and are held in place by gated buckles. Aer’s intention was that this allows the user to fold the top opening (the thinner ripstop nylon area) outward, which will keep the bag wide open, allowing you to more easily pack and unpack the bag.

With 35 L of space, I have more than enough space to use this as a gym bag. I can keep a pair of sneakers in one of the side partitions, my gym clothes and towel in another, and still have a partition for anything else (e.g., water bottle, umbrella, jacket, toiletry bag, even a small foam roller). Once I’m at the gym, my office clothes and shoes still easily fit in the bag. Unless you’re bringing a lot of gear to the gym, 35 L is probably a bit too big for a gym bag.

Capacity

As a sports bag — I’ve been using this bag when I play Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, and for cycling. For Ultimate, I can keep a pair of cleats in one partition, a couple discs plus clothes (shorts, couple jerseys, socks) and water bottles in the middle partition, and random things in the third partition (like ankle braces, sunscreen, bug spray, etc.). In addition to all these, there are random things I often keep at the bottom of my duffel bag like a first aid kit and rolling stick. With all that gear, there is still plenty of space. So, if I want to throw in a bunch of snacks, a light jacket/hoodie and sweatpants or joggers, that’s not a problem. I still wouldn’t need to overstuff the bag. This also works for basketball, with the basketball taking up most of the middle partition, but there still being enough space around the ball for clothes. If your typical carry for sports is simpler (e.g., just a pair of cleats/shoes, a set of clothes, and water), then this bag is too big. But I like to use the same bag whether I’m heading to the park for pickup games where I don’t need as much stuff or going to a weekend-long tournament where I would need all that stuff.

For cycling, I put my cycling shoes/cleats in one side partition, helmet and clothes (jersey, bib, socks, knee and arm warmers, etc.) in the middle, and other accessories/stuff in the third partition (e.g., sunglasses, gloves, water bottle, and snacks/nutrition). Even my full-faced helmet fits, though I need to keep one of the pop-out dividers stowed away. So, for days at the downhill bike park, I can use this to bring my helmet, goggles, knee and elbow pads, shoes, water, towel, clothes, etc. The only thing that doesn’t fit is any type of body armor, though that would only fit into a ginormous bag.

So, there really is a ton of space, and the Sports Duffel design just helps you organize all of that a bit. The bag also comes in a 45 L version, in case 35 L isn’t quite enough. For comparison, I’ve also used the Patagonia Black Hole Duffel 40L as a sports bag for the same purposes, which has always been more than enough space.

Spec Summary

• 35 L (for this review), with 45 L option available
• 1680D Cordura ballistic nylon exterior
• Main compartment that can be split into 3 partitions
• Three small org pockets (2 internal, 1 external)
• Single shoulder strap + handles as your carry options

Pros

• Robust materials and construction that Aer is known for
• Brings a new level of organization to your sports bags
• Ample padding on the shoulder strap
• Innovative opening design allows for easy packing/unpacking

Cons

• Looks and feels bulky, especially when packed
• “Laptop” compartment is only for 11" laptops (smaller than what most people use)
• Lack of grips on shoulder strap’s padding
• Luggage passthrough and external horizontal zipper being so close together can cause confusion and challenge accessing

ORGANIZATION

• Main compartment — My experience with carry capacity in the main compartment is covered above, but I’ll also add that the main compartment is ventilated for breathability and making sure the bag doesn’t end up smelling like my sweaty clothes.
• Pop-out dividers — This is where the innovation comes in. The dividers are not rigid so there is a bit of flexibility in how large you make each partition. Longer items like my muscle roller stick (mine is 17 inches) will fit in the main compartment but not in any of the individual partitions. So, as a workaround, you can lay it across the top after putting the rest of your gear in. The main compartment’s design allows it to be overpacked easily with some expandable volume. However, that can be a nuisance if you don’t use the muscle roller, or whatever the long item is, very frequently. So, my workaround has been to lay it at the bottom and have the two side partitions only partly opened. They will still be open enough to house a pair of cleats.

• Water bottle holders — Though there aren’t water bottle pockets, the smaller walls inside the main compartment have a webbing strap that can also pop out to hold a water bottle in place. This is helpful if you want your water bottle to stay upright because it leaks or for whatever reason. The opening is wide enough for a 1L Nalgene bottle. If you have a smaller bottle, though, there is a lot of extra slack. I wonder if a tiny bit of elastic would be helpful here.
• Laptop sleeve — Aer describes one of the internal pockets as a suspended and padded sleeve for laptops. However, it only fits laptops up to 11", which is probably smaller than most people’s laptops. Could work for a tablet though. I don’t carry a tablet with me, and my laptops are over 11", so I just use this 9" x 11" (H x W) sleeve as a slip pocket for small items or gear that I want to keep separated or want to be able to find immediately. Remember back in the 2010s when we used to have those mini netbooks?

• Internal pocket — On the opposite wall is a 5" x 10.5" (H x W) zipped internal pocket with a hidden smart tracker pocket inside. Similarly, it’s just a nice place for small items that you want to keep separated or to be able to find easily, e.g., your AirPods. The fabric is stretchy, so it can accommodate non-flat items.
• External pocket — One external face of the bag has a zipped pocket. The pocket is trapezoidal with a 10" height and 14" and 9" base lengths. The zipper is 10.5" across. This feels like the equivalent of the quick-access pockets on backpacks. An easy place for wallet, keys, passport, etc. The zipper is slightly embedded in the exterior fabric’s padding. So, when the pocket is closed, you can kind of tuck the zipper pull away to make the pocket very discrete.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES

• Shoulder strap — The removable shoulder strap’s hooks rotate freely so the strap can be easily untwisted. It uses 1.5" wide webbing and features a thick piece of padding that you can slide around the shoulder strap. The padding is key since a 35L bag can get pretty heavy. My one gripe with it is that the bottom is very smooth, so it slips off my shoulder very easily if I’m not wearing it cross body. Adding some sort of grip on the bottom would be very helpful.
• Carry handles — The handles use webbing-wrapped padding, so they’re comfortable to use even without a separate wrap-around piece of padding that many duffel bags use. On of the handles has a small piece of webbing with a snap button if you want to keep the handles locked together.
• Additional grab handles — When you have the opening folded back, revealing the full main compartment, there are two small grab handles, one at each end of the main compartment. Very convenient for moving the duffel bag around while you’re packing/unpacking it. Additionally, when you unhook the long edges of the top opening, underneath you’ll find vertical external grab handles running up both sides of the duffel bag. I pretty much always had the top opening hooked down all the time, so I never used these external grab handles and never felt the need to.

• Luggage passthrough — The luggage passthrough is directly below the horizontal zipper for the external pocket, which to me is not the ideal placement. There have been times where I glance down and see the edge of the luggage passthrough, thinking that it’s actually the external pocket’s zipper and that it was open, so I’ll reach down and drop my phone/wallet into what I thought was a pocket. Only for it to slide through the luggage passthrough and drop to the floor. I’d move the luggage passthrough to the other face of the bag so that one side is just the external pocket and the other side is just the luggage passthrough, instead of having them both on the same side. When you’re using the luggage passthrough, the telescoping parts of the handle get in the way of accessing the external pocket. So, this seems like an easy fix in my opinion.
• Removable key leash — Inside the internal zipped pocket and the external pocket are loops for a removable key leash. The leash is just a narrow piece of webbing with a gated ring at the end. It’s not retractable or elastic.

CONSTRUCTION & COMFORT

The Sport Duffel is 18 x 12.25 x 9 inches (L x H x D) and 35 L. It comes in at 1.9 lbs. despite all the hefty fabric, which is pretty light for a 35 L bag. The majority of the exterior is 1680D CORDURA ballistic nylon, a common choice for Aer bags. The top portion with the zipper is a less dense ripstop nylon, which feels like it doesn’t match the robustness of the rest of the exterior, but 1680D ballistic would not be able to fold over the way that the thinner nylon does. The interior is also a lightweight ripstop nylon.

The zippers are YKK #8 RCT and the rest of the hardware is Duraflex. Everything feels very well-built, which is what we would expect from Aer. The craftsmanship also seems excellent. I haven’t noticed any loose threading or messy finishing and have not seen any signs of wear or tear after a couple months. This bag should last a lifetime.

In terms of comfort, most of my notable thoughts are already mentioned with the shoulder strap. The only other thing I’ll add is that instead of attaching at the ends / sides of the top opening, like most duffel bags do, the shoulder strap attaches to D-rings set a couple inches away from the side edges and has the shoulder strap going diagonally across the top of the bag. This causes the bag to feel bulky when you wear the strap across your body, even when mostly empty. I’m curious how the bag would feel if both those D-rings were on the same side of the bag. It would probably feel a little less bulky but also feel very imbalanced given the depth of the bag. But all said, it’s still relatively comfortable thanks to the ample padding provided.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

I don’t play pickleball, but I know many of you out there do. Based on the paddle dimensions I see online, a pickleball paddle CAN fit in the main compartment, but not with the pop-up dividers all the way out. You would likely need to do the same thing I do with my muscle roller stick and insert the paddles on their side, diagonally in the main compartment, allowing you to still partially open the dividers. You can also check the 45 L version of the Sports Duffel to see if that would work better. I did not opt for the 45 L version, because it’s too much volume for my needs.

