Luggage Bags and Packs
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Latest Carryology buys. Hoping my Mission Workshop bag shows up soon!
The Matador is nice but the water bottle pockets are rubbish. Too light and too slick causing a bottle to go flying if you turn or bend over.
IG: bluehandsslim
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I wish all water bottle pockets were like rofmia. Kind of a neoprene like material that stretches but lies flat, will drain leakage, holds bottles securely, and has a reinforcement at the top to make it easier to insert the bottles. They have solved this issue comprehensively and everyone should copy them.
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@Seul Thank you. Ran the numbers and after shipping, euro conversion, etc., not really going to save much money. I have three of the black hole bags (roller bags) and love them for travel. Was hoping to get a duffel as it's easy to throw in the overhead and make airlines happy (getting harder with every flight).
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@Anesthetist I meant to reply yesterday, but my Internet dropped out.
Shame about the water bottle pockets. It's probably a compromise to make the bag packable.
I'm looking forward to seeing your Mission Workshop too.
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Really love my new Briggs & Riley carryon spinner. I got a family of differently sized compression packing cubes from Amazon. For this week’s 3-day trip I only used 3 of the 5 cubes along with an Eagle Creek shirt and pant storage thing as the base and didn’t need to use the spinner’s compression system, and was able to fit sandals, sneakers, a belt, a Dopp kit, personal laptop, and 3+ days of business casual wardrobe with a lot room to spare despite kind of small dimensions on paper (I think the flat base helps there).
Rofmia Daypack v2 has work laptop, battery and cables, rain shell, various knickknacks and gadgets, snacks, and a liter water bottle, again with lots of room to spare. As with the spinner, to be so compact, this thing hauls quite a bit.
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Local Buffalo Exchange had a Peak Design Everyday Backpack 20L (V1 from my research) for $65. Picked it up for my wife, but she decided she wanted more external pockets. I'm liking the features and ability to customize for different cameras and such, although I'm only going to occasionally use it to carry a single camera + lens, and mostly use for general EDC. Love the option to open from top or sides!
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Our oldest son has used the GR-1 as book bag and abused it for years. Still looks new. Just ordered one for myself. Couldn’t resist the sale.
https://www.goruck.com/products/gr1-usa-tropic-multicam -
@Sage954 said in Luggage Bags and Packs:
Our oldest son has used the GR-1 as book bag and abused it for years. Still looks new. Just ordered one for myself. Couldn’t resist the sale.
https://www.goruck.com/products/gr1-usa-tropic-multicamI ordered the smaller 21L GR-1 some years ago following a recommendation here. It was insanely expensive to import into the UK but has proved to be worth every penny. I use it pretty much every day and always aim to take it as my only piece of luggage when travelling - “less but better” (Dieter Rams).
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Considering picking up a GR1 sometime. Still not sure if I’d do the 21 or 26.
Wants List:
IHSH-20-Red, XL
IHSH-208-Indigo Kersey, L-XL
IHSH-254-Grey Kersey, L-XL
IHSW-45 Black, M
IH-526SV 21oz type III, 38 or 40
IH-777S-SB size 32
IH-777S-142 size 31 or 32 -
@Cutlasshound FYI on Porter quality... just one anecdote, but the seam attaching the shoulder strap to the main body on my backpack started to come apart after less than a year. Granted, I packed it fairly full and heavy and used it fairly often. The nylon also shows scuffs fairly easily. For the price they charge, I wish it was more of a tank.
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Yes definitely agree that need to treat the nylon fairly carefully.
I do have a backpack from them, but I got it for £120 on sale and it is small. Other than that and the crag tote, all my bags from them are small slings / shoulder bags / tote made from the tanker nylon and, as you say, can scuff.
You are quite right. For me their backpacks just aren’t heavy duty enough or designed for being abused. I also learnt the hard way with bags generally years ago, when I had a prolapsed disc and discovered that the load distribution on a number of my backpacks / messengers was shocking. That led me to the made in USA mil-spec mystery ramch packs. Have five Mystery Ranch packs now 3DAP, ASAP and 3 of the Carryology packs. All bullet proof and hard as nails (albeit the are designed to be carried on two shoulders).
Thinking about it, I bought one of the larger porter daypacks for my wife (£140 reduced from £400) and the first thing she said was that loved the fabric, but rubbish for carrying heavy loads.
I personally would not buy another backpack from Porter as pricepoint to high and not robust enough to warrant it. I do love the smaller bags that I have from them though, which are all beautifully made, with lots of design choices! I did get them all on sale / cheaper than the current extortionate prices that some UK stores now charge.
As an aside, although I see the merits of the Gr1 and its construction (I have one in black x-pac), not a fan of the front pocket and it does essentially look like a big fucking lunchbox. I have also found the molle configuration to be fucking useless! Still, I can see why people like them / rate them.
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@Cutlasshound Thanks for sharing your take. I've always admired Mystery Ranch but never pulled the trigger. Need to give them another look.
I also have a smaller Porter fannypack and like it better. The nylon has a wonderful texture and I love the look. Makes sense that they do style better than serious hauling.
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@Cutlasshound here is one use of the molle.
I’m a big fan of Mystery Ranch as well. I have a few older Dana Designs packs. Mid 1990’s still going strong. Dana sold the company to K2 and then eventually founded Mystery Ranch. All good stuff. This D-Route has seen many laps.
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@chrisjohnnick how much do you need to carry? For me the 21 is a sweet spot bag, big enough for travel, small enough for EDC.
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@Anesthetist Nice!! Thoughts?
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Unfortunately, I havent had much time to really play with it prior to packing for our vacation. However, I can tell you the fabric has a very high quality, technical feel. It is textured but slick and feels like it will wear in v. breaking down at folds.
The construction feels GoRuck level, damn near bombproof and the combination of roll top and flap opening is pretty awesome. There are three stretch mesh pockets inside (which substitute for external bottle holders…which I miss), a dump pocket, and two small flat zip pockets. I would like another zipped mesh internally but that’s there are gear organizers.
The yoke is pure genius and the easiest to set up that I have seen. It makes MR’s yoke system look antiquated.
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@Anesthetist Thank you very much and safe travels
I look forward to a report when you get back on how it travels as it is gorgeous and has definitely peaked my interest.
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As I mentioned I am carrying it on vacation (along w the carryology Matador). I had it pretty heavily loaded on our travel day and despite wearing it off and on over 20 hours, my shoulders felt great and have no hot spots or fatigue. MW definitely knows how to construct a shoulder strap!
The flap system is nice but getting to the stretch pocket is a little difficult, esp if the bag is loaded up. For ease of access I had it in flap mode and it was very convenient. For walking around London, I have had it in roll top mode. Perfect for London’s bipolar rainy weather!
We leave for our Norwegian Fjord cruise soon and plan to carry it around town and on some hikes. Long story short, I love this bag (and the Matador). Oddly enough, no one notices the MW, but the Matador is a real attention grabber. Have gotten a few compliments on it, even from security guards.
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I feel like #packstack might take off….
Mission Workshop
SDR Traveller
Rimowa
