NWAGSTAFF

Bags Beaten & Bruised: BOGear Spare Camel

Brisbane Outdoor Gear (BOGear) has been on aBAGHabit’s radar for a while now but there was never been an excuse to grab a pack… That is until a certain limited Multicam Black material surfaced and then I knew it was my time! I have had the pack for a couple of months now and I’ve carried it from the concrete jungle of Singapore to a hike in the forests of Malaysia to sand dunes in Vietnam… In BOGear’s terms… Dirtyfying It Worldwide. Here are some thoughts…

HOW IT LOOKS The Spare Camel definitely belongs outdoors. It’s sporty appearance would compliment the commuter, hiker, outdoorsman, etc. The best part about its appearance would be the fact that you could almost make it anything you want from murdered out understated to no holds barred psychedelic colours. Your imagination is the limit. I wasn’t really a camouflage kind of guy till I laid eyes on this Multicam Black material. The understated nature of the camouflage just appealed and I dropped Dave an email. Incidentally the Multicam material was from another BOGear customer who was kind enough to let me have enough for a pack! Thank YOU Soooo Much!! One day I hope to pay it forward too! The optional velcro gives me the option of further customising my pack with patches that I feel add to the character of the pack. Multicam Black allows for the pack to blend into a casual business environment and holds its own in a jeans and t-shirt environment. I love the look and believe the pack definitely fits aesthetically into my lifestyle.

HOW IT PACKS The front panel has 2 pockets which allow for quick access stuff like keys, notebooks, and other stuff. On the inside of the front flap, there are 3 mesh compartments. A smaller horizontal top compartment, a vertically-zipped middle compartment, and a horizontally-zipped lower compartment. Each of these compartments are great for cables, chargers, spare batteries and stationery depending on what you pack on a regular basis. On my trip to Vietnam and Malaysia, I had a pen and a swiss army knife in the smaller top compartment, my GoPro and accessories in the middle, and a dry bag with first aid kit in the bottom.   The pack opens flat which is great for packing allowing you to get a good overview of what is in the pack and how much space you have. I have grown to love packs that open flat as it makes packing and finding stuff much easier. On the inside of the back panel, there are 2 D-rings which allow you to attach BOGear’s CellBlock packs riding high on your back rather than at the bottom. A sleeve doubles as a storage for a hydration bladder or laptop sleeve depending on your use. The Spare Camel has a bunch of organization in terms of packing. The pocketing and organization is generous but not over the top coming into a good balance of big spaces and little pockets.

HOW IT CARRIES The pack sat comfortably on my back whether I was headed to the office, walking across sand dunes in Vietnam, or hiking the forests of Malaysia. The shoulder straps are generous and handle the load very well. The straps on my bag always seemed to loosen when I put it down and I had to tighten them whenever I picked it up again. Just a slight niggle but definitely made sure that my pack sat tight every time I put it on. I’m not much of a sternum strap kind of guy and had no problems without it but if you are, you might want to add one when you order! The Spare Camel is comfortable packed full and sits well but I definitely appreciated the compression straps on the side when I was carrying less. This allowed for the pack to sit closer to my back instead of flapping around with the extra space. It definitely looked better too! The molle on the outside allowed for a carabiner to be attached. This allowed for sandals, water bottles, and just random stuff to be just hooked on for easy transport. Molle also means that a whole bunch of different accessories can be attached to the front of the pack.

WHAT IT DOES WELL The Spare Camel suits the active lifestyle. Whether it is a hike in the mountains or the commute to and from work, it performs and looks the part. With the capacity to last a couple of days, it swallows your tech, your clothes, your books, and pretty much whatever you throw at it sans giant carton boxes. One thing that I must state is the huge size of the zippers on this pack. At first, they jiggle a lil and get your attention but they’ve grown on me so much that I missed yanking on them when I’m using another pack. Zippers that size are great and now I want some on most if not all my packs!

WHAT IT DOESN’T DO SO WELL It could probably be a lil more waterproof if you were spending lots of time outdoors but i personally back a dry bag or two when I suspect bad weather. There was also the occasional situation where the plastic hardware of the straps rubbed the undersides of my arms which caused slight discomfort. I say occasional because this didn’t seem to happen all the time and I found that it went away when I got the proper fit. I’m not that tall but I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it.

SIMILAR BAGS IN THE MARKET Hmmm.. The GR1 from Goruck comes to mind. The 3 Day Assault Pack from Mystery Ranch with a little more military flavour.. Recently, the Nightshift V.2 from Seagull Bags also piqued my interested and I’m wondering if I will scratch that itch…

Review: FAST Pack Litespeed

Lightweight, skinny and nimble, the Litespeed is designed as a smaller lighter version of the hugely popular EDC pack. The Litespeed is a go to for those wanting just enough room to hold essential items for every day carry. How do you improve upon something that is seemingly perfect? It’s a dangerous thing to take a product that your loyal consumers love and then reconstruct, redesign and reimagine it.

Recon: Tareinco Custom PSK Belt Pouch

A few months ago I decided I wanted to carry my survival kit either on my belt or attached to my pack. However, I didn’t want a huge pouch, and a certain balance of organization was key.

