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Posted: 8/15/2012 5:43:23 PM EDT
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fuck me running, backpacks are like shoes. and i am a woman. so either the shoe doesnt fit, or i need to have 200 of them.
anyhoo, i am looking for another backpack. for school/urban type duty. last year i got the kelty map 3500, and used it for the last 2 semesters. what i came to find was that the bag was too big when i only had 2 or 3 classes a day. too much bag flopping all over the place. so i looked for something smaller. next up i got the first spear comm pack. and its a little too tight, i can fit my books inside but it doesnt have enough space for the extra bullshit i carry all the time, like my first aid kit and some snacks or what have you. so, the kelty was 2300 ci, and too big. the comm pack was ~900 ci, and too small. and so my search begins. criteria: -US made. -between 1200-1800 ci i think would be a good ballpark. -non tactical colors, im thinking of going with black. -little to no molle. so far, i have come up with the MR sweet pea or 3DAP in black, but i think thats a little much. of course if i got that i could take it hiking. i have also come up with the TT urban operator. any opinions on that? ideas? |
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Have a MR 3dap in black I'm transitioning to for normal every day use. Minor MOLLE, but really not that noticeable. Had to use an X-Acto to cut out the stitched "assault pack" under the MR logo. Love this pack a lot. Blends in very well. Have some REI dry bags that I use to keep various and sundry items in, and an admin pouch for pens and crap to create some organization within the bag since it's just a big bucket. Sweet Pea is great too, but I like black. Check out a CamelBak Maximum Gear Urban Assault. It's black, has no MOLLE and has great storage for laptops, pens, and your usual everyday crap. I have a CamelBak Urban Rover which was the precursor to the Urban Assault. Same story as the Urban Assault but it has MOLLE on it. Not made in USA, but pretty damned butch. I think it's about 2200ci. Tons of pockets, sleeves, compartments and other stuff for your gear. I've had this pack for six years and used it about every day for work. Still going strong. |
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Quoted:
I've had the TT Urban for a couple of weeks and really like it. I do wish it had an internal loop thing for pens, flashlights, etc. Other than that, I'm trying to figure out an external quick release mount for my med kit, but I don't criticize the TT for that. if you load it up, how are the shoulder straps? the only thing im concerned with is if i fill it up with books how comfy its going to be, since books add weight damn quick. im also looking at TT's modular operator pack. i emailed them seeing if they could do it in black, and to not put the external molle on. i think that would be nice, as it has beefier shoulder straps. |
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and so my search begins. criteria: -US made. -between 1200-1800 ci i think would be a good ballpark. -non tactical colors, im thinking of going with black. -little to no molle. I was looking for the same thing, and ended up with a Foliage (grey) Camelbak Linchpin. I think the Foliage looks less tactical than solid black, it seems to blend in anywhere. With the Futura harness from Mystery Ranch, it's comfortable loaded with up to 35 lbs, and thanks to the design does not need a stupid hip belt, which I hate  I also like that it has no molle webbing, just a few straps to cinch the load down when underpacked.
To show how grey it is, here it is next to a solid grey pack from Countycomm: 
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Kelty Shrike. It's about 1900 cubes and is my EDC bag. I used to be a big Maxpedition fan boy till I tried out some Kelty packs in "subdued" earth tone colors. Now I'm a Kelty Fan boy. No real need for 1000D Codura fabric unless you like humping extra weight all over the place.
I carry all this stuff in it with room left over for stuff I may have to carry extra during the day. 
The coloration makes it blend in pretty well in the woods if you are looking for something like that. I use it as a daypack too when going hiking or hog hunting. |
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I have the TT removable operator.
It's delightful. I have carried 25lbs ~5miles with zero problems. The straps aren't padded much, but the way they conform to your body, they don't need to be. I know TT will do custom orders if you wanted one without any molle loops. |
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Have a look at this pack from Spec-Ops. Price is right, and I've had good luck with their products. Apparently now offered in
desert camo and foliage green as sale items. The Hi-Viz yellow internal lining is surprisingly useful. It has enough correctly-positioned compression straps to cinch it down to what you need. My rule of thumb is that is is easy to compress most packs down in volume, but tough to enlarge packs that are too small. I think that MOLLE webbing will soon be, if not already included in a lot of civvy packs, if only for "style" reasons. I think the concern about MOLLE webbing on most packs preventing one from being a "Grey Man" is overstated. IMHO, a multicam pack would probably be more of an "indicator" than a foliage green version of the same pack with MOLLE. So, I advise against an over-concern about MOLLE. One thing I would STRONGLY suggest is buying the frame sheet for the pack, if the pack does not come with one. I would call ahead to find out if the on-sale pack comes with the frame sheet. Link to frame sheet: http://www.specopsbrand.com/tactical-gear/packs/t-h-e-pack-frame-black.html. This brings up the cost of the pack to about $135, but IMHO, a frame sheet on a pack like this is ESSENTIAL, and I would not buy a pack in this range that did not have one. S-O's frame sheet is reinforced with bendable aluminum stays, and is user-configurable. Better than most frame sheets, IMHO. If I was buying this pack, adding-on the frame sheet would be a NO-BRAINER for me. YMMV. You can make your own frame sheet by buying a sheet of black HDPE from Graingers. but unless you plan on making 3-4 frame sheets, and sanding the edges to ensure the plastic doesn't rub through the pack's fabric, and plan to find/buy the bendable aluminum stays, don't bother. BTDT. http://www.specopsbrand.com/tactical-gear/clearance-blow-outs/t-h-e-pack-3-day-assault-pack-foliage-green.html Disclaimer: no financial interest. |
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I used to have a sob THE pack for a few years and recently sold it.
