The Problem:
For some reason it is socially unacceptable for men in the US to carry any sort of a bag with them. Men’s bags are called Man-purses, man-bags, murses etc. So what does any self-respecting (or self-conscious) gearhead do? They stuff everything they carry into their pockets!! This may work when walking around town in cargo pants, but you can’t pull that off when going to see a client in a Business Casual environment.
The Man-Purse redefined:
Trailblazers like Jack Bauer and Jim from Office Space have made man bags acceptable once again. Now we can proudly call our satchels “Jack Bags,” messenger bags, bug out bags, gadget bags or EDC (Every day carry) bags.
My wife, being the sweetheart she is, simply calls them purses collectively.
The Solution?
Rummaging around the dozens of posts on edcforums.com led me to the Maxpedition line of products over and over. The same line that features the Maxpedition Fatboy S-type that John wrote a glowing review of a while back. To try to find the ideal solution, I purchased a Maxpedition Fatboy Verispack and a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack from Amazon. Both ran me about $60 shipped. I decided to return or resell the unit I didn’t like.
For a full Photo Gallery see my Flickr set here.
Maxpedition Jumbo (Left) & Fatboy (Right) Versipacks
Both bags are very well built and well suited for the task of every day carry. I found that the footprint of both bags was nearly identical, but the Jumbo features a larger main compartment and an additional collapsible Nalgene bottle holder pocket.
Fatboy on top of Jumbo. Almost the same footprint!
As you can see, when I put the Fatboy on top of the Jumbo, you can barely see the larger Jumbo underneath the Fatboy.
The ultimate test for me was putting my Asus EEE 1000HE into the main compartment of each bag. The netbook didn’t fit into the Fatboy, but it did fit easily into the Jumbo.
Maxpedition Jumbo fully Packed. (Nalgene holder is collapsed.)
Maxpedition Jumbo Payload
For the things I carry (see photo) the Jumbo works fairly well, but when I carry my Netbook it is pretty much fully packed. I’m thinking perhaps the Sitka may be a better fit for me. However, my question to the board is does anyone use the Sitka as a carry-with-them-everywhere-type-bag? Is it convenient to get in and out of the car, pass through stores, sit down at restaurants etc., or is it just too big to be practical for anything other than hauling to and from work/car?
The Things I’d like to carry every day:
1. Asus EEE PC 1000HE (don’t always drag this along, but as an IT consultant it is important for me to have it nearby).
2. iPhone
3. Red Oxx “Rigger” wallet
4. Fenix PD30 LED flashlight
5. 2 packs Alka-seltzer (works great for headaches or indigestion)
6. Kleenex
7. Moleskine
8. Gerber Artifact
9. Leatherman Micra
10. headphones for iphone/netbook
11. Keys for my car & wife’s car
12. Pen
13. Cable(Zip?) ties just in case something needs “fixed”.
14. Flash memory.
The bag accommodates all these things and has room for plenty more. The only problem is, with this full payload, there is not much room left in the center compartment for anything else that may be bulky. So I need to choose between my netbook, and say, my rain jacket to occupy the main compartment real estate. For that reason, I’m also considering the Maxpedition Sitka as a possible Man-Purse alternative.
Why Tactical?
So, why did I choose to buy a Maxpedition bag rather than a Tom Bihn Ristretto for netbooks for example? My main reason for finding this board and buying an EDC bag was because I was getting sick of carrying all my things in my pants pockets. Carrying a vest or fully loaded jacket also wasn’t an option for me. What I really needed was a “Man-purse” but one that wasn’t too “European.”
The Maxpedition line of equipment is all very “Tactical.” That means it is adorned with all sorts of para-military style Velcro patches, MOLLE straps and other doodads that make the bags just look very, very utilitarian.
Likes / Dislikes:
I love how this bag slings across my side and molds to my body. When I need to access anything, I simply swing the bag around the front and remove what I need. I also like the plethora of small pockets on the bag that allow me to store my small items in their own special places, making things easy to find. MOLLE straps allow me to easily expand the bag if I need to with attachments, or simply hook on carabiners. Of course no bag would be complete without letting me add my velcro “Don’t Tread on me” Gadsden flag.
Conceal Carry Weapon Pocket. I use this to store my wallet.
As I mentioned, this very “Tactical” bag also features a special quick access pocket for Concealed Carry. Inside the pocket are velcro strips for attaching a special velcro holster. I don’t use the pack for concealed carry, instead I use it to hold my wallet. When shopping with my wife, she requires me to be able to draw the wallet at a moment’s notice.
So what don’t I like?
1. The integrated key clip on the shoulder strap is on the wrong side IMO. This model of the bag is intended to be carried on the right side (s-type model for lefties). When carried in that manner, the key-clip is essentially on your back. This means to access my keys, I need to swing the bag all the way around (very hard to reach that far back) every time I get into or out of my car.
2. The main pocket features a storm collar which I’m not too keen on. Unfortunately it is not removable. As such it simply gets in the way 90% of the time.
3. The shoulder pad needs to be stickier. They should apply more rubber compound to the underside of this strap to keep it from slipping unintentionally.
4. I don’t like coil zippers. I’d have preferred the large YYK tooth zippers used by Red Oxx on all their bags.
5. There is no handle. Once the bag is off your shoulder, it is kind of hard to hang onto.
The Verdict:
This bag is great and is 110% better than stuffing everything in my pockets. However the bag isn’t quite perfect. I’m hoping the soon-to-arrive Sitka will fit my needs better.
