Posted on

Loctote Flak Sack II Anti Theft Backpack Review – $129.00

It all started last week. My wife and daughter were at the community pool, it was a blistering 90 plus outside and the place was packed. We grabbed a patch of grass by the fences, about 30 feet from the water. We had brought our phones and wallets with us and obviously couldn’t take them in the water, so we took turns swimming with our daughter. It was ridiculous. It was after that ordeal that I started looking for a secure option to store our personal belongings when out and about. That’s how I found out about the Loctote Flak Sack II Anti Theft Backpack.

Construction

The Flak Sack is built like a traditional drawstring pack with some very interesting features. The fabric is made from Loctote’s proprietary Flaknit, a highly slash and abrasion resistant material. Loctote states this bag scored an impressive A9 cut level. I believe this is an actual ANSI based guideline, so this rates up there for safety equipment used in industrial applications where contact with dangerously sharp materials is performed frequently. The drawstrings are also made of slash resistant textiles. The bag has a large open compartment with a smaller RFID blocking fleece lined interior. We also see a steel reinforced locking strap to keep prying hands out.

The bag weighs about 2lbs empty (including lock) and measures in at 18”x14”

Function 

The Flak Sack II functions much like your standard drawstring bag. The material is a little rigid and less pliable than nylon, which is kind of expected given the security features. The main compartment makes stowing gear pretty easy, but this bag will fill up quick, and you can’t stuff it to the brim. I found out the hard way because you can’t cinch it completely shut and get the lock on if it’s packed. So definitely try to keep the bag about 75% loaded at most. 

The drawstrings are also slash resistant. I think it would have been great if they had steel cable running through them to add even more reinforcement. There’s video of guys making multiple attempts at slashing them though with little success though, but you’d have to be at it awhile and cause a scene to get this bag open. The locking function is pretty easy once you see it done on video. Once secured the bag is cinched so tight you can’t even get a finger inside the bag.

The major selling point for me is the ability to lock it to stationary objects like posts or fences. I wish I had this bag in college. You could leave your expensive electronics locked to your bedpost! The RFID blocking feature is a nice bonus, although I pity whomever wasted their time trying to get into my laughable finances in the first place.

Aesthetic

Drawstring bags aren’t typically great looking, usually towing the line between teenager at soccer practice and gym bro man bag. However Loctote did a nice job “adulting” it up a bit. The material is inherently thicker, so the bag has a more quality look and feel to it. The leather accents really do a great job at adding a subtle flair to the bag. It comes in a few other colorways like heather and digital camo if you want something a little more conspicuous. 

Conclusion

I want to point out that no anti theft device is fail proof. However, Loctote’s Flak Sack II definitely adds peace of mind when storing your goods. The fact that the Flak Knit material is so resistant to cuts and punctures just adds to the “It” factor. I like the fact that I’m wearing a bag that could quite literally double as a shield against edged weapons. I wish it was a little bigger and cost a little less, but that’s the price of innovation. All in all, it’s definitely worth a look if you travel with a lot of expensive goodies and find yourself away from your pack at times.

Posted on

Waterfield Bolt Crossbody Leather Laptop Bag Review — $199

My new roommate can’t believe how little I own.

I just feel good about not having things. I recently learned there’s a psychological term for this: Obsessive Decluttering.

I realize this may sound like a contradiction, but I’m also continually hunting for quality items. Yes, that’s true. I will pay almost any price for a product that is exactly what I need and nothing more. Well, I needed a case for my tablet, and I found a solution with everything I needed and nothing more: the Bolt Crossbody Laptop Bag by Waterfield Designs.

Construction

I’ve reviewed several Waterfield products, and, like the others, the build quality on the Bolt Crossbody is impeccable. It’s made of a durable waxed canvas with full-grain leather for the accents. I tend to use mine for urban adventures, but I think it would withstand a wilderness (and rainfall) adventure just as well. That’s the kind of quality we’re talking about.

Beyond the leather and canvas, it’s the little things that drive this bag from adequacy to excellence. Sturdy YKK zippers seal the main compartment and protect the secure pocket in the back. The interior has a separate pocket lined with padding to help protect your tablet (or laptop) against bounces and jostles. It’s lined with a golden material, a color that reflects light really well, which makes it easy for you to see your stuff inside (I love that). The front has a magnet closure with a nice snap to it, inside of which is an ultrasuede pouch, just big enough to hold your iPhone Plus or Pixel XL. Stout rings hold the strap in place but also allow for some contour motion as you carry it.

In short, Waterfield has a lot of experience designing bags for tech, and that history has led to some insightful features. This attention to detail makes me excited to own this bag.