Summary

Overall, the Sports Duffel is a really well-built and innovative bag that brings durability and more organization compared to the typical alternative of a duffel bag with a massive main compartment that can feel like a black hole. It works well for sports that don’t require a long piece of equipment (e.g., basketball, soccer, ultimate, pickleball, swimming).

The only things I’d change would be adding some grip to the bottom of the shoulder pad and moving the luggage passthrough to the other side of the bag.

Though it’s called Sports Duffel, this would absolutely work well as a travel duffel bag too and would make a great carry-on bag. With the luggage passthrough, this seems like something Aer had in mind as well.

I can certainly see myself using this bag regularly long-term.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Aer Sports Duffel and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Aer Sports Duffel Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our Ledger Liscio Business Bag was provided to us by Bleu de Chauffe. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we strive to provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives. We also utilize affiliate links in this review.

Overview

The first impression the Ledger Liscio delivers is a classy, quality bag. This briefcase-style bag has a top U-shaped zipper plus a shoulder strap and handles for multiple carry options. At ~7.5 L in volume, it’s meant for a more basic vary setup. I used it for a laptop, charger, notebook, pouch with headset and wireless mouse, a pencil case, and various small items (e.g., lip balm, hand sanitizer, wallet, keys, etc.) With these items, there is still a little space for more. I could also fit a small umbrella or a small water bottle without overstuffing the bag. The leather is not rigid, so you CAN overstuff the bag a bit, e.g., I can stuff a windbreaker in there too, or I can jam a 1L Nalgene bottle into the main compartment along with a laptop.

Specs

• Main compartment with laptop sleeve and small zipped pocket
• 1 external slip pocket
• Shoulder strap + dual handles
• ~7.5 L in volume and 15.6 x 11 x 3 inches (39.5 x 28 x 7.5 cm) (W x H x D)

Pros

• Beautiful leather that feels great
• Simple to use and integrate into daily carry

Cons

• Limited organizational options
• Shoulder strap’s hooks do not rotate completely

Organization

As a small and simple briefcase, the Ledger Liscio only has a few main pockets and compartments:

• Main compartment — The core element of the bag is the main compartment, which holds all of the volume (~7.5 L). There is a small internal zipped pocket and a laptop sleeve. Otherwise, the main compartment is just open space. So, it would definitely help to have some sort of org pouch.
• Laptop sleeve — The laptop sleeve is a removable felt sleeve that buttons to the interior of the main compartment. It measures 14.5 x 10.2 inches and holds a 16" MBP, though I could see a 16" laptop getting caught by the main compartment’s walls. The sleeve attaches to the main compartment’s interior with snap buttons, so if you don’t normally carry a laptop, you can free up some space by removing the sleeve.
• Internal pocket — On the opposite wall is a small, zipped pocket. At 8 x 6.5 inches (W x H) with no dedicated volume, it’s only useful for small items that aren’t bulky, such as cables. Similar to the laptop sleeve, this pocket is attached to the main compartment’s interior with snap buttons.
• External pocket — on the back panel is a ~15 x 8.5-inch (W x H) pocket with a small magnetic button to close it. With no dedicated volume, this is ideally for notebooks, documents, or other flat items. Since it’s so big, you CAN put bulkier items in it, but they’ll stick outward and look a little awkward.

Additional Features

• Handles — The handles on the Ledger Liscio have a pin/tongue buckle (like most belts) to adjust the length. The handles themselves are made of multiple layers of leather and are pretty stiff, so the handles are perpetually in an upward position. It’s pretty convenient to never need to rummage your hand around to grab the handles. They’re just always exactly where you need them to be.
• Luggage passthrough — The bottom of the backside of the bag has a zipper that converts the external pocket into a large luggage passthrough. A nice touch and good alternate use of that pocket. Just make sure you empty the pocket before using it as a luggage passthrough.

• Shoulder strap — The removable shoulder strap also has a pin/tongue/single-prong buckle to adjust the length. It’s quite long (adjusts between 46 to 52 inches), and I keep mine at the smallest size. For reference, I’m about 5'11 and pretty broad-shouldered, and I tend to wear the bag across body with the bag itself by my lower back. Someone with a small frame might find this strap too long to use. There is also a piece of padding with a felt-lined bottom that can be moved along the shoulder strap to provide additional comfort. Unfortunately, the shoulder strap is where my biggest gripes with the bag are. While the outside edges of the shoulder strap feel nicely burnished, the inside edges feel like they have not been sanded/burnished. So, they can be a little sharper than you expect. It’s not sharp enough to be painful, but I could see it potentially damaging more delicate clothing. I’m not sure if this is how all the units are or if mine was just a missed exception. The other and more significant issue with the shoulder straps is the hook buckle that connects the strap to D-rings on the bag. Typically, these buckles can rotate freely, which is very helpful when the shoulder strap inevitably gets twisted. Both buckles on the Ledger Liscio’s shoulder strap, however, can only rotate about 180 degrees. It’s a minor nuisance to untwist the shoulder strap whenever you pick it up, but it is a very frequent minor nuisance and I’m frankly surprised that they would use buckles that don’t rotate freely (at least the one I received does not).

Animated GIF

Construction and Comfort

The Ledger Liscio measures 15.6 x 11 x 3 inches (W x H x D) and is roughly 7.5 L. As mentioned, the leather on the bag itself feels great right out of the box and does not have a breaking in period to get that soft touch. The bag uses Liscio leather, which is a tanned and oil-smoothed Italian leather. It does feel, however, slightly thinner and less robust than some other bags I’ve used, such as the Fourteener from Saddleback Leather, and may not take abuse as well. The shoulder strap and some accents on the bag body use vegetable-tanned leather and looked a bit dry on arrival. You can see a bit of cracking in the leather. The laptop sleeve is made of felt, and internal pocket is made of canvas. The wall between the main compartment and external pocket is also made of canvas.

The craftsmanship throughout the bag seems great and I haven’t noticed anything that would be cause for concern. The zipper is YKK #8, which is a good size. It can feel a little scratchy when reaching into the main compartment, but it’s nothing that detracts from using the bag.

Overall, the bag is sufficiently comfortable to use. The padding on the shoulder strap is about 2 inches wide and is a nice touch — without the padding the ~1 inch shoulder strap would definitely be too thin to be comfortable. The grab handles are also thick enough that they are comfortable to use.

Summary

While the Ledger Liscio bag itself is a great, simple, and well-designed bag, it is unfortunate that the shoulder strap has detracted from the user experience. They would be very easy adjustments though — burnishing both the inner edges of the shoulder strap and using buckles that freely rotate. Shoulder strap aside, the Ledger Liscio is a great bag if you’re looking for something for a professional setting and have a relatively minimal carry. The price tag is certainly an investment, as all genuine leather bags are.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Bleu de Chauffe Ledger Liscio Business Bag and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Bleu de Chauffe — Ledger Liscio Business Bag Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our Momentum Backpack was provided to us by Alpaka. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives.

Overview

I’ve been using the Momentum for the past month as my EDC backpack for work. This 22L backpack has a minimal amount of internal organization and is incredibly light. In the nearly-clamshell opening main compartment, I can fit my laptop and charger, a notebook, a wireless keyboard, a pouch with my headset and wireless mouse, my glasses case, a water bottle, and various small items (e.g., keys, pens, hand sanitizer, etc.), and a small lunchbox comfortably in the main compartment.

There is one internal zipped pocket, an internal water bottle holder, and two external zipped pockets (though one is a hidden flat pocket on the back panel). So, if you like things very organized, some org pouches would be helpful.

The key feature you’ll notice about the Momentum backpack is the technical fabric. It uses Alpaka’s custom-engineered Axodyne material, which has the feel of a slightly stiffer X-Pac or tarp, and seems to be highly weather-resistant.

Pros

• Very light weight (1.55 lbs.)
• Good weather protection with the Axodyne material
• Comfortable padding and airflow on the back panel

Cons

• Minimal organization; will force you to use an org pouch
• No true quick-access pocket
• Lack of padding everywhere except the back panel

Organization

• Main compartment — Where all the volume of the backpack is. Has a laptop sleeve (can fit a 16" MBP) with a Velcro strap to secure the laptop. The laptop sleeve has a small false bottom but with no padding on the bottom of the backpack (or anywhere else aside from the back panel).
• Internal zipped pocket — At the top, against the front wall of the main compartment is a zipped, mesh pocket. It’s 6" x 9.5" (H x W) and is a good place for cables, pens, etc. The mesh is pretty thin, but that aligns with the lightweight design of the backpack.

• Internal water bottle pocket — In the bottom left corner of the main compartment is a water bottle sleeve. It’s made of the same Axodyne material as the rest of the backpack and is not elasticated, though it is wide enough to fit a 1L Nalgene bottle. Since this is an internal pocket, you’ll need to trust the lid of your water bottle is secure. Or accept that your gear may get dripped on. My preference is always for external water bottle pockets because I like the easier access and peace of mind of not having everything inside the backpack get wet.
• Front admin compartment — The top of the front panel has a zipped 8" x 10” (H x W) admin compartment; the horizontal zipper opening is about 1.5" down from the top. It only has two 5" x 5" slip pockets and a magnetic key tether. So, even this pocket on its own has pretty minimal organization.
• Hidden back pocket — On the back panel is a 6" x 7" (H x W) hidden zipped pocket. Since it’s right against your back, I would only use this for flat items, like a passport.