Thunder Bird Hills: Mt. Hira

Kei and Ryo brave the 56º slopes of Mt. Hira, Shiga Prefecture, Japan with their 20kg packs.

Old School EDC .

This old SAK belongs to my Dad and has been his EDC ever since he was given it by his father back in 1953.

Its been carried in service of his country in many different parts of the world and each dink /scratch tells a story , its lost its spring for the scissors and the cork screw has snapped off in use  but quite amazingly the tooth pick / tweezers are both original .

Recon: Wraith Pack in MultiCam LiteLok

Pack by Grey Ghost Gear Review by David Massey

I was caught off guard by this pack when I first picked it up and noticed how lightweight it was. The Wraith comes in 500D Cordura or the 100% Nylon LiteLok which is fantastic. Grey Ghost Gear offers their packs in many color and fabric options. This pack comes in Coyote Brown, Kryptek Typhon and MultiCam.

We are pleased to announce a MASSIVE addition to our 3000 Followers Giveaway. The 1st Place winner will have their choice of one of these two amazing Grey Ghost Gear packs, either in addition to the existing 1st Place prize.

Entries are being accepted now and the first will be posted up in the beginning of October. Although entries can be submitted up to the end date, the earlier you get them in the greater chance you have of winning.

3000 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY

Pack Config reach 3000 followers this week, and to celebrate we are hosting a Giveaway!!! The prizes have been generously supplied by Triple Aught Design and Ru-titley. Unfortunately the Ranger Hoodie shown is most definitely NOT in the Giveaway (but it is currently being reviewed), but there is the possibility of a Grand Prize TBC (and another exciting opportunity…) for the person who comes in first place. Make sure you follow us to stay posted on that…

Entries for the GIVEAWAY takes three steps (you must complete all three).

1. Interact Like/Follow Triple Aught Design on Facebook or Twitter, follow Grey Ghost Gear on Facebook (you’ll find out why later!) AND check out Ru-titley's site and follow if your on Tumblr – I will be checking!

2. Recon Take ONE photo of your pack configuration (for tips on taking a prize winning image see below) and write a short paragraph about your favourite things about the kit/pack. Those who have previously been featured on Pack Config will need to take a new/different photo. It can be any brand of pack, but it must show some kind of configuration or modification i.e. not out-of-the-box.

3. Submit Email your photo and paragraph to [email protected] before the end of the October when the Giveaway finishes. 

Details The 3 winners will be the ones with the most popular entries. This will be measured by adding together the total number of interactions from: Tumblr (Likes & Reblogs), Facebook (Likes & Shares) and Twitter (Favourites & Re-Tweets)

The Giveaway will finish 31 October 2014 (the three winners will be announced in November), so make sure you get your entries in before then for a maximum chance to win. Entries will posted up from 1 October onwards and can be from anywhere in the world. Excessive reblogging/sharing/retweeting by the entrant, or failure to complete each of the steps, will result in disqualification – you have been warned.

Tips for taking your photos: Good quality and well composed shots always get lots of notes. Here are a few links to the kind of thing we’re looking for and hopefully will inspire you: Second image here, here, here, here, here, here, third image here, here, or display your pack with everything in it as you’d have it set up: second image here, third image here.

Finally make sure you follow/like us to keep up-to-date with any developments.

My humble SAK.

This is the piece of kit that I have owned/ carried longer than anything else (17yrs). I picked it up in Savognin, Switzerland back in 1997 aged 13. (I was there competing in an international trampoline competition, the Nissen Cup. Our accommodation was the nuclear fall out bunker under the village/town? church).

Unable to remember how many Swiss Francs this cost or what model it is but it has undoubtedly been good value as it has been across the globe with me. Every tool has been used for it’s intended purpose (and more). The only thing that has broken is the spring on the scissor (about 8yrs ago) and the scales are definitely showing their age.

Together with its little brother Praetorian Honor, Pack Config has designed a patch to support the very worthy organisation Team Rubicon. All of the net profit from each purchase will be donated to Team Rubicon. Our aim here at Pack Config is to raise enough to fund a number of Domestic Deployment and International Deployment Kits, details of what these kits contain can be found here.

Help us support Team Rubicon by making an order today. The 100% embroidered patch is 2.5” square (size is still TBC) and comes with hook & loop backing for easy attachment. Made in the USA by a highly reputable patch manufacturer the quality will be outstanding.

BY ORDERING YOU ARE MAKING A PRE-ORDER PAYMENT. The patches have not been produced yet, but all orders should be fulfilled by the end of August (customers will be kept updated via their PayPal email address, or other email if specified in the payment process).

If you are an international customer (including US outlying islands), please email us here for payment options.

To make an order and for more details please click here

About the Patch The TR construction helmet is an iconic part of the a typical deployment kit. The crossed spades represent the hard, physical work that the team often undertake. A Roman style crown (or corona) surrounds everything. Crowns like these were rewarded to the soldiers who were first to step on an enemies battlements, first to step into an enemy camp, etc. this relates to Team Rubicons ability to move fast and often be the first on the scene of disaster, echoing their slogan “Bridge the Gap”.