RAPDOMTactical Messenger Bag

Male bag whore checking in. Got this bag a week ago for photography purposes. I photograph in some rough locations / conditions, and I was looking for a quality MOLLE bag that could facilitate my zoom lenses. Specifically, I needed a bag that could house my 5D MKII with the 70-200mm IS II lens (with the lens hood, you're looking at 13" long for the glass and about 5" wde for the camera body), an extra lens or two, and other camera essentials. This bag is just an inch short of being deep enough, but the draw string compartment and flap allow it to secure my camera with the big zoomer. I also purchased a DSLR padded bag liner to insert into this bag, and while the 12"x9"x5" Besttek insert works, it's cramped, and I leave it out most of the time.If you're new to the tactical bag world, these are nothing like your purpose-specific Lowepro or Apecase packs. No dividers, no padding, no little pouches for memory cards and lens filters. This bag does have a lot of organizational features, it just won't be of much use to photographers. If you're the kind of person who actually needs built in memory card pouches, this probably won't work for you. I never use that stuff, and keep all of my gear in it's own individual case or pouch..I gotta say, this bag is great. Zippers are made well, open fluidly and feel strong. The stitching is solid, no lose ends. The design is very functional. Of course there are a few minor things I would change. I wish it was just a little deeper and a little wider. I'd remove one of the side pockets so I could attack my own MOLLE pouch or MOLLE Lens roll. The MOLLE locations on this bag will limit it to small-pouch usage, but it's still quite handy. I also wish the pouch on the top of the flap opened in the other direction; I almost don't use this pocket for anything important. It's a shame, since my 580EX II speedlight fits in there perfectly. However, I'm afraid that things will simply fall out due to it's opening direction.What's also awesome is that it's super comfortable to wear. I'm usually not a fan of carrying 30lbs of gear on a single strap, especially when you're talking about an 8 hour wedding, but this bag is so convenient and easy to flip around, it works well. I can also fit my 5D MKII with 70-200 attached into the laptop compartment for a quick sto-and-go. None of this bag has much padding, especially in comparison to a camera bag, but the material is thick, and it's certainly a better ride for my pro bodies and zooms than most of my camera-purpose bags. That said, I have used padded inserts from old bags where I can.Here's what I've loaded with the BestTek liner insert:Canon 5D MK II with 70-200mm L lens and hood attachedCanon 24-70mm LCanon 580EX II SpeedlightCanon 430EX II Speedlight12 Eneloop AA batteries4 Canon LE-E6 batteries3x5" SanDisk waterproof memory card caseSunpak Carbon Fiber tripod (strapped to bottom)Packable rain parkaWithout the BestTek insert installed, I can fit my other 5D MK II with a medium sized zoom and large padded lens pouch.

Let's start with the obvious questions.Is it a Maxpedition clone? The design is clearly influenced by the Maxpedition Mongo. That said, Rapdom incorporated a number of value added features that Maxpedition chose not to include: a handle and organization in the front zippered compartment. Both of which I appreciate.Is the material "cheesy"? That depends on what is meant by "cheesy". The material is not as soft or "luxurious" a trademarked Cordora; nor is it as stiff and regid as Maxpedition nylon. It is fairly light weight and should hold up well to daily civilian use.Is this an elegant bag for the office? No. It can function well for carrying papers (back sleeve or main section), a 13" Macbook Pro (back sleeve is best), and some office nick nacks (anywhere you want.) Basic black would be the preferred color for this intented use IMHO. I would not use if appearances were important, like a lawyer's office.Will it hold a lot? Yes. My load out looks like this.Top pouch: all my medical supplies.Front flap: badges, quick cash, pen and papersSide pocket: quick snacks (bars, mints, peanut butter packets)Side pocket: 16 oz wide mouth thermos (a ~20 oz slim bottle or thermos works too)Front open pocket: cap, shmock1st zippered pocket: pills, Swiss Army knife, small flashlight, miscellaneous items2nd zippered pocket: valuables, papers, etc.Main pocket: lunch and anything else needed for the day.Is it comfortable? Yes. My bag has been overloaded, to where the adjustment strap needed to be fully loosened in order to lock the flap down, and it remained comfortable. I think it is because the bag seems designed to ride on the hip and this lightens the load somewhat.Is the Maxpedition Mongo better constructed? In my opinion, yes.So, why chose this bag? For me, the answer was simple (and no it was not the price.) This bag has a handle and the Mongo does not. Say what you will, there are any number of times when you need to grab a bag quickly. A medium sized bag without a handle eventually becomes a pain in the ....I have other bags that I like a lot and use in various settings. The main advantage of this bag (to me) is that most of what may be needed, in transit, is easily accessible due to the outstanding organization.There are two things I would change if I could. The first is to order the bag in black. Mine is in Coyote Brown and is a bit lighter than expected. Black was not available on Amazon when I placed my order. So, the blame is mine.The second thing I would change is the way the mesh sleeves fit in the inner pouches. The sleeves are very loose. This can be useful for organizing larger items, but not so useful for lots of smaller items.These are small nits. Overall, this is really nice medium quality bag.

Just received the bag last night and I already love it! It hits that perfect sweet-spot of size: it doesn't stick out too far away from the body, and it's not too wide like I find lots of other messenger bags. At the same time you can carry a LOT of stuff in here, when it doesn't have things in it, the bag sits nice and flat on your side as you'd want it to, this has a lot to do with the material, its pliable enough that it collapses, but just enough that when there's stuff in the bag it stays upright when you set it on the ground.The pockets and storage options are extremely ample, I researched this bag and so I saw quite a few pictures of the storage compartments, but boy was I surprised at how many different pockets there are on this thing. Zippers work great and have nice ties, and can be operated with one hand (so key for messenger bags).If I were to have some wishes for this bag, 1: make the ccw compartment at the very top of the bag about an inch or 2 bigger to fit a laptop, even with the case off my MacBook air doesn't fit in there ***however it does fit in the main compartment, so not a huge deal***I can also confirm what everyone has been saying about quality, this thing is very well-stitched, not a thread out of place that I can see.To sum up, this bag would be great for travelling (coming from a seasoned traveller myself), for university/college (coming from a university student), or for an EDC bag for work. I got the black colour, as it still looks cool, but is appropriate for an office setting. I don't plan on using this in the outdoors for camping purposes, but I'm sure it would fit that role as well. For what you're getting here for the price it's pretty darn great!

Pretty much as advertised. Well made and solid stitching. Only reason I give it a 4-star rating is due to the zippers. Wish they were YKK. Not sure how they’ll hold up in the long run.

The material is very resistant. It can hold a lot of weight. Easy to carry and looks fantastic when wearing it. Easy to clean as well

Very impressed , thanks!

very good quality