I say that the Momentum backpack doesn’t have a true quick access pocket because to really use the front admin compartment, you’ll need to take the backpack off. The hidden back pocket can act as a quick access pocket, but only for very flat items, like a passport or boarding pass.

Additional Features

• Grab handle — Very standard grab handle at the top of the backpack. The handle is just made of a folded piece of Axodyne with a thin piece of padding sewn inside.
• Hanging loop — Interesting that Alpaka included a loop on the back panel to hang your backpack. I don’t know if it’s a critical feature to have if one of the focuses of the bag is to shave weight and you can often use the top grab handle to hang the backpack anyways.
• Luggage passthrough — The luggage passthrough is pretty simple and is made of 1.5" webbing. It’s oriented to allow you to use the passthrough while keeping the backpack upright. The strap itself feels a bit loose, though it hasn’t really gotten in the way when not in use.
• Sternum strap — The Momentum backpack has a removable sternum strap with a magnetic center buckle. It hooks onto the shoulder straps via daisy chains along shoulder straps.
• Hypalon attachment loops — Each shoulder strap has a couple Hypalon loops for your glasses or carabiner. Alapaka also has modular attachments you can add there.

Construction and Comfort

As mentioned above, the Momentum backpack is 22L. It measures 18.9" x 11.8" x 6.7" (H x W x D) and comes in at 1.55 lbs., which is very light for a backpack this size. The bag is made of a couple layers of Axodyne, Alpaka’s custom-engineered composite fabric that laminates UHMWPE fibers into a nylon mesh to create this heat-bonded layer. Alpaka has a few different custom and proprietary materials, and it’s always great to see companies show off their R&D innovation. The Axodyne feels pretty robust, though looks thin. You can actually see through the backpack.

Since it’s a custom material, I don’t have any past experience with this. In principle, it sounds like a good approach to improving the tear resistance of the material while minimizing weight and from my limited use so far, I would agree that it is very weather-resistant. I had the pleasure of getting caught in a rainstorm without an umbrella and after a few minutes, I was completely drenched but everything inside the backpack was perfectly dry.

The hardware also feels very robust. The zippers are YKK #8 and #5RCz Aquaguard. The shoulder straps’ adjustor buckles are metal, while the sternum strap is plastic. No concerns about craftsmanship, which is what we’ve seen in all of Alpaka’s gear. There is reinforced stitching at all the load-bearing points with bartack stitching, though the top of the shoulder straps seem to have a bit less bartack stitching than I typically see in EDC backpacks.

The shoulder straps are contoured and have a mesh-lined padding on the underside. They’re relatively comfortable overall, but also a bit narrow. Even though the backpack is so light, a fully packed 22L backpack can start to weigh down on your shoulders. The back panel has the same mesh-covered padding with an airflow channel running down the middle. The foam padding is relatively light as well, pretty similar to an open-cell foam. So, the backpack would be very comfortable if you’re carry is not too heavy. But with a heavier load, like laptop, tablet, a few books, etc., you may start to really feel it against your shoulders or your trapezius.

Additional Notes

The Momentum backpack has a relatively flat bottom, so it CAN stand upright, but like many bags it depends on how you pack it. With just a laptop, it will not stand. The Axodyne material does not have the structural stiffness to support that.

Similarly, because the Axodyne is not a very stiff material, when the main compartment is empty, the backpack can look a bit frumpy. Particularly if you’ve got things in the front admin compartment.

Conclusion

The Momentum backpack works well for someone who cares a lot about weight or who wants to have a technical bag and is okay with not having a ton of organizational options. Using your own org pouch will help a lot. It provides great weather resistance so would also be good for commuting on public transit. It could also work as a carry-on or personal item for a flight.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Alpaka Momentum Backpack and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Alpaka Momentum Backpack was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our SHIFT Backpack was provided to us by KNKG. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives. This review may also contain affiliate links.

Overview

The SHIFT is a 27-L office-to-gym backpack meant to help you transition smoothly from your desk and laptop to hitting the weights. It includes 3 top-loading compartments (with internal pockets and a 16" laptop sleeve), water bottle pockets, and water-resistant coating. At 27L, the SHIFT has enough space for a basic office carry, such as a laptop, headset, wireless mouse, notebook, laptop charger, glasses, and various small items (cables, writing utensils, etc.) plus a pair of gym shorts, t-shirt, and socks. Though you can fit more, one thing to keep in mind is that your work clothes (e.g., slacks, button-down shirt, undershirt, belt, and socks, will take up much more space than your gym clothes. So, while you CAN fit more than a basic work carry + gym clothes, you might not want to unless you plan to change back into your work clothes after your workout. Aside from the compartments, the key noticeable feature is the four compression/attachments straps over the side panels. The middle compartment has its own volume, so the main compartment isn’t quite 27 L; it feels more like 22 L in total (including the secondary middle compartment’s volume).

Pros

• Durable materials with waxed canvas and ripstop nylon lining
• Strong stitching with plenty of reinforcements

Cons

• Shoulders straps are not contoured, and you can feel them pinch against your armpit
• Compression straps get in the way of opening the two large compartments and the water bottle pockets
• Admin compartment’s zipper is in a trough, which can trap water

Organization

• Main compartment — This compartment has a lightly padded 16" laptop sleeve (but no false bottom). While a 16" laptop may be able to technically fit in the sleeve, the side walls of the main compartment would make it pretty difficult to get a 16" laptop in and out. On the front wall are two zipped, mesh pockets that are 6.5" x 10" (H x W) so you can store some bulky things in there like a laptop charger.
• Middle compartment — In front of the main compartment is a second compartment that has a bit of its own volume. It’s about 12.5" x 10.5" x 1.75" (H x W x D) in size and has a lightly padded tablet sleeve against the back wall and a zipped mesh pocket against the front wall. Though the zipper goes almost all the way down the side, the side straps get in the way so you may end up just opening the top of the compartment to use it.

• Admin compartment — In front of the middle compartment is an admin compartment with two 6" x 5" slip pockets inside. This compartment does not have its own volume, so stick to small or relatively flat items. The main issue I have with this compartment is that the zipper is in this little trough. So, in heavy rain (and I have been caught in heavy storms multiple times in the past month), water can easily pool right on the zipper, and seep through quickly.

• Dual water bottle pockets — The large, gusseted water bottle pockets on both sides of the bag are wide enough for 1L Nalgene bottles. The pockets themselves are not elasticated but there is an elastic cord with a cord lock if you have thinner bottles that you want to keep secure. It’s an extra step, though, so I would definitely have just preferred the bottle pockets themselves to be elasticated. I just ended up leaving the cord lock loose at all times. But another issue that introduced is that it leaves the water bottle pockets wide open. If you’re caught in rain, water will collect in the water bottle pockets, which do not have a drainage port. And given the decent water resistance of the fabric, the water will stay in the pocket for a little while.

Additional Features

• Compression/attachment straps — There are four compression straps made of 1.5" wide webbing: two on each side of the backpack. Though it looks like the straps run across the front face of the bag, they actually don’t and the portions on the front are just for style and are stitched directly into the front panel. The two upper straps attach to the front of the backpack via large G-hooks. If you leave those straps pretty loose, there is a chance that the G-hooks will accidentally come undone. Since the main compartment and middle compartment’s zipper go further down the side than these straps, I tended to only unzip the top of the compartments to use them. It’s too annoying to have to undo the G-hooks every time. The two lower straps do not have G-hooks and are attached to the front panel, but they do have adjuster straps so you can tighten them. As mentioned above, I kept these loose all the time so that I could more quickly use the water bottle pockets.

• Grab handles — The grab handle at the top of the backpack is folded nylon webbing. Very simple, but it works well.
• Lash points — The shoulder straps have both have a couple lash points made of 1" wide webbing. The width of the webbing can make it a bit tougher to use if you’re clipping a small carabiner.

Notably absent are a sternum strap and luggage passthrough, both of which you would expect in a typical EDC backpack.

Construction and Comfort

The SHIFT backpack is 17.3 x 11 x 7.9 inches (H x W x D), 27L in volume, and comes in at 2.9 lbs. It’s on the heavier side for an EDC backpack, but it uses some hefty materials and components. The exterior is a water-resistant Scottish waxed canvas from Halley Stevenson (cotton, waxed finish). The interior is a ripstop nylon.

Though the zippers are YKK, the main compartment and middle compartment’s zippers felt a bit sharp and scratchy to me, which slightly detracted from the user experience for me. The admin compartment uses a #8 RCz and the internal zippers are #5 RCz. At least those zippers are much smoother and don’t have sharp edges. The rest of the hardware is all metal, so those are super durable and you won’t have to worry about breaking them if you accidentally step on it. The craftsmanship on the backpack all looks very solid. There were no loose threads and plenty of reinforced stitching at all the key weight-bearing places. So overall, it’s a very durable and tough backpack.

The SHIFT backpack’s shoulder straps are not contoured and are pretty wide, so I can feel them pinching into my armpits every time I wear the backpack. The back panel has some sort of dual density foam (or a closed-cell foam padding sheet and open cell padding on top of that) and is mostly covered in mesh. But there is no real airflow, even with the mesh, so your back can get sweaty quickly. The shoulder straps have the same padding and mesh. The wall between the main compartment and middle compartment also has a thin layer of padding, as does the bottom of the backpack. These help provide a little bit of extra protection and also helps the backpack retain its shape and not fold over into an amorphous blob when empty.

