After SHOT Show in January and the NRA Show in May I was officially over using the Ogio backpack my wife carried during law school. Looking like a student headed to class at these events was a bit weird and, while the pack itself is quite nice, it wasn’t designed for actually carrying weight all day long. It was time for something new — something a little more tacticool or at least shooting range chic — but on a small budget. Enter the Exos-Gear Bravo Series, currently available on Amazon for a very reasonable $45.95.
The Bravo offers 34 liters (2,073 cubic inches) of capacity divided into four compartments plus a hydration sleeve. It’s covered in MOLLE webbing, made of 600D polyester with reinforcements at load-bearing areas, and comes in tactical colors like Coyote Tan, Olive Drab, Gray, and Black.
On account of the padding, I’ve primarily used the hydration sleeve for laptop storage. Just seemed like a convenient place to put it and access it from.
If I had used it for hydration purposes, a velcro flap at top covers a pass-through port. That port is also accessible from the main compartment and could be used from there to run headphones or other cords.
Of course, inside of the 18″ x 10″ x 5″ main compartment is a mesh pocket that will fit most laptops, so I could throw mine in there instead. There’s also a zippered pouch for small items.
In front of the main compartment is the 16″ x 9″ x 3″ secondary compartment. It has a small, solid pocket on the inner-most wall with two mesh pockets on top of it.
The front of the bag sports an outer top compartment and outer bottom compartment. The top one is 5″ x 8″ x 3″ with no internal divisions or pockets, and the bottom one, pictured above, is 10″ x 8″ x 3″ and has one larger pocket with smaller divided pockets on front for pens and such.
Shoulder straps and back area are padded and covered with ventilated mesh material. It’s quite comfortable, even with a decently-heavy load. There’s a cross strap at both chest and waist level. A metal D-ring is built into each shoulder strap.
No shortage of other straps, either. There are two compression straps on each side.
A 3-way adjustable Y-shaped cinch strap over the top with D-ring on the front pull strap (cigar case hanging from it a couple photos up).
And that front strap runs from the Y-strap all the way down through the webbing on the front of the pack, across the bottom, and to another cinch point. Additionally, there are two more cinch straps on either side of the pack’s bottom, running the length of it front-to-rear. There are MOLLE points accessible on the bottom of the secondary compartment and at the rear of the primary compartment.
If this is all sounding a bit excessive, it’s actually a very nice feature. These straps work in concert to compress the pack down as much as possible. They allow a large pack to transform into a slim one for carrying smaller loads — keeping the weight closer to your back, preventing rattling and moving of contents, and generally eliminating excess volume — and they’re surprisingly effective at squashing clothes and other soft contents down until the whole thing fits flawlessly into a carry-on luggage sizing cage thing.
Side zippers go all the way to the bottom. I found this handy for extricating items that would otherwise have to be dug out through the top, messing up everything above them. Meanwhile, the side straps help maintain order.
Most of these straps have elastic strap retainers on them, keeping the loose ends from flapping in the breeze. In my mind this should be mandatory, but it’s a detail I’ve noticed is “missing” from plenty of significantly more expensive packs and bags.
In terms of quality, the Bravo has exceeded my expectations. For the price I was anticipating something that looked and felt cheap, but that isn’t the case here at all. The material is durable, the stitching is good, reinforcements in load-bearing areas are legit, the zippers are smooth, strong, and double-stitched in. There’s even a rubberized coating on the inside of all exterior-facing walls to keep your contents dry.
I’ve now been regularly using this bag since May and have had zero issues. It’s holding up great and I’ve rucked it with what I’m sure are heavier loads than it was intended to carry (hundreds of rounds of ammo and a gaggle of handguns in a big steel lockbox gets heavy fast). My guess is that the first failure point will be one of the “durable polymer buckles and anchors,” but that’s nothing more than speculation and there are no indications of wear or failure anywhere on the pack.
Conclusions
The Exos-Gear Bravo Series is a heck of a backpack for the price. I’m still surprised by the quality and utility of it, and can easily understand why it’s rated so highly on Amazon.
If any part of it “fits” the price point I’d say it’s the buckles and anchors, based only on their look and feel. Everything else easily surpassed my expectations of what a sub-$60 MSRP (and just $45.95 shipped on Amazon) pack would be.
Specifications — Exos-Gear Bravo Series Backpack:
Size: 34L, 2073 CU in. Capacity when measured in accordance with Standard ASTM F2153
Inner Main Compartment: 18″ x 10″ x 5″
Inner Secondary Compartment: 16″ x 9″ x 3″
Outer Top Compartment: 5″ x 8″ x 3″
Outer Bottom Compartment: 10″ x 8″ x 3″
Material: 600D Polyester
Origin: Made in China
MSRP: $59.95 ($15 less, shipped, via Amazon)
Ratings (out of five stars):
Quality * * * * *
For the price, it’s five stars all the way.
Comfort * * * * *
If this were a high-end pack, I’d expect the same ventilated padding on the waist strap. However, it exceeds the comfort level of many competitors charging many dollars more, and again it’s five stars all the way especially considering the price point.
