Help me find an EDC backpack

[randy]

Don't know about actual field deployment conditions (especially military), but I've got a 5.11 Aggressor Parka that's holding up very well after 4 years of constant use year round.

My office just purchased some of their Responder parkas. Too soon to see how they hold up, but they're kept in stock at the local police/fire supply store and used by a couple of local departments.

[308Mike]

Just a warning I have used some 5.11 stuff in the past and have been less than impressed, most notably a pair of shoes that broke right out of the box. My senior year West Point cadet brother just laughs whenever I mention 5.11. Apparently no one he knows uses their gear and it is regarded as subpar in the circles he travels in.

That's the kind of help I'm looking for. Real-life durability experience. What brands do they like?

Find someone who hasn't yet tired to figure out where they can cut costs. If they start getting cheap on the stitching, it can blow apart on you. Cheaper weave/material, and you'll wind up with wear marks LONG before you expect them to start showing up. Do you like the ability to lock your pack/bag? Make sure the zippers are strong enough to take the abuse and possibility of someone trying to simply pull his way inside with the lock still hanging on the locked zipper.

It's like having a security gate over your front door, complete with all the locks being commercial-grade locks, and non-removable pins on the security door - and right next to it is an ancient 30" single-pane, single-hung window with no extra protection which can EASILY be defeated from the outside. I mean, why attack the door when the easy-access window is available right next to it (forgetting the starved tigers or mountain lions being kept in the room)?

My climbing pack has lasted more than 20 years with severe abuse. Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get a LOT more than what you pay for (I bought that pack used and VERY cheaply), and other times you get junk. When you decide to do your own evaluations, make sure you take the SAME books, papers, notebooks, electronic devices, flashlights, guns, magazines, etc., etc., to EACH evaluation so you get a fair assessment of each to compare.

Try and find an outfitter near you who can, and is able & WILLING to show you the various packs you've requested for him to show you. You might find your distributor is more than willing to put on a pack demonstration - especially if he might have several buyer lined up (including stores). The work you put into this will likely pay off in spades once you've made your decision.

I'm very interested in your final decision and the reasons behind it (value, materials, robustness, flexibility, design, fit, comfort, etc., etc.), so please report back when you've made your final decision, and ESPECIALLY what you find when you get it and try it out!!

[JAG2955]

I don't think that I'd ever seriously expect 5.11's gear to perform at a premium level, but for the price, it's very good. For example, I wouldn't ever seriously trust their MOLLE gear, but I have several pairs of their pants, which is what they're known for. I also used one of their bail-out bags when I was in Iraq. It held up okay, but it's more of a "budget" kind of gear. I'd rank it above Maxpedition, but below Eagle, Camelbak, etc.

My new EDC/GHB/work bag is a Triple Aught Design bag. Don't ask what I paid for it, but I'll never have to buy another daypack again.

[Kommander]

Quick rundown of my experiences with stuff like this.

LAPG: I have used their pants and bailout bag. The pants were not too great but were only $10. The bag made it through about a year before the muzzle of the gun I had in there wore through the side of the bag. But hey it was $15.

Hazard 4: I have only used their slingpack, but it is holding up well so far.

Blackhawk!!!!!!!!: Aside from their duty holster I have only used a bit of their stuff in limited ways but my brother seems to think the stuff is ok for the price. I have nto been able to kill the holster in 4 years of daily use.

Galls: Used a duty belt of theirs for a bit, was cheap but not very good.

5.11: Their covert khakis are good, and their leather gunbelt is quite solid though the finish wears a bit easy. Their tactical pants don't fit me well at all (I have christened them the ballcrushers) while their Tactical Trainer 2.0s lost bits the first time I tried them on. Their covert shirts are ok but have to much crap on them to be comfortable during the summer. Oh and their socks are...erm...socky.

Maxpedetion: I use one of their small GP pouches, their phone, and their flashlight holder at work every day and they have held up quite well. Granted I am not jumping out of airplanes, but they have held up better than my surefire pouch.