Additional Notes

Final comment, since this is something that is important for some people — because the SHIFT is rectangular in design, including a flat bottom, it stands upright on its own quite well, especially if you’ve got a set of clothes in the main compartment along with your work EDC.

Summary

Overall, the SHIFT backpack is a durable and robust backpack. While it works as an office-to-gym backpack, there isn’t really anything about it that makes it specifically designed for that purpose, so it essentially is an office/EDC-focused backpack made by a manufacturer who focuses on gym bags. You can take a relatively large EDC or office backpack for the same purpose. There are some design choices that I would change — the zipper choice for the two larger compartments, the admin compartment’s zipper design, the water bottle pockets’ design, and the comfort of the shoulder straps and back panel. But it gets the job done and it will last you many years.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the KNKG SHIFT Backpack and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

KNKG SHIFT Backpack Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Overview

The Jumper invokes memories of the classic JanSport backpacks in that it has a minimal appearance. However, behind that modest appearance is a bag packed with intention. The Jumper converts between a camera backpack and an EDC backpack by using Velcro camera dividers in the bottom half of the main compartment and a removable partition between the bottom half of the main compartment and the top half.

The Jumper is 23 L and as a camera backpack, I can fit a DSLR body and 2 lenses (depending on their sizes), and a few accessories like a small flash diffuser or some spare batteries + a charger. The 18L version of the Jumper is better suited for a mirrorless setup + a couple lenses. In the top half, I can keep a notebook/book and a laptop charger, or I can store a small drone there instead, or a very light jacket. In the other compartments, I can carry my laptop, cables, and various small EDC items. On the outside of the Jumper, I can also carry a water bottle and a tripod. As an EDC backpack, I can carry my laptop, headphones, a mouse, wireless keyboard, a notebook, laptop charger, and glasses case, plus a water bottle and various small EDC items.

The main compartment is a top access zipper, as well as a U-shaped zipper on the side that lets you swing the backpack around on your right shoulder and quickly access your camera. Additionally, the bottom half of the Jumper’s front panel also has a U-shaped zipper that lets you open up the front panel, which is essential for using the camera dividers.

Pros

• Very discrete look for a camera bag
• Padded interior with modular camera dividers gives lots of flexibility

Cons

• Minimal ventilation or breathability on the back panel
• Not the most robust fabric (640D polyester exterior), and not ideal for water resistance

Organization

• Laptop Compartment — The back of the Jumper has a padded laptop sleeve that can fit 16" laptops. Though there is a bit of padding on the bottom, it doesn’t have a true false bottom. So not the greatest impact protection. This compartment is the only one that uses Aquaguard zippers, so at least you have some decent water resistance here. The 18L version also fits a 16" laptop.
• Main Compartment — This compartment is accessed via the top U-shaped zipper, the side quick-access zipper (very similar to what Boundary Supply did with their Prima backpack), or a front panel. The front panel opening is just the bottom half of the front panel with a zipper just behind the admin compartment. There is a middle partition that separates the bottom half (where the camera dividers are) and the top half, which is separated into its own section. The partition has Velcro on 3 sides so if you’re not using the camera dividers, it can be pulled off and stowed. The zipper that opens the camera section is very close to the admin compartment zipper, which can easily lead to grabbing the wrong pull. There is no organization for SD cards or batteries, even in the camera section, so it would be best to have a pouch or some form of your own organization for that. At the top of the front wall is also a zipped compartment where you can store your laptop charger or glasses case. Bulky items in there can make the opening to the bottom of the main compartment a bit tighter.

• Admin Compartment — The bottom half of the front panel has an admin compartment, which has 4 elasticated, mesh pockets — two along the back wall and two along the front wall. These work for a small wireless mouse, camera battery charger, some cables, or wireless earbuds. It can get really tight if you put 2 bulky items opposite of each other. If you’re comfortable dropping memory cards (in cases) into these slip pockets, that can be your card organization too.
• Front Pocket — In front of the admin compartment is a small front pocket with a horizontally zipped opening. This pocket doesn’t have any notable features, and I usually just kept some snacks in here. This pocket is also only on the Large version of this backpack (23L). The Regular size (18L) doesn’t have this pocket.

• Hidden Pocket — Mid-way up the side of the back panel is a small, zipped pocket for small, flat items like a passport or a thin wallet.
• Water Bottle Pocket — One water bottle pocket with an elasticated gusset. It’s large enough to fit a 1L Nalgene bottle well.

Additional Features

• Sternum Strap — Removable sternum strap that attaches via the daisy chain on the shoulder strap. Uses a side-release buckle in the middle and has an elastic portion.
• Luggage Passthrough — Wide luggage passthrough across the middle of the back panel. Allows you to keep the backpack upright when using the passthrough.
• Tripod Attachment Straps — Above the water bottle pocket is an adjustable attachment strap that goes across the side panel — hold a tripod in the water bottle pocket and use this strap to keep it more secure. This strap also has a G-hook. At the bottom of the backpack are two more adjustable straps so you can also hold the tripod under the bottom of the backpack instead. These straps, however, do not have a G-hook. So, you’ll need to loosen the straps to slide the tripod through and then re-tighten them.

Construction & Comfort

The Jumper is 18.25" x 11.5" x 6.5" (H x W x D) and 23L, which is a good size for an EDC backpack or a photographer who just wants to carry a more casual setup. It comes in at 2 lbs. — quite light for a 23L camera backpack with modular dividers. The 18L version of the Jumper is 16.25" x 10.5" x 5.5" (H x W x D) and 1.8 lbs. For someone who is 5'10 or taller, Brevite recommends the 23L Jumper. The 18L version may feel a bit too small on your shoulders and also looks small for someone taller.

The exterior fabric is a recycled 640D polyester, made from recycled water bottles. The interior lining is a 210D nylon. Neither of these are the most robust or water-resistant fabrics you’ll see in backpacks, particularly for a backpack meant to carry potentially thousands of dollars of camera equipment. It’s not terrible, especially together as a multi-layered backpack shell. But it’s not prioritizing protection. Additionally, the zippers around the main compartment are not Aquaguard or water sealed. Only the laptop compartment uses sealed zippers, though the main compartment does have a flap to cover the non-sealed zipper. The zippers are made by Zoom Zippers and the rest of the hardware is from Duraflex. The hooks and buckles all feel very robust and durable. Overall, the bag feels good to the touch, but I wouldn’t consider it premium and it wouldn’t have been my first choice of materials for a camera backpack.

In terms of comfort, I’d say the Jumper is mediocre. The back panel is padded but doesn’t have airflow. So, your back can get sweaty, especially when carrying camera gear on a hot day. The shoulder straps are noticeably narrow, which means a smaller surface area for the weight to sit on your shoulders. They are padded and contoured though, so it still feels okay and at least it doesn’t pinch your armpits.

Additional Notes

• The interior color matches the exterior, so with the black Jumper, the interior is all black, which can make it more difficult to find small items in the backpack.
• All the main compartment’s zippers, the admin compartment’s zippers, and the front panel pocket’s zipper can congregate in the same area, so you might end up accidentally grabbing the wrong zipper pull

• Brevite notes that the backpack is machine washable, which is super convenient. I have not tried it, so I can’t attest to how well it works, but it definitely beats having to hand wash

Summary

Overall, the Jumper offers great versatility, converting between a classic-looking EDC backpack and a discrete camera backpack. It works well for someone who is looking for a backpack that works for the office but can also take it on a trip where they are carrying a relatively basic camera setup. Where it does not stand out as much is in the fabric options. It uses materials that feel nice and light, but you lose a bit in weatherproofing. So it’s certainly not an adventure camera backpack, but good for a day out in the city.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Brevite Jumper and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Brevitē Jumper Camera Backpack (23 L) Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our Travel Pack 4 (28L) was provided to us by Aer. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives.

Overview

• 1680D CORDURA ballistic nylon; also comes in X-Pac and Ultra400X (Challenge Sailcloth) versions
• 3.52 lbs. in weight
• 19.25 x 12.75 x 8 inches (H x W x D); 28 L volume
• Separate laptop compartment (up to 16")
• Dual water bottle pockets
• Internal framesheet for structure

The Travel Pack 4 features three main compartments (a laptop compartment, the main compartment, and an admin compartment) plus four additional external pockets. The main compartment has a clamshell opening that lets you pack very efficiently. For traveling, I can fit a medium-sized packing cube with clothing (13.75 x 9.75 x 3 inches), a Dopp kit, a case for headphones, a book, a case for glasses, and my laptop charger in the main compartment. For the office, I can use it to bring a notebook, headphones, a mouse, a keyboard, laptop charger, glass case, a set of gym clothes and sneakers in the main compartment. Both of these loadouts will mostly fully pack the main compartment, though you can overstuff it if you want. If you’re going on a longer trip (e.g., over a week long), the 28L might be too small, though of course it depends on how much you pack.