Utility * * * * *
Generous size, plenty of storage options for small and large items, MOLLE webbing on front, sides, and bottom, compression straps all over, hydration (or laptop) sleeve, velcro areas for patches, a handful of D-rings, nice grab handle on top, and rubberized interior coating for water resistance. Utility has been achieved.
Overall * * * * *
With really nothing negative to say and quality that’s better than expected — all for less than $50 delivered — it’s a five-star backpack for sure.
That is a nice price. After looking at it, I was expecting it to be over a C-note…
I have a swiss gear day pack I use to ruck a 30 pound load of rice on my daily walks. I got it for 5 bucks at a thrift store.
I’m at the bags limit in weight so I look at the thrift stores every chance I get for a larger pack. Until I can put more weight on it I’ll just increase my ruck time.
Thrift stores are da bomb.
“I’m gonna pop some tags, only got $20 in my pocket….”
Preach it, brother.
I’ve picked up serious nice stuff at local Salvation Army and other thrift shops.
Picked up for $6 a photographer’s backpack, *heavily* padded that cost some poor slob $140.
Perfect for schlepping laptops and such on the bike…
I’ve picked up some serious quality wool clothes for my hunting and camping rig for pennies on the dollar at the thrift stores.
Well… someone’s gotta buy it new the first time around before you can get your grubby mitts on it :-p
I’m eternally grateful for the guys that buy quality, name brand gear, wear it once and decide it doesn’t go well with their eye color.
I’ll wear the crap out of it on the cheap.
My best bag to date is a black and grey backpack marked IBM and was supplied to me along with a laptop by my employer I turned in the old laptop two years later when they gave me a new one and a briefcase type bag to carry it in. That laptop bag has done duty as a get home bag with Glock and Sub2000 complete with a level IIIa panel, and for hauling stuff and for carrying guns and ammo on my last vacation. Nothing tacticool about it, but it works well and cost nothing.
You know, the hydration sleeve in this would work perfectly for an armor plate…
Finally, a decent pack at a great price. I’ve been looking at a new day pack for an upcoming horseback trip into hells canyon for elk.
It’ll double as my carrying bag for flying.
The ones I’ve been looking at run at least a buck-fifty.
Think I’ll pick one of these up.
Thanks Jeremy!
Are companies not even bothering to hide the fact that they are copying Maxpedition now? This is undoubtedly a copy of the Falcon III. It’s good to know that there is a cheaper option then the $200 or so that Maxpedition charges.
The joys of offshore manufacturing.
If Maxpedition contracts with a Chinese factory, it’s entirely possible for that factory to flood the US market with exact duplicates, or more likely, apparent duplicates made of cheaper material. Intellectual Property doesn’t exist over there.
Jeremy S.,
What is the black plastic(?) flashlight-looking thingy hanging off the pack in the photo?
Looks like a good value for the money. I’ve been looking for a decent bag for my-better-half to use as a BOB for the upcoming earthquake-aggedeon in Kalifornistan. Thanks for the info.
It’s machined aluminum, and it is a flashlight. A good one, in fact. I’ve been testing it since April and I like it a lot. Looks like their website is “down for maintenance” today, but when it comes back up it should be here: http://www.keltecweapons.com/flashlights/ …yes, it’s a Kel-Tec…
Thanks for the info, I’ll check it out.
http://www.gunsholstersandgear.com/2012/11/21/kel-tec-cl-43-flashlight/
Looks like they’ve changed the url.
http://www.keltecweapons.com/keltec-gears/flashlights
Looks like a fairly nice bag, but I’m not giving up my 5.11 72hr <3! It still has Afghan, Japanese, and Hawaiian dust ground into it.
I just got one of those and really like it, except the hip belt is too high.
It’s currently hauling 2 laptops, an iPad Pro and a bunch of gear in comfort and good organization.
Bought my second 5.11 pack just recently; first was a black 24 which did 10000 miles of motorcycle commuting, and apart from the surface dirt is otherwise as good as new.
Went for a 72 for my second pack, wanted the multicam but couldn’t justify the +£50 price difference – OD is gorgeous anyway and can blend well in both urban and rural environments.
This looks exactly like the pack I’ve been looking to replace, except for a few very minor details, which lasted through eight years of very hard use. I bought my old one at a milsurp store near Flint way back when, and have been searching for one just like it for a while now. Sold! Thanks TTAG.
Check out 3V Gear for another option when it comes to nice and affordable packs. Sootch00 (YouTube) turned me on to them and I ended up buying 2 different sizes. They have one equivalent to this one and about the same price.
Bummer. After checking Amazon and the makers website, it’s only available in black or gray.
Must be temporarily out of stock or something. All the colors are still listed on the manufacturer’s product page and I’ve seen them all on Amazon plenty of times since getting mine. Probably the two missing ones were the most popular and they’re out at the moment?
Someone actually did a review on an affordable piece of gear!!!
Comments are closed.