[Windy Wilson]

I was thinking that if you want it to be sort of incognito, you need to look at what the granola-munching ex-hippie types are carrying. Some of the examples above seem just a bit too tactical. In LA they seem to favor a soft sided leather or canvas briefcase with a strap to hang the thing off your shoulder.
Generally black seems to be the popular color, but OD or some darkish color might do as well. As someone above said, a picture of a marijuana leaf (or Che' --Mr. Commercial Opportunity himself) might be sufficiently low key.

[Weetabix]

I went to a local store that carries 5.11 gear last night. I got to fondle the Rush12, Rush24, Rush72, and Covert18. As I had suspected, the 24 was about the size I want, but the COVRT 18 surprised me.

It seems mostly to have the features I want, it doesn't say, "Shoot me first," and they saved a lot of weight by leaving the "E" out of the name. It looks kind of like a slightly high priced day pack rather than tacti-cool. They did have to work some hook & loop and molle loops into an inside compartment (even if you're covert, you still have to be tactical ).

Even after handling it, I don't know what a Concealed R.A.C. (Roll-down assault compartment) is, nor did I notice the Ambidextrous side-entry Back-Up Belt System® compartment. Maybe they send you a coded message explaining it after you've brought it home so non-operators won't learn all your secrets at the store. I did find the QuickTact™ accessory straps, but neither I nor the salesman could figure out what they're for.

The main selling point for me may very well be:

Our new COVRT 18 is a bag built to blend in, yet go operational at a moment's notice, whether through the mall, on the beach, or at the airport.

I don't know what it means to "go operational" but it would be a comfort to know that option is available.

[Kommander]

I totally forgot to mention Camelbak in my last post. If you like that 5.11 COVRT 18 Camelbak has several similar offerings, such as the Urban Assault. Based on my own experiences and that of others I would be more inclined to trust Camelbak over 5.11.

[Weetabix]

Based on my own experiences and that of others I would be more inclined to trust Camelbak over 5.11.

Keep in mind that I'm not Captain BadAss, Defender of Liberty(!!1!).

I'm not executing a back flip to a tuck and roll from a speeding APC on my way to taking down international gun runners in the gritty back alleys of Prague.

I'm carrying more things than I really need back and forth to the office, making occasional trips out of town and taking occasional hikes.

If those uses won't exceed the durability of a particular pack that has the organizational features I (tell myself) I need, I'm good.

So, given a moderate load and relatively mild use conditions, do you think the Camelbak is worth the additional $50? I can get the Covert 18 for $109 locally where I can see it and touch it. I'll have to call back to see if they have the Camelbak locally. The more I look around, the more I realize that handling it is pretty important to me.

What do you all think? Would the Covert fail under those uses? Would the Camelbak not fail?

I did notice in the reviews, no one seems to have been using a Covert for more than six months, but no one said it fell apart in the first three months either.

P.S. - Another thing I liked about the Covert was that it looked pretty innocuous - like it's probably full of school books and a sweatshirt rather than a laptop, a Glock, and tactical lunch accessories.

PPS - I'm not arguing with you guys - I'm arguing with myself. I want to make this decision once and be done.

[Kommander]

Believe me I get it. That why I went with the 5.11 shoes first, they were cheaper than some of the things that were available locally. Then one of the eyelets came off while I was lacing them up. Other areas of the shoes seems to be poorly built as well so I just sent the damn things back and got a good pair at REI for $50 more. In my case I think the extra $50 was well worth it. Also note that the Camelbak pack comes with a hydration bladder while the 5.11 does not. That $20-$30 right there. Also I did some searching and found this site selling the Camelbak for $118.99 with ground shipping being about $10 for me. You could also consider the CamelBak UAC. It is the same as the Urban Assault but comes with three special areas to conceal a handgun. Unfortunately for reasons that boggle the mind Camelbak only want the UAC being sold to military and law enforcement. However if you look hard enough you can find them on ebay and whatnot.

[Windy Wilson]

Go to an outdoor store and fingerprint and wear some of their daypacks. I have a Jansport and (yes, that's the name) two Dolt bags from 30 years ago. Dolt was a local manufacturer of various travel bags that lost out to cheap overseas labor and Jansport's superior marketing. Dolt really wasn't such a good name after all.