Pros

• Very durable construction and materials
• Good balance between large space for packing for travels and organizational pockets
• Large, elastic mesh water bottle pockets can hold a variety of sizes well and still stay out of the way when not in use

Cons

• Admin compartment only has one zipper
• Admin compartment’s opening can feel a little small
• On the heavier side for a backpack of this size

Organization

• Laptop compartment — The compartment has a laptop sleeve and large tablet sleeve. The laptop sleeve fits 16" laptops, is lined with microfleece, is padded, and has a false bottom.
• Main compartment — Plenty of cargo space and easy to pack with the clamshell opening. Also has a stretchy tablet sleeve on the back wall and two zipped pockets on the front wall. The one on top is 6.5 x 10.5 inches (H x W), though the zipper is 1.5 inches down from the top, slight stretchy, and has a small loop for your key leash. The one below is 8 x 10.5 inches (H x W) but is a bit less convenient to use without opening the clamshell all the way. Both pockets use a horizontal zipper. In the Travel Pack 3, instead of the lower pocket, there is a huge flat pocket with a vertical zipper along the side where you can keep your collared shirt nice and flat or your flip flops separate. Some people may miss this pocket. Some people won’t even notice.

• Admin compartment — The admin compartment has a zipped pocket about 6 inches deep, two slightly elasticated pockets (4.5 x 5.5 inches and 4.5 x 3.5 inches), a wide pen sleeve, and a removeable key leash. The entire compartment is about 9 inches deep, which is a significant change from v3, which had two rows of small pockets and was much deeper. This admin compartment only has 1 zipper, which has been a nuisance in my view, albeit a minor one. I also wish the zipped opening went down a little further to give you wider access.
• Front panel pocket — Beneath the admin compartment is an 11 x 11-inch zipped pocket. There aren’t any features in this pocket. Just extra space to keep your snacks.
• Quick access pocket — At the top of the backpack, between the laptop compartment and main compartment is a quick access pocket that is roughly the width of the whole backpack but only 2.75 inches deep. Compared to the v3, the v4’s pocket is not as deep. It also uses a soft elastic fabric instead of microfleece. With the size of smartphones today, I feel like the v4 reduced the size of this pocket a little too much. My S26 still fits no problem, but with a wallet, work badge, and keys, I can see a large phone having trouble fitting or just barely fitting. The nice thing about the reduced size, however, is that it doesn’t get in your way when packing the main compartment.
• Dual water bottle pockets — Deep, elastic mesh-like water bottle pockets on both sides of the backpack. Some people may feel like the elastic is a downgrade from the v3’s single water bottle pocket, which was a zipped pocket that expands when you unzip it to hold a bottle. I definitely prefer the v4’s redesign. It brings the pockets to the bottom of the side panels instead of having it around the middle of the side panel like the v3. The v3 design also required an extra step of unzipping the pocket in order to store your bottle. The v4’s elastic is stretchy enough to fit 1L Nalgene bottles with no trouble, but secure enough for thinner bottles like a medium S’well bottle.

Additional Features

• Smart tracker pocket — Small slot for your AirTag or Smart Tracker located at the top of the main compartment’s upper interior pocket.
• Sternum strap — Fully adjustable and removable sternum strap that is attached to webbing straps along the shoulder straps. It uses a Fidlock magnet and also has an elastic section, which the v3 did not have.
• Grab handles — Four grab handles. One on the top, one on the bottom, and one on each side panel. The v4 has the side grab handles more centered down the middle of the side panel, instead of closer to the back panel, where the v3 had them. But they’re also closer to the top due to the bottle pockets. The top grab handle on the v4 is behind the laptop compartment’s zipper (at the back edge of the top panel). The v3’s top grab handle was centered at the top of the bag. In any case, I love these grab handles. Though the bottom handle is just a piece of webbing, the other three are padded and easy to grab, but also stay out of the way when not in use.
• Load lifter straps — Pretty standard design, but they also have loops at the end of the webbing to make it easy to pull while wearing the backpack.
• Luggage passthrough — The luggage passthrough on the v4 runs horizontally, allowing the bag to sit upright when using the passthrough. On the v3, the luggage passthrough run vertically up the middle of the back panel, requiring you to lay the bag on its side to use.

• Counter pulls and lash points — The external zipper pulls are all Hypalon instead of the cord with plastic tab that the previous versions had. There are Hypalon counter pulls around the middle of the side panels to use when opening/closing the lower front panel pocket and a pair at the bottom corners of the front panel, giving you leverage when opening/closing the main compartment all the way. The shoulder straps each have a Hypalon lash point as well. On the v3, these were webbing.
• D-rings — Similar to the v3, there are a pair of D-rings toward the top of the side panels (one on each side) and on one shoulder strap for whatever you wanted to attach.
• Compression straps — There are none! Just calling this our because it’s a significant design change from the v3. It gives the bag a cleaner look. And the water bottle pockets are pretty deep. Still, if you wanted to carry a tall item like a tripod, it may be difficult using only the water bottle pockets.

Construction and Comfort

The 28L version of the Travel Pack 4 is 19.25 x 12.75 x 8 inches (H x W x D) and comes in at 3.52 lbs., which is a bit on the heavier side for a 28L backpack. It uses 1680D CORDURA ballistic nylon for the exterior and a lightweight ripstop nylon for the interior. Both fabrics are bluesign approved. Though it’s not a technical material, 1680D ballistic nylon will have some natural water resistance, and is very robust. This is partly why the bag weighs so much and feels quite beefy.

The zippers are all YKK and seem like #8 RCz for the admin and laptop compartment, and #10 for the main compartment and lower front panel compartment. I’m not quite sure why the front panel compartment uses such a large zipper when the other compartments use #8. The laptop compartment’s zipper is Aquaguard. The plastic hardware is Duraflex and all feels as durable as you’d want a travel backpack to be. Overall, the craftsmanship is also top notch, and the anchor points all have reinforced stitching. This backpack will last many years.

The back panel has four quadrants of mesh-covered soft padding with an airflow channel running down the middle. The padding feels like some type of open-cell padding against the firm framesheet. The shoulder straps are contoured and have a dual density padding. Altogether, the Travel Pack 4 is quite comfortable, in my opinion, particularly for a larger EDC backpack.

Additional Notes

While you can get the Travel Pack 4 to stand up on its own, you have to pack with heavy flat items on the bottom. The bottom of the bag tapers slightly so it doesn’t have the widest base. So, the backpack tends to lean/fall forward.

The first few weeks I was using the bag I tended to mix up the zipper pulls between the main compartment and the admin compartment because those zippers are so close to each other (less than an inch apart). The zipper pulls on Aer backpacks are rather long and this isn’t something isolated to the Travel Pack 4. Even in the Tech Pack and City Pack, if you leave the zippers in the same general area, you can get confused on which compartment’s zippers you are grabbing.

Lastly, while I think the 28L size fits me well, I can certainly see the 35L version being too bulky on someone smaller. For reference, I’m 5'11 and over 200 lbs.

Summary

Overall, the Travel Pack 4 is a fantastic backpack. The 28L version is a great large EDC that I use for work and the gym. It’s also great for short term travel. I’ve used it on week-long trips with enough space for all my clothes and gear, though I tend to pack relatively light. If you find yourself struggling to fit all your work gear in a 20L backpack, or if other travel backpacks in the 35–40 L range are just too big for your style, this could definitely be the backpack for you. While some people don’t agree with the changes from the v3 to v4, I am a fan of most of them and the only things I’d really change are putting a second zipper on the admin compartment and allowing the admin compartment’s zipper to open a tiny bit further. It’s definitely a backpack that I’m going to keep and use often.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Aer Travel Pack 4 and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Aer Travel Pack 4 (28L) Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our Adventure Pack was provided to us by XOÀI. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives.

Overview

The Adventure Pack is a 25L backpack that has the style of a hiking daypack but not to the extent that you would see in a day hike bag from Osprey, Gregory, or Deuter. I see it as targeting micro-adventures. You can use it for your day out in the city, a short hike at a nearby park, or on a casual bike ride on a local trail. It is adventure-oriented but without the true hiking pack features, like the suspension systems for your back panel and shoulder straps, load lifter straps, and a structured waist belt that can fully support the backpack itself. In exchange, you get affordability and some admin organization.

The main compartment is a full clamshell opening pocket, which is also not common for pure hiking packs, but very common in travel-oriented bags. Though it has a sleeve you can use as a laptop sleeve, it’s not particularly tech oriented. On a day hike, I can bring a light change of clothes, a light jacket, a packed lunch, some granola bars, and a couple bottles of water. This would not completely pack out the Adventure Pack either. If I use this as a commuter EDC bag, I can fit a laptop and charger, notebook, a wireless keyboard, a pouch with headsets and a mouse, a water bottle, a small umbrella, some snacks, and various small items like cables. This would not completely pack out the backpack either and you still have a tiny bit of space left.

Pros

• Affordability and ethical manufacturing
• Has versatility with organization to be an EDC or adventure bag

Cons

• Waist belt is very floppy and only serves to stabilize the backpack, it doesn’t take weight off your shoulders.
• The interior lining can feel loose in some parts
• I don’t love the bridged shoulder strap design (both straps being made from a single piece of foam)

Organization

• Main Compartment — This compartment is well padded on the back panel but has no padding on the front, sides, and bottom. There is a large laptop sleeve that fits a 16” laptop and has a false bottom. On the front of the laptop sleeve is a large tablet sleeve. Both sleeves have a very thin piece of padding sewn inside the fabric of their front faces.