Functionality

I’m an author who writes on a tablet—that’s an example of how I try to minimize what I carry. The Bolt matches that same ideal. I love it. It’s small enough that when I carry my lunch to work in it, I can throw the whole thing into the fridge. (Make sure your electronics aren’t in it when you do.) Because it’s small and lightweight like this, I’m never reluctant to bring it along.

The magnet on the outside pocket is a brilliant addition. It always stays closed, which looks nice, but it’s also super easy to access. Frustration free. A great feature.

There are a few slots to hold your pens, or, in my case, a digital stylus. (Really, they thought of everything.)

The handle on the back is one of my favorite features. It’s sewn tight against the bag, which gives you control when holding it, so the bag doesn’t swing around loosely. I’ve found myself using this handle (rather than putting the bag over my shoulder) about half the time.

I got the smallest size, which is 11×9” inches. That’s just right for my Pixel C tablet or your iPad. (They say it’ll fit an iPad Pro too, but I haven’t tested that yet.) If you need something bigger, Waterfield makes two larger sizes, the biggest of which is 14×12”, which should fit your 15” MacBook (or similarly sized laptop) just fine.

Aesthetic

This bag looks great. The waxed canvas has both a rugged and a classy vibe, fitting a variety of styles. The dark chocolate leather is beautiful and provides a nice accent. In the photos, you’ll notice a slight shift in the apparent contrast between the leather and canvas; that’s all accurate though and just depends on the lighting.

Also, when you buy, Waterfield offers three colors of leather; I chose chocolate. They also let you swap the waxed canvas for a ballistic black nylon, which is a synthetic textile that gives the bag an entirely different look, which you can see on their site if you’re interested. These variations leave room for a lot of variety.

As usual, though, I’ll let you judge the style from the pictures.

Conclusion

I have owned three Waterfield products, and I’ve been impressed with each. The Bolt Crossbody Laptop Bag is my favorite though. It is built with the same quality I’ve come to expect from Waterfield, and it also matches the utility I’m looking for—without any excess.

Overall, I am an avid fan of their designs. I would eagerly buy another bag from them in the future to match whatever device I might own next.

Posted on

First Impressions – Rugged Material Messenger Bag

Recently I reached out to the good folks at Rugged Material. Having successfully funded and provided goods through a Kickstarter campaign, I expected great things. I think it is fairly understated to have the ability to speak directly with the founder of a staffed company as a first-time customer. I got that experience from Tyler Condie, the founder of Rugged Material. He’s surrounded by a great team of folks dedicated towards designing and making goods guaranteed for life, and proudly made in the USA. Tyler was kind enough to send in a pull-up brown messenger bag that I’ll be giving my first impressions on, with a long-term use review in the future.

The Rugged Material Messenger Bag is a merge between the classic messenger design with modernized, rugged construction. The exterior of the bag is constructed of four major pieces of full grained oil-tan leather, with additional belt straps and a front pocket which bears the laser-burned logo. A polyester thread is used that is UV-resistant and also resistant to breakdown from leather creams and conditioners. Nickel-plated brass hardware is evident in the rivets, d rings, and handle. The closures are constructed of matte finished aluminum slide release buckles. The outside dimensions of the bag are 16.5″ x 5″ x 13″.

While the bag is definitely rugged, it has some formal finishing. The rounded corners on the leather as well as the attention to detail played on the stitching of the entire bag and the handle make solid statements.

The strap is the epitome of ruggedness – substantial full grain leather with nylon webbing (think seat-belt) stitched to the backside to prevent stretching and sustain heavy loads. This webbing is also implemented in the d-rings for the shoulder strap attachment as well as the handle. Adjustment of the strap is simple using tri-glide keepers and the bag can be worn on one shoulder like a briefcase or cross body like a messenger. The width of the strap is 1.5 inches, not too thick to look overbearing on a person of smaller stature and expandable from 36” to 59”.

The interior of the bag is nicely lined on the front and back with a black pigskin leather. This adds rigidity to the bag as well as it is a durable, easy to clean surface in case of spills. I do wish that a piece of pigskin coated the bottom of the bag, but that may add too much construction/rigidity if stitched in. A removable piece of pigskin would be nice to prevent spills to the bottom as well as stash extra bills or small documents under. The pockets hold a cellphone, most 14 inch laptops, and a full sized iPad or similar tablet. The front pocket could easily hold document folders, receipts, and other small items.

 

After handling this bag initially, I can say that the Rugged Material Messenger Bag is one of the bags I wish I’d had to get through undergraduate and graduate studies. At $295 it is very competitively priced among bags of the same dimensions and quality. Being a direct-to-consumer company, customers are not hit with the additional costs associated with outsourcing production from companies that choose to only design their products. Going along with their motto, their bag is USA-made and guaranteed for life. The bag  is also set to handle the working environments I am in, so I am looking forward to giving it some long term use and following up on its durability and function.