<rant>packs</rant>

[Iraq Ninja]

can anyone comment on LL Bean's Build quality?

If their stuff is made in China, I would not trust my life to it. I too am very picking on my 3 day bags, but my priority is the quality of construction, load bearing design, and features. Many of the packs today are nothing but glorified school packs. They can't be trusted to carry heavy weights if you are in a situation that demands it.

What did you find wrong with the Mystery Ranch 3 day pack? I own two and they are by far my favorite. Not too big, but well organized. Design is top notch, and have three bladder pockets. The price may scare off many buyers, but it is cheap compared to the price of failure when more than money is at stake. If the military colors are a concern, they make a civilian version.

Mystery Ranch and Kifaru are the Noveskis of pack design.

[calicojack]

If their stuff is made in China, I would not trust my life to it. I too am very picking on my 3 day bags, but my priority is the quality of construction, load bearing design, and features. Many of the packs today are nothing but glorified school packs. They can't be trusted to carry heavy weights if you are in a situation that demands it.

What did you find wrong with the Mystery Ranch 3 day pack? I own two and they are by far my favorite. Not too big, but well organized. Design is top notch, and have three bladder pockets. The price may scare off many buyers, but it is cheap compared to the price of failure when more than money is at stake. If the military colors are a concern, they make a civilian version.

Mystery Ranch and Kifaru are the Noveskis of pack design.

it's to big, and lacks the external organization that i >want<

the compression straps on my gen1 raid are cinched all the way down.

[ST911]

can anyone comment on LL Bean's Build quality? i think i may have found something that will work <for now> that will work a little better than the raid i'm currently using.

I've seen some newer production of several LL Bean offerings within the last several months. They are mediocre for M4C standards. Good enough for the end user they're marketing to. They're on par with some others you'd see from Cabelas and REI.

I have an LL Bean Book Pack that I picked up in Freeport 20+ years ago. It's had a hard life since. When I bought a couple more two years ago, there were distinct differences in overall build quality.

[TehLlama]

My Tri-Zip is Coyote, pride prevents me from having any foilage colored gear. Semper Fi.

Mine's Coyote too


I'm a bit amazed I haven't seem some more roll-your-own type packs that are in black or other subdued colors with the features desired in a go-bag.

I'm kind of building a couple of my rifles to fit perfectly in a tennis racket bag, but that's truthfully the wrong way around.

[PatEgan]

I know what you mean. I don't really care about it being too military or 'tactical' looking, but I have yet to find an AFFORDABLE pack that has all of the features I want.

Ironically, 5.11's 'Rush 24' pack has great internal features, as far as organization goes. I wouldn't trust the quality though, which is why I use it as an admin bag only for LEO Patrol. It's great in that role, but lacks capacity for other things.

I really like my Eagle III-A Assault bag, but it has zero internal dividers, no hangers or means of attachment for a hydration bladder (inexplicably), and no loops on the shoulder pads that will accomodate the wide mouth valves now prevalent. It's 'hydration compatible,' but barely. It excels in the role of being able to be stuffed with a ton of crap, carried very comfortably, and being pretty bomb-proof. I guess one could always just separately purchase pouches for internal organization purposes. A blend of these two sure would be nice, though...

Pat

[Black Jeep]

I always tell people to look at brands sold at REI not at tactical packs.



The hiker packs are LIGHT YEARS ahead of military type packs in design and comfort.


No you don't get a back that has molle webbing all over it but thats a dumb idea anyways. You want the weight low and towards the inside/back area of the pack not on the outside anyways.


Id specifically look at Gregory. They are made in the USA in the town I grew up in, and they are an excellent company. Get one of their packs FIT TO YOU, and you'll never look at a molle emblazoned pack again.

I do the same thing. These companies have to roll out updated gear pretty much every year in order to get the gearheads to buy the newest thing. Because of that, they are constantly tweaking weights and suspension systems. They beat hell out of the old Army surplus ALICE pack I got when I was 10 and in the Boy Scouts.

I use a Gregory Shasta as my backpacking pack and for day hiking or light travel I use an Arc'teryx Bora 40. It has a top pouch and a kangaroo pouch on the back for stuff I need to get to quickly. If I had to bug out, I'm grabbing the Gregory. I typically keep my Arc'teryx pretty handy, but I don't have a GHB as my truck tool box keeps that stuff pretty well sorted out. We would have to be well into a post-apocalyptic world in less than 30 minutes in order to keep me from getting home. Even our worst weather here would only delay me by a few hours.

[NinjaTactics]

the problem is, i don't want/need anything that big. i need a smallish day/3day pack, but one that is decently organized. and i've looked at the gregory stuff. didn't like it that much. Osprey is my preferred civilian brand, but even then, it's got one top loading pocket.

and before it's mentioned, NO the dap pack doesn't fit the bill either.

So to sum up your requirements, here's what I'm reading:
- must be able to blend in for civilian use (aka less than 3 million MOLLE webbings, not coyote/multicam/etc.)
- must not be too big
- must have 3L hydration reservoir
- must have easily accessible organization

That pretty much mirrors my requirements for this type of bag, and I think I found something that fits these requirements. Check out DAKINE's APEX backpack here:
http://www.dakine.com/bike/hydration-packs/apex/

All black rugged case (blends in), with easily accesible 3L water hydration reservoir, 1600 cubic inches of storage (aka not too big), enough small pockets, and sweet side and front pockets that zips open to reveal some nice organization (aka med kit, magazine, and Glock storage). MSRP is $125, you can find it $10-20 cheaper online. DAKINE makes some nice stuff in my experience, and this is only 2.1 lbs, which is acceptible for what you're getting (630D Nylon and 600 Polyester; heavy duty fabrics). I'm pretty sure I just found my next bag with this discovery.

Note that if you want something even more streamlined and equally useful the DAKINE Nomad is very similar and rings in at 1100 cubic inches (and about $25 cheaper).

What do you think calicojack? That JanSport Unhinged backpack is one of the ugliest things I have ever seen in my life.

EDIT: the APEX can be had for $100 shipped on ArtsCyclery here, and it also has more info on the pack (like the fact that the waist strap is removable, 2 of the 4 side pockets are fleece-lined, etc.). I just placed an order for this right now, and it should be here and tested by next week, so I'll let you know my impressions then.

[calicojack]

just found this from hazard4. i like it with the exception of two things. 1) it's a sling pack, but their harness intrigues me and 2) it's only avail in black and coyote.

[TimW]

Gear companies make the things their larger/largest customers want: Namely the military.

Apparently the military isn't seeing the need for the uber-organization you want..and even if they did, would they really get it done in *just* the right way *you* want? They carry heavy and bulky items and don't need/want all that other stuff.

Get a custom made pack based on some design sketches you do. Otherwise, I don't see your desire coming to light since the market is probably too small. If there *was* a large enough market to recoup the design time, prototyping and production, don't you think someone would have done it already? That they haven't leads me to believe the market to support it isn't there.

As for the Trizip, too big? It's 1800 c.i. and smaller than the standard Eagle A-III pack, which is the 'average' 3Day pack.

What you want ISN'T a 3-day pack if you're looking for "not too big".

[danpass]

just out of curiosity, what is it about the Camelbak Linchpin that doesn't work?