• Quick Access Pocket — On the top of the backpack in front of the main compartment’s zipper is a felt-lined quick access pocket if you need somewhere to throw your sunglasses or phone.
• Front Panel Compartment — The front panel compartment has a 9.5" x 8.5" zipped pocket (W x H) with a key leash and two 4.5" x 6.5" (W x H) mesh elastic pockets. The compartment only goes halfway down the front panel of the backpack, which has its pros and cons. You have much less storage space for large items, but at the same time, you don’t have to go digging in a giant dark pocket to find something at the bottom and it doesn’t reduce the usable space in the main compartment.

• Dual Water Bottle Pockets — The water bottle pockets are made of a soft mesh, elasticated, and relatively deep. However, the elastic top is not very tight, leaving the opening pretty wide, which allows medium-sized water bottles can fall out when you bend over. This has happened to me multiple times in my month of using this backpack. Large bottles, like a 1L Nalgene bottle, that will force the elastic to stretch aren’t an issue. But my medium-sized S’well bottle fell out easily when I bent over to pick something up or tie my shoelaces. The mesh is also relatively thin, and you can see through them when they’re stretched out. This does make me feel like they may not be the most durable if they get caught on something (e.g., a branch or some thorns). The bottoms of the pockets are not mesh and use the same polyester as the side panels. Since there is also no drainage port, any spilled water will sit in the pocket.

• Waist Belt Pockets — Both sides of the waist belt’s wings have 7" x 2.5" (W x H) pockets. Big enough to keep some fruit snacks on hand, but not big enough to keep your phone nearby, which is something I look for in a hiking pack — this lets me keep my GPS/map nearby as well as my camera.

Additional Features

• Waist Belt — The waist belt itself isn’t very padded. It has a tiny layer of padding in the fabric but it’s so thin that it’s basically negligible. This makes the wait belt very floppy. So, it doesn’t have any structure and isn’t really able to take any weight off your shoulders, like the thick waist belts you see on trekking and hiking backpacks. Like waist belts that are just made of webbing strap, it just keeps the backpack from jostling around.
• Sternum Strap — Fully adjustable and attached to the shoulder strap via rails. The strap itself has an elastic section in the middle and also has a safety whistle integrated into the side release buckle.
• Compression Straps — Both sides have compression straps with side release buckles. You normally wouldn’t see side release buckles on a compression strap, but they’re necessary for this bag because the main compartment is clamshell opening.
• Bungee Cord — The front panel has a bungee cord organizer, which makes a great place to throw your jacket when you start sweating on a hike. These bungee cords or a kangaroo pouch are vital features to a day hike backpack, in my opinion, though I prefer the kangaroo pouch for its versatility a bit more.
• Grab handle — A folded piece of nylon attached to the top of the bag provides a grab handle. Nothing fancy, and no padding in it.
• Lash Points — On the shoulder straps and across the front panel are lash points for carabiners or whatever your preferred method is.

Construction and Comfort

The Adventure Pack is 19 x 11 x 8.5 inches (H x W x D) and 25L in volume. It comes in at 1.9 lbs., which is pretty light overall. The front panel and front of the shoulder straps are 400D ripstop nylon with a TPU coating for added water-resistance. The side panels use an ECOPAK recycled polyester, which is a technical fabric and feels similar in density and thickness to the front panel. The interior lining feels like a light nylon. It’s a little loose in some parts, which can make it feel a bit cheap.

The back panel is a mesh-covered EVA foam with 5mm ventilation holes spaced through. Though the backpack doesn’t have a hard frame, the full sheet of EVA foam basically acts like a frame, giving the bag sufficient structure. The shoulder straps use the same EVA foam and are lined underneath with mesh.

The zippers are YKK RCz with the main compartment being #8 and the other exterior zippers being #5. The rest of the hardware is UTX Duraflex and made from recycled plastic. It all feels very sturdy and I don’t have any concerns about their durability. The side release buckles, in fact, feel quite stiff. Overall, the bag seems decently solid, though I haven’t put it through the test of years on the trail.

The shoulder straps are slightly contoured, but less so than most true hiking backpacks are. I’m not a fan of the bridge shoulder strap design (where the shoulder straps are one single piece joined at the top). This makes it a bit less comfortable for people with wider necks or large upper trap muscles, especially because these shoulder straps use EVA foam, which is a stiffer foam.

The back panel’s foam padding is also just a large flat sheet. There isn’t any contouring or airflow. Though the padding has holes and is covered in mesh, it’s all going to lay flat against your back. For shorter day hikes or outings, or if you’re not carrying much weight, it’s not a significant detractor. But if you want to use this on longer adventures, other design choices may be more suitable.

Additional Notes

The interior lining is all black, which can make finding small items inside a bit of a scavenger hunt. The main compartment being clamshell opening does help, but I don’t want to have to open the main compartment all the way every time. So, best to keep small things in the front compartment or the quick access compartment.

One area where the Adventure Pack shines is its sustainable approach to materials and production and its good pricing. This is part of the ethos of XOÀI Packs, and something that they built the brand on.

Summary

Overall, the XOÀI Packs Adventure Pack is a nice pack that fills a niche between your office commuter and your hiking pack. It doesn’t do the best for either the office or the trail but can sufficiently stretch in either direction. I’d make a few design changes — e.g., separate pieces for the shoulder straps, slightly denser material, and padding in the waist belt. It’s best suited as an everyday adventure type of backpack and the eco-conscious user.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the XOÀI Packs Adventure Pack and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

XOÀI Packs, 25L Adventure Pack Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our M20 was provided to us by Minimul. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives.

Trigger warning: If you have trypophobia, the back panel of the backpack may be slightly triggering. There are photos of the back panel in this review.

Overview

The M20 takes the overall design of the M38 Track pack and adapts it into an everyday carry form. It uses robust materials, with an 840D ballistic nylon from Cordura and EVA foam padding. The pack has a top-loading tech compartment with a clamshell opening main compartment, a top zipped org compartment, and dual water bottle pockets.

With 20L of cargo room, I can carry my laptop with charger, a notebook, a wireless keyboard, a pouch with a headset and wireless mouse, a water bottle, and various small items like cables, keys, snacks, etc. With this EDC, there is a bit of room for more. I can add an umbrella and either a small lunch box or a set of gym clothes. The clamshell opening has come in handy a few times already for packing out the main compartment.

The M20 makes a great travel companion as a personal item on a flight if you’re looking for something that packs gear well and is flexible. It lives up to the Minimul name with a clean minimalist style, but in the same vein it lacks exterior lash points if you like having those options.

Pros

• Travel bag elements — specifically the clamshell opening helps pack out the main compartment very efficiently
• Good materials choice with the 840D ballistic nylon exterior with ripstop polyester interior lining
• Smooth and easy to use zippers

Cons

• Aside from the back panel, the exterior doesn’t have structure or firmness, so it feels a bit floppy
• No true quick-access pocket
• The mesh design on the back panel, similar to the M38, triggers trypophobia. That alone will be a deal breaker for some people

Organization

• Tech compartment — The tech compartment sits against the back panel and has a padded 16" laptop sleeve with a false bottom. There is no Velcro strap that goes over the opening of the sleeve, which is how I prefer it. I always find those straps to be unnecessary and in the way. There is also a 10" x 5" (W x H) pocket toward the top for your charger or mouse or whatever small tech accessories you carry, though I tended to just chuck those into the man compartment instead. The opening for that pocket is only ~6 inches.
• Main compartment — The main compartment is relatively large and has a few internal org options. There is a tablet sleeve against the back wall and two 5.75" x 4.5" (W x H) elastic, mesh pockets above that. The front wall has a pen loop and two zipped mesh pockets. The top pocket is 8.5" x 11" (W x H) and has a horizontal zipper that is 2.5" down from the top. The portion above the zipper is also not mesh. The lower one is about 7.5" x 7" (W x H) and has a vertical zipper along one side. If the main compartment were top loading, it would be difficult to get to that zipper, so it helps that it’s a clamshell style. If you put bulky items in these pockets, like a mouse or glasses case, I find that they stick out and can get in the way when getting items in the main space of the compartment. There is also a non-removable key leash at the top of the main compartment, which to me is a very odd place to put a key leash. I don’t want to open the main compartment every time I want to get my keys.

• Front admin compartment — The front compartment has a variety of slip pockets for organizing your small items. There are two 3.75" x 4.25" (W x H) elasticated mesh slip pockets toward the top with a pen sleeve in the middle. The rest of the admin compartment, which is 7.5–9.5" (depending on where you measure) x 14.5" overall (W x H), is just a large dump compartment, so it can be a bit of a search to find something sitting at the bottom of the compartment. One watchout is that the front panel, side walls, and the layer between the main compartment and admin compartment are floppy. So bulky items may push the compartment wall outward. Also, if you have heavier gadgets in the top pockets, the panel might flop over, given the front panel a saggy look. The admin compartment also has a non-removable key leash in the top left corner, though it’s much shorter than the one in the main compartment (2" vs 9"). Lastly, there is a tiny hidden pocket built into the fabric near the key leash that is meant to hold an Airtag or a Tile tracker.
• Dual water bottle pockets — The water bottle pockets are made of spandex, so they’re stretchy enough to fit a 1L Nalgene bottle but still feel secure with smaller bottles too. It is a tight squeeze to get the Nalgene bottle in, and it’s a two-handed job, but smaller bottles are very easy.