I found myself looking at one again over the weekend and emailed thence to see if I could get one made without externals PALS. They said its not a problem and in fact they have another hunting oriented company called Texas hunt that is basically sob products in hunting camo. They have the THE pack without pals there, and you can order additional colors via emailing them. Www.texashuntco.com |
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Quoted:
I used to have a sob THE pack for a few years and recently sold it. I found myself looking at one again over the weekend and emailed thence to see if I could get one made without externals PALS. They said its not a problem and in fact they have another hunting oriented company called Texas hunt that is basically sob products in hunting camo. They have the THE pack without pals there, and you can order additional colors via emailing them. Www.texashuntco.com That's right, I forgot about them. |
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Quoted:
Kelty Shrike. It's about 1900 cubes and is my EDC bag. I used to be a big Maxpedition fan boy till I tried out some Kelty packs in "subdued" earth tone colors. Now I'm a Kelty Fan boy. No real need for 1000D Codura fabric unless you like humping extra weight all over the place. I carry all this stuff in it with room left over for stuff I may have to carry extra during the day. https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/282878_4097337917917_1858857162_n.jpg https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/269384_4097339837965_254111106_n.jpg The coloration makes it blend in pretty well in the woods if you are looking for something like that. I use it as a daypack too when going hiking or hog hunting. I have that same backpack. |
| I have a first generation Camelbak Motherlode in black that has about 1500 cu in of space and has served me well since the fall of 2000, including trips to Kosovo, JRTC, and Afghanistan, and a total of 11 semesters of school. The early Motherlodes didn't have MOLLE on them, so they tend to blend in very well in a school environment. |
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I've got an REI Trail 25 pack that works pretty good.
http://www.rei.com/product/827133/rei-trail-25-pack |
| Have you considered Oakley? They build some pretty durable stuff, and true, if you buy new, you are partially paying for the name, but they do have good stuff that works on a campus, holds things pretty well organized, and can hold alot of it. The largest being the Kitchen Sink, and everything else being smaller than that. Most offer a specific laptop area, that you don't have to open up the whole pack to get to. Lots of organization to some of them. |
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I've got an REI Trail 25 pack that works pretty good. http://www.rei.com/product/827133/rei-trail-25-pack I have that exact pack for college/urban duties and it's a fantastic pack for that role. Unfortunately I really doubt it's made in the USA. But it does a great job of holding and organizing a bunch of EDC crap without screaming "Look at me look at me I'm tactical!!!" |
| You might take a look at the Kelty Peregrine 1800 ( http://www.kelty.com/showproduct.aspx?ProductID=265&SEName=peregrine-29 ). It is my EDC at the moment. Plenty of room on the interior and has a good sized admin type pocket on the front. Mine holds GOOD sized ifak, pens, lights, cliff bars, extra mags and tons more stuff. Got mine for $40. Hard to beat that. |
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I have the TT removable operator. It's delightful. I have carried 25lbs ~5miles with zero problems. The straps aren't padded much, but the way they conform to your body, they don't need to be. I know TT will do custom orders if you wanted one without any molle loops. Came here to post this! Love this pack. |
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"25 lbs in a TT removable operators pack" while I don't doubt anyones fortitude, that pack is just not that big. I used one as a daily briefcase and would dump the contents when I need to go light and subdued for work. After switching my crap around one too many times, now I just keep it dedicated for woodland LE work. I mean unless youre carrying straight up ammo or bricks... Anyways, while I love that pack its just not in the same league as the MR 3DAP and the like. Make sure you check overall dimensions I guess. No need to fold a bigger laptop around your back. And there's nothing wrong with having 200 packs.
spf |
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the little to no molle requirement kind of kicks out kifaru. plus they are way over my budget, and quite frankly im not really a fan of the shape of the packs they offer in the size requirement im interested in at the moment.
i can get a no molle black version of the THE pack from sob for 109.95. hard the beat that. but fuck me running i still want a MR pack. |
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I've got the TT Urban Operator pack in Ranger Green. It's my EDC bag. I carry my pistol, spare mag, light, office stuff, iPad, a couple of notebooks, cuffs, etc (about 13 lbs.) and have had no problems. It could hold more but its not too baggy when not full. The straps are lightly padded but not too light. I'm 5'6" and it fits me like its custom made. The only mod I did was to change the zipper pulls out to 550 cord to make it quieter. It fits great under plane seats.
I also have the Kelty MAP3500 and I use that one for carrying bigger loads. |
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woot has a few kelty packs. i was eyeing some, but for the most part its gonna collect dust for now, so i not decided yet.
kelty |
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Quoted: woot has a few kelty packs. i was eyeing some, but for the most part its gonna collect dust for now, so i not decided yet. kelty Bought two two of them. One 23 model and one 26 model. I will load them up with bricks and run with them for a few months. Lets see how they hold up. |
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