Luggage Bags and Packs
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@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
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Rofmia Backpack V2 incoming!
I love the Daypack so much I wanted something I could single-day with.
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Experimenting with single bag travel for an overnight business trip. A tight squeeze but managed to get everything into the Backpack V2. The Daypack reigns supreme for EDC and travel with additional baggage but man this thing is super cool and wears extremely comfortably.
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Carryology have a new GoRuck collaboration launching next week. The theme is Vikings.
Edit: The design article has been posted at Carryology.
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Does anyone have Bleu de Chauffe's "Report Business Bag" or anything similar and can share their experiences?
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Just replaced my old Goruck GR-1 after 8 years of daily use, and even then it’s still usable. I passed it on to my son and it will probably still be in use long after I am, amazing quality back packs.
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I think a GR1 21L is next on my list of things to get. My only real hesitation is my current bag has side pockets, and I've gotten so used to sliding a phone in one and a pen/knife/lip balm in the other!
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I love mine for travel, the durability and full clam shell opening is great.
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