Unfortunately, there is no true quick-access pocket or compartment. The admin compartment’s zipper isn’t really in a location that I would consider quick access. And though you can easily unzip the side of the main compartment (even while wearing the backpack on one shoulder), you’ll just get access to the main compartment, rather than a small-organized space.

Additional Features

• Sternum strap — The sternum strap is firmly attached to the straps via rails, which are polyethylene piping wrapped in fabric. However, it is very hard to slide the strap up and down the rails. It may be too tight or getting caught on the webbing underneath. Though most sternum straps attached to rails are not removable, this one is (by design). You can slide the plastic clamp off by pushing it all the way past the top or past the bottom of the rail, though it takes a good amount of effort. For this design, the bottom of the rail looks detached from the shoulder strap, which I think makes it look a bit unfinished. But it’s a very minute detail that most people won’t notice. The strap also has an elastic portion in the middle and a magnetic buckle, which are good designs for a sternum strap.
• Luggage passthrough — The back panel has a horizontal luggage passthrough, which lets you keep the backpack oriented upright when you slip it onto a rolling luggage. But the passthrough strap seems a little loose. You can see it sagging.

• Grab handle — The top of the backpack has a padded grab handle wrapped in webbing. It’s a very simple design, but it feels very comfortable to use.
• Zipper pulls — The external zipper pulls all around the bag are loops that allow for one-finger use. The zippers all slide very smoothly.

Construction and Comfort

The M20 is 16.5 x 11 x 6 inches (H x W x D), 20 L in volume, and comes in at 2.31 lbs. (1.05 kg). The exterior is 840D Cordura ballistic nylon, while the interior lining is a bright yellow, 75D x 150D ripstop polyester. While we’ve reviewed EDC backpacks with higher density fabrics, 840D ballistic nylon is definitely sufficient for a solid backpack and is a good balance of weight and durability. I haven’t had any issues with my gear getting wet when walking in the rain, albeit I haven’t used it in rain for more than several minutes at a time.

All the hardware uses top brands with Woojin buckles and YKK zippers — the exterior zippers are #8 RCz and the internal zippers are #5 RCz. Overall, the construction feels very robust. All the stitching and craftsmanship look solid, and I don’t have any concerns about the durability of the bag.

The shoulder straps are about 2.5" wide at the top of your shoulders and are slightly contoured, so there’s no pinching around your armpits. They are also padded with mesh-covered EVA foam. I do find it a little odd that the inside edges of the shoulder straps are edgeless, but half outer edges are not, but it’s not a negative. More of an observation. The back panel is also padded with mesh-covered EVA, and the padding helps give the M20 some much needed structure. The rest of the bag’s walls and panels are quite soft and floppy.

Overall, it’s a relatively comfortable backpack to use and the choices of materials work well for an EDC backpack.

Additional Notes

• The M20 is somewhat able to stand up on its own; it just depends on how you pack it. The bottom is soft though, so without the right cargo and packing, the bag tends to fall forward.
• Lastly, similar to the M38, I find the large holes in the mesh that lines the back panel and shoulder straps to be visually… unnerving. But aesthetics are very subjective and the front panel view of the backpack has a nice clean style

Conclusion

The M20 works well as an organized EDC backpack that can be packed quite efficiently with its clamshell opening. It’s well-built and should endure years of use. I’d certainly make a few key adjustments, like a bit more structure to the bag outside of the back panel, adding a quick access pocket, and changing the mesh or looks of the back panel/shoulder straps. But this bag would work well for someone looking for something that is professional but still casual and appreciates smart organization.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Minimul M20 and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Minimul M20 Backpack Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our Daylight Briefcase was provided to us by Tom Bihn. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives. This review may also contain affiliate links.

Overview

The Daylight Briefcase is a small, light, and minimal EDC briefcase. With a basic U-shaped zipper for the main compartment plus a few external flat pockets, it’s designed for those who just carry the basics. As Lone Starr emphasized:

At 8 L in volume, I can bring my laptop and charger, a notebook, headphones, wireless mouse, glasses, and some small items like pens. I could toss a small water bottle in there too, but there is no interior sleeve for the water bottle, so best make sure your bottle doesn’t leak. Since the bag’s panels aren’t firm it’s pretty easy to overpack the bag so on top of all that, I can also throw in a small umbrella. That will just about fully pack the bag. Anything more, and you can’t really close the zippers. But for an 8L bag, that’s pretty good bang for your buck.

The bag has two carry options — a pair of minimal grab handles (briefcase mode), and a shoulder strap (messenger mode). The straps for both options are just a layer of webbing with zero padding. So even how you carry the bag is designed to be minimalist.

With a ballistic nylon exterior and ripstop nylon interior lining, it still boasts the durability that Tom Bihn is known for, though it’s a relatively lightweight ballistic nylon. So, if minimal EDC is what you’re looking for, this one would be a solid choice.

Pros

• Light weight but still robust materials
• Manages to fit 3 external compartments to help provide a little bit of organization

Cons

• No padding anywhere in the bag
• All compartments aside from the main compartment are flat and don’t have their own volume
• No water bottle pocket or sleeve

Organization

• Main compartment — The main compartment has all the volume of the bag, though it is a very basic pocket. There is an elastic half-sleeve on the front wall. Aside from that, there are some O-rings for attachments and webbing loops for attachments that use gated clips like Tom Bihn’s laptop sleeve. I do not have TB’s Cache (their laptop sleeve), so I just put my laptop directly into the main compartment. There is no padding on any side of the bag, so it’s a big risk. I could also use a separate laptop sleeve and just slide it into the main compartment too, bypassing the attachment loops. But that will take away a good amount of volume from the main compartment. If you’re just putting the laptop directly into the bag, you can fit a 15" laptop.

• Back compartment — On the back panel is a large flat compartment that is roughly 13 x 10 inches (W x H). It’s a good place for documents or a notebook, but since it has no separate volume, it’s use it still relatively limited. I could see it being used as an additional organizational pocket for cables just for the sake of keeping things orderly. There are two O-rings at the top of this compartment as well for additional attachments you want to add. Just keep in mind that this compartment is flat and against your back when wearing the bag.
• Front horizontal-zip compartment — This is the main place for organizing small items in the Daylight Briefcase. But it’s also a bit of an odd design. There is a partition that splits the compartment into halves. And you would typically expect sleeves or dump pockets that are separate from the rest of the compartment. But instead, the entire compartment is just split into two partitions. They took the whole compartment and just stitched the front and back panel together down the middle. This gives you two pockets that are about 6.5 x 5.5 (W x H), through the whole compartment is 10 inches in height. There are a couple O-rings at the top of the compartment. One of them comes with a non-extendable key leash attached, but you can move that to other O-rings throughout the bag. I’ve been using this compartment for all the small items in my EDC — pens, hand sanitizer, lip balm, pack of tissues, etc.
• Front vertical-zip compartment — On the very front of the front panel is a vertically zipped pocket that is 7 x 13 inches (H x W) and also does not have its own volume. Though the pocket is as wide as the whole bag, the zipper is a couple inches off from the side of the bag. I kept some snacks in this compartment but didn’t have much additional use for it.

Additional Features

The only additional features in the Daylight Briefcase, beyond the O-rings already mentioned above, are the carry features (the grab handles and shoulder strap).

• Grab handles — A pair of grab handles at the top of the bag; made from 1-inch webbings and has no padding. But at 8L, it doesn’t get so heavy that I felt the need for more padding. The webbing is very smooth; feels like seatbelt grade.
• Shoulder strap — Same material as the grab handles, but 1.5-inch webbing. The strap is adjustable to different lengths and removable. It attaches to the bag via gated snaphooks. The snaphooks are not locked in position and can rotate, which helps keep the shoulder strap from getting twisted. I do notice that with how smooth the webbing is, it slides off my shoulder very easily unless I wear it cross-body style, especially if I’m wearing my waterproof jacket.

With such minimalist straps, there isn’t really any intentional design to make the bag more comfortable to carry. But I guess it’s not UNcomfortable at least.

Construction

The Daylight Briefcase is 8L and listed at 14.2" (w) x 10.2" (h) x 3.9" (d). It comes in at 12.7 ounces (359 grams), which is very light for an EDC bag. The version I am using for this review is a high-tenacity 630D ballistic nylon exterior with a 210D cerylon 6,6 ripstop nylon lining. Both the interior and exterior fabrics are bluesign certified. Personally, I feel like 630D is good enough for a small EDC bag. If it were a larger backpack that I knew I was going to use for carrying a larger load or use as a travel bag, then I may want something a bit more robust.

The zippers are YKK #5 coil zippers, and like all TB bags, they come with unattached zipper pulls so you can attach them yourself at the length that you prefer. The rest of the hardware is Duraflex, Nexus and Woojin buckles, which feel good enough for an 8L bag. Unfortunately, the zippers are not sealed, and the exterior fabric is not coated, so don’t stay out in the rain too long.

