So call me a bag-o-holic. i have more day/3 day packs than any one man should be allowed to purchase/borrow/trade for. You may ask yourself, “why does calicojack need so many packs”. The answer to your question is: i don’t. I just haven’t found a manufacturer YET that seems to grasp the concept of ORGANIZATION!
I guess that’s why i have such an affinity for “military/tactical” packs. it’s the fact that you can throw a bunch of smaller pouches on the outside and organize things. The downside to this is the fact that it screams… “GUN” if you know what i mean.
Why won’t anyone wake up and smell the coffee? There is a specific niche that wants a pack that has great organization and NOT one large cavernous area, one medium cavernous area and a few sport bottle hangers on the sides? I think the closet i have found to what i’m looking for is actually a civilian pack made by jansport: The unhinged, but it lacks a prerequisite hydration slot for a 3l bladder.
seriously. make something like what’s pictured above, make it available in 500d cordura, in civilian colors and sew a hydration slot on the back, underneath the shoulder straps so you don’t have to unpack your bag to refill your bladder. oh, and keep it under $150. IT CAN BE DONE.
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.
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.
If you get a chance check out some of the Burton (think snowboards) backpacks, I have been running them for about 16 years now (god I’m old) and haven’t had any problems. Their travel bags are pretty cool, this years colors suck but you can get most of them in plain old black too…
oh and DaKine I have one of their old bags that was given to me by their local rep CHEAP and I love it, it goes to work with me more often then not, and holds my laptop, water and all of my work garbage. Their site sucks this year so Ill just post links…
I think thats the nest I can do on such short notice. LOL
PS my wife calls me a bag whore, because I have a ton of backpacks, I still have the Burton back that I worked at Squaw Valley, and Mt. Rose with 16 years ago, and I have collected a new one every other year or so, including camera bags. She hates my obsession.
This project is to get my GHB/go bag to >appear< more civilian friendly. Right now my raid has 5 pouches on the exterior for quick access items. it looks very >military< and sticks out like a sore thumb.
They are:
1 OSOE Tear Off Ifak (first aid and BOK)
1 Esstac 7 cell (water filter and Survival kit (signal mirror, whistle, fire))
1 esstac nalgene bottle pouch (additional water that i don’t want in the main compartment in case of leak)
1 Flash light pouch (with surefire g2)
1 horizontal smoke pouch (binoculars)
now my route home from my farthest work area is pretty much all wooded, and i’m going to make use of some overgrown abandoned rail beds to get home, so i won’t be around people that much. however, should i ever have to travel to a metro area i don’t want to be >that guy< that everyone notices cause of his pack.
it’s just frustrating that the “tactical industry” has such a civilian base (preppers, trainers, etc) and NO ONE thinks to make products that are more “grey man”-ish
I have a Camelbak Transalp that I have carried for 12 years on and off. It is smaller than what you are refering to as a three day back, which I thought that the CamelBak Mystery Ranch Tri-Zip fit the category of, size-wise.
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.
in the long run i think i’m going to have a friend make me a updated version of the small alice pack. say 18hx11.5wx6d What I’m thinking is instead of being a top loader, it’d be a full zip front loader with the same front pocket, left pocket and a custom pocket on the right. the pocket on the right will be made from three “pouches” (for the nalgene, binos and light). and it’ll be in a more “crowd friendly” color. I’m thinking charcoal or a “canvas brown”
I have one of these from my office. It’s okay for day-to-day stuff, but simply lugging around my laptop, spare power supply and a pistol gets tedious quickly. I wouldn’t want one of these for any kind of serious use.
It was like $50, has compartments and a generous main storage area.
