The design of this bag is nothing short of phenomenal. A lot of thinking went on at Hazard 4 in designing this bag and it has a very intelligent layout, one of the best I've seen. A huge selling point is it's size...it's 'just right'...not too large and not too small.
Production of this bag must be a sewing nightmare...it is easily one of the most complex sewing jobs I can even think of, much less try to produce it. I know why this bag is expensive...even produced overseas, it CANNOT be simple to sew. Row upon row of PALS ladders and more zippers, straps and internal pouches than you've likely seen before. One thing's for certain...you won't be sewing this bag at home to save money!
Fabric is Cordura (the genuine one, not a knockoff) with a very soft drape...easily feels half as light as a comparable Maxpedition product...that's good and bad in my world. Good in that it contributes to a nice, close to the body feel and reduces weight. Bad in that it contributes to the unstructured downside of this bag.
I wanted to love this bag, really I did. I love the design and the size. But, as I suggested, read the other reviews. "Unstructured" comes up a lot....because this bag literally, unloaded, will collapse on itself. I know the designers tried to make it that way (they say it on the tag and literature) so it will reduce in size if it needs to be packed. I can accept that.
But, three things conspire to make it worse than it is. First, there are so many nooks and crannies on the bottom of the bag, the bottom never really expands into a truly rectangular footprint. Second is the choice of bottom lining material...it's not a thick rubber like Max and Blackhawk use...it contributes nothing to the 'squaring up' of the bottom, so the bottom, literally is never quite parallel to the ground...it has rounded corners. Third is the soft fabric, which has been noted. All of this adds up to a bag that is light...no question. But, in carrying it, the top tends to collapse unevenly and it placing it on the ground (ESPECIALLY if a laptop is in the rear compartment)...trust me, it won't stand...it falls over.
That may not be a big deal to some...if not, this is a GREAT bag. For me, I'm in airports every week and I need a bag that won't fall over when placed down. If you put your laptop in the main compartment (in lieu of the laptop compartment on the back), all is good, but you've eaten up 80% of your main space. It may be that in buying the messenger 'flap' (sold as an accessory) things may 'tighten up' some, I don't know. I have one on order to test it.
Lastly, the strap. It doesn't come with it and that's a ding right off the bat. But the pad included with the strap is 100% an awful design. It is so slippery, the strap will slide off your shoulder. Not even in the same league as the bag by a long shot. Since I'm blessed with a ton of bags, I took off a Blackhawk insert and it works PERFECTLY with the Hazard strap. Hazard 4 should be shamed into changing their strap design and it should be included with the bag at this price.
I still like the bag and will use it. I give it 3 stars because of the excellent design but it needs three 'tweaks' to make it an outstanding bag in every day use:
1. Add plastic stiffeners to at least the front and back. It is absolutely 'too' unstructured.
2. Redesign the strap. Look at Blackhawk or Maxpeditions rubberized, non-slip pad if they need design guides.
3. Add a padded, plastic stiffened fold-able bottom panel that will 'square up' the bottom so this bag will stand up by itself. If the bag cannot stand up, it's useless to a lot of folks.
Still three starts but it needs those changes, badly.
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