TB is known for great craftsmanship, and the Daylight Briefcase, even though it’s minimalist by design, still boasts that same level of quality. There is no loose threading; the stitching is neat and well-done. There is reinforced stitching (bartack) at the load points of the handles and straps. So, no concerns with the construction and I would expect this bag to be able to last years.

Additional Notes

Funnily, even though the Daylight Briefcase is relatively thin, it manages to stand on its own better than I expected. Of course, this depends on what you’re carrying and how you pack the bag, but even with my normal carry described above, it will stand.

Conclusion

The Daylight Briefcase carries Tom Bihn’s excellent craftsmanship into a small minimal EDC work bag. This bag would be good for someone who doesn’t carry a ton of gadgets and doesn’t expect to heavily abuse their bag. But if you just carry your laptop, a notebook, headsets, mouse, and a few small things for work, and you primarily commute by driving, the Daylight Briefcase can be a perfect choice.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the Tom Bihn Daylight Briefcase and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

Tom Bihn Daylight Briefcase Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Disclaimer: Our Core Backpack was provided to us by KNKG. We are hugely grateful for the chance to try it, but we also caveat that we provide our honest opinions in the reviews, both the positives and the negatives. This review may also contain affiliate links.

Overview

The Core Backpack can act as a regular gym bag or an office-to-gym bag. This 25L, 2.2-lb backpack is a top-loading bag with a zipped lid, allowing for easy dumping into the main compartment. The key features include a laptop sleeve, a couple internal and external pockets, a shoe compartment that is accessed by a zipped flap at the bottom of the backpack, and external daisy chains that can be used to hold a lifting belt. I’m using the waxed canvas edition in this review, which gives it a classic look. The bag also comes in nylon instead, which has a slightly more tactical aesthetic.

When using it as an office-to-gym backpack, I can include a relatively light EDC load for work and a simple gym setup. That includes a laptop, notebook, glasses case, pouch with work headsets and mouse, various small items, water bottle, a pair of sneakers, socks, gym shorts or joggers, t-shirt, and workout headsets. With this load, when I change into my gym clothes, there is still enough space for my work clothes, which take up a bit more space — shoes, socks, slacks, belt, undershirt, and sweater. With my work clothes and my work carry, the 25L backpack is mostly full. I can fit a tiny bit more, but I’d be cramming the bag at that point.

Pros

• Can stand on its own (depending on how and what you pack); with the top lid open, the backpack can pack like a large dump bag
• Water bottle pockets have a good elasticity, so they can hold large bottles but also stay out of the way when not in use

Cons

• Interior lining is not very tightly attached, which makes the interior feel a little cheap
• Laptop sleeve is also a bit loose, making it look saggy — elastic would improve the experience. Same applies for a few other slip pockets.

Organization

• Main compartment — The main compartment of the Core backpack is relatively simple. There is a 16" laptop sleeve and an 8" x 5" (W x H), elasticated mesh pocket. The laptop sleeve has a strap with a side-release buckle to secure the laptop and is slightly padded. Personally, I’m not a fan of that security strap. It’s unnecessary in my opinion and gets in the way, especially because the side-release buckle is so big. Furthermore, the opening of the laptop sleeve is loose and sags a bit. So, it can get in the way when you’re loading/unloading other items. The user experience could be greatly improved with some elastic at the top edge of the laptop sleeve.
• Shoe compartment — Shoe compartments are the key features of many office-to-gym backpacks. They’re good for keeping all your clothes and items clean from the dirt on your shoes, but they also take away most of the volume in the main compartment. I also keep my shoes in a plastic bag to keep the lining of the shoe compartment from getting dirty. Maybe I’m just obsessive. The 25L Core backpack’s shoe compartment is listed as fitting up to size 10 US shoes, but the actual lengths of shoes vary by brand and type of shoe. I generally wear size 10.5 US and have been able to fit sneakers (Hoka Rincons or Adidas Sambas) or a pair of Oxfords. But 10.5 US feels like the max while still being able to close the compartment. Of course, you can only get low ankle height shoes into this compartment. Over-ankle cuts like hiking boots or basketball shoes won’t fit.

• Top quick access pocket — On the top of the lid is a 10.5" x 4.5" (W x H) pocket, though the opening is only 6.5" across. I generally keep my keys, lip balm, and hand sanitizer in here. Could be a place for my wallet too, but I tend to just keep that in my pocket.
• Front admin compartment — At the bottom of the front panel is an 8" x 9" (W x H) admin compartment with a U-shaped zipper and splayed opening. Inside is a mesh slip pocket as wide as the compartment, plus a few smaller non-mesh ones ranging in size from about 4" x 2" to 8" x 6" (W x H). None of these non-mesh pockets are elasticated, and like the main compartment, I think elastic would improve the user experience. While the large mesh slip pocket is elasticated, the elastic feels too loose because there is no firmness to the compartment itself, so the mesh pocket seems saggy.
• Front zipped pocket — On the front of the admin compartment’s panel is a 8" x 6.5" (W x H) zipped pocket. It’s a flat pocket without its own volume, so any bulky items will bulge outward.

• Water bottle pockets — While the interior pockets of some of the other compartments feel a little lacking, the water bottle pockets are a highlight. They are gusseted and elasticated, so they will stay flush against the body of the bag when not in use. But they are also large enough to fit wide water bottles like 1L Nalgenes, though I can feel that they are pushing against the contents of the main compartment or the shoes in the shoe compartment. Thinner bottles are still secure enough that they don’t feel loose.

Additional Features

• Daisy chains — The upper half of the front panel has two columns of daisy chains for additional attachments. They’re made of 1.5" wide webbing though, so much wider than normal daisy chains. I’m not sure why they’re so wide; it makes it more difficult to attach things. The bottom-most loop of the daisy chain is pretty close to the front compartment’s zipper, and a few times has gotten in the way of zipper.
• Lifting belt holder — The straps with the daisy chains stay flush against the front panel via Velcro fields. If you separate the Velcro fields, you can use the straps to hold a lifting belt and avoid taking up space in the main compartment. The belt would wrap around the back of the backpack and go beneath the back panel. The straps can also be used to hold a jacket or other things.
• Grab handle — The top of the bag has nicely padded grab handle. Being on the lid and not on the back panel by the shoulder straps, it stays very vertical when you hold the bag by the handle, instead of leaning forward. But since there is no frame in the backpack, the bag looks a bit deformed when holding it by the handle.
• Sternum strap — There is a sternum strap attached to the shoulder straps via rails. It has an elastic portion by the side release buckle, so it’s a pretty comfortable sternum strap, but isn’t removable.

Construction and Comfort

The Core Backpack is 25L and weighs 2.2 lbs., which is relatively light for a backpack this size. Though the bag is listed as 20 x 12 x 6.7 inches, the body isn’t firm. So, the flexibility allows the bag to warp in different directions, allowing for a bit of overpacking. Unfortunately, since there is no firm frame sheet, sometimes the back panel can bulge out as well.

The bag typically comes in a 500D nylon version, but the one in this review is waxed canvas (cotton) from Halley Stevenson. The interior lining is a ripstop nylon, though I’m not certain what the density is. It feels like something around 210D. Unfortunately, the interior lining isn’t as taut as it should be, which cheapens the feel of the bag a bit.

The leather components (zipper pulls, grab handle, shoulder strap ends, and logo) are genuine cow leather. The zippers are YKK — The main compartment and admin compartment are #8 RCz and the others are #5 RCz. The zippers are not Aquaguard or sealed, so they’re not the most weatherproof, but that also allows them to run very smoothly. Some counter pulls would be a nice add though.

The plastic buckles all feel very sturdy, but it feels a bit tougher to adjust the straps than normal. I’m not sure if it’s because the buckles are too tight or the webbing is too thick or some other reason. The craftsmanship looks strong with reinforced stitching at the anchor points.

The Core Backpack’s shoulder straps have a tiny curve in them, but I wouldn’t call them contoured. The straps are lined with a thin padding and mesh. The back panel also has mesh-covered padding across the bottom half and two columns beneath the shoulder straps. As mentioned before, the back panel can bulge outward a bit, which prevents much air flow along your back. A frame of some sort would help prevent this and potentially enhance the comfort of the bag. But overall, it’s not a huge backpack, so unless you’re wearing it and moving for a prolonged period of time, it won’t be uncomfortable.

Additional Notes

The limited-edition waxed canvas Core that we received also comes with some incredible packaging and presentation. When the package arrived by post, I was caught off guard by how heavy it was. Turns out, the backpack was in a souvenir wooden box, nicely wrapped in paper inside. There were also a keepsake keychain and a leather wallet in the box, which come with all the waxed canvas Core backpacks. Of course, this has no impact on the performance of the bag, it’s just a nice value add if you’re interested in the waxed canvas backpack. Add on top of this — the waxed canvas looks great and provides a vintage aesthetic that develops a personal look as it gets used.

Summary

Overall, the Core Backpack works well as an office-to-gym backpack or just a gym backpack in terms of what you can carry. It looks great and has style. But there are a few design implementations that I think can be improved — using elastic on the internal pockets and sleeves and keeping the interior lining taut would go a long way. An internal frame sheet and some counter pulls for the zipper could also help.

As always, thanks for reading. Drop a note in the comments if you have any questions about the KNKG Core Backpack and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on what bags we’re trying out.

KNKG Core Backpack, Waxed Canvas 25L Review was originally published in Pangolins with Packs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.