Backpack Recommendations

I’m looking for a backpack recommendation. Right now I am carrying two bags back and forth to work everyday. I carry an LL Bean backpack which houses my laptop, iPad in a portfolio type case, an expandable plastic file or two and my lunch. It also holds two 20 oz. Kleen Kanteen water bottles.

I also carry a Vertx EDC bag. It holds an IFAK, flashlight, keys, wallet, and all my EDC junk. It has an external water bottle pocket that holds another 20 oz Kleen Kanteen for my coffee. The Vertx EDC bag has a CCW compartment. I don’t carry there as a general rule, but it comes in handy on occasion. The idea behind the EDC bag was I would carry it places that I wouldn’t carry the full backpack, but that almost never happens.

I am trying to combine and go to one bag and get more organized. But I am looking for a bigger backpack that would house most of the above. I know I’m not going to get three water bottle pockets, but two solid, deep pockets for water bottles is a must.

It also needs to be big enough to hold a laptop, iPad, some files, my lunch, and all my EDC junk.

There is an EDC pocket dump thread on this site, but I haven’t seen a backpack dump thread anywhere.

Vertx is great quality. I also love Maxpedition stuff and have looked at their Entity series. Whatever I get needs to be a gray man concept. I am looking to balance a bag large enough to hold it all without looking like I am dragging luggage all over.

Any recommendations?

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I have one very similar to this and I like it a lot! I have a 511 that is cool but like the Ogio better.l have another ogio that work got us for a gift that is a perfect range bag. Also to add I have used this pretty regularly since 2014-2015 and has held up very well.

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Thanks! I will check it out!

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I’m a poster boy for 5.11! I’m not a sales person for 5.11 but my entire family has at least one of theses backpacks. I have three myself, my grandsons that travel the world regularly have one each, very durable holds up well to violent baggage handlers!

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I use the same brand as @Scott52 but mine is larger and I have a camelback reservoir.

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Hear ya. I’m think of getting a few different ones for different occasions. Saw a separate water resistant cover to place over em when it rains. I started using a pack/sack when I got lost in the woods once, now I bring emergency/camp kit with it. Good post.

Thin containers to fit the pockets

Hydrapack reservoir

Pack

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Oggio makes some nice, well-made backpacks. I don’t know if any suit your needs, but I have in the past several years acquired a few of their products for travel and I am impressed with their quality and utilitarianism, along with a good QPR, on sale, a very good buy.

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I have more Maxpedition gear than I’d care to admit and it’s mostly great stuff for durability and design, but a lot of it is very Military looking and while I don’t really put a lot of stock on the Gray Man concept (that’s a looong discussion in which no one wins) because I think it’s way too generalized, at times my needs are different.

I love Mystery Ranch stuff and it fits me like it was custom made for me. Expensive but really well designed. For more civilized stuff, Gregory makes nice packs.

But do yourself a favor, go to a good outdoor store like an REI where they have a big selection of bags and work with a backpack expert that will fit you. An ill fitting backpack (even a day pack) will be like an anchor on your back and cause BAD problems in the long run. For example, Mystery Ranch works perfect for me but not my wife, Gregory packs are perfect on my wife but their men packs don’t work for me. And yes sizes of good packs are gender related. A good store will have men and ladies packs. We’re built different…

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I recently upgraded my day/EDC/get home pack. I needed something a little bigger, wanted one that didn’t look tactical, was lightweight and had at least a minimalist hip belt to distribute the load when carrying a bunch of stuff. I went with this:

A little pricey but I got a significant pro deal discount. It comes in the light blueish color or a mid tone grey.

Though it is not your typical around town bag with all the spare slots and pockets for pens and office supplies it does have a water bladder sleeve that would likely fit most laptops. It has a roll top opening which is kinda funky but it lets you expand the pack if you need to carry more and there is a full length zipper on the side for easy access to the main compartment as well as two very deep water bottle pockets and a pair of smaller zippered compartments on the front.

As @Enzo_T said Gregory makes great packs especially if you want something with a little beefier suspension to comfortably carry more weight. And as he also stated it is best to try them on (preferably with weight in them) if you can because what’s comfortable for one person might not work for someone else and even different packs from the same maker can feel very different.

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@Enzo_T @Shamrock Thank you both! For now, I’m still working with my two bag setup, but this is still in the back of my mind. I will give this gear a good look.

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Great point, and the folks at REI have weights they put inside the packs when you try them on for exactly that reason.

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If I were in the same situation, I would just get one rolling backpack.

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I go back and forth on how to solve this. The backpack carries the “work” stuff that I don’t take anywhere else unless I’m going out of town. The smaller bag goes with me everywhere I go. It usually sits in the vehicle or office. I can’t get myself to use a rolling bag.

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Invest in a bag that doesn’t scream tactical affect. When I’ve carried in a bag configuration it was a bag that looked like a map satchel or hip bag cross slinging the carry strap on my body. Nothing obvious. Thing is. You want to make sure you can get something that won’t cause snags / hangs on quick draws if needed. It’s a preference that you’ll have to go through experimenting ( trouble shooting with) to determine what can cover all of your needs. I’m considering the sneaky Pete holsters. They look like oversized cell phone cases with an easy one flap up system. Not sure yet. Can’t find one locally to see if it’s a good investment. Can’t test the theory so I’ve hesitated. The lean to get one is fir a stash firearm high up out of reach in case something goes wrong with EDC that keep on me each night. A good back up.

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I tried that, it looked really big to me, and my wife and daughter agreed. I believe for that holster style, the firearm needs to be quite small, like an LCP, or something in that size.

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I don’t carry in a bag except on very rare occasions.

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Yes, it’s so small you could fit it in a back pocket.

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Or, have you considered going this route? :rofl:

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Oh he’s got a lot of stuff in them pockets.

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That’s a Chuck Norris vest!

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