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Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack Review

Written by Mikey P

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Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack Review
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I won’t go into exactly what I carried for a day out in the forest near my house – I’ll leave that for a thread (maybe Spamel’s) or perhaps the Bushcraft UK magazine (as has been suggested by Tony and Stuart) but it included food, radio (inevitably), knife, multitool, bigger first aid kit (inc. field dressing for self-inflicted knife wounds), Paracord, large bin bag, compass, Zippo, firesteel, Pertex windproof smock, small digital camera, Collins Gem copies of ‘Trees’ and ‘Food for Free’, and my teeny-tiny gas cooker and titanium pot as you’re not allowed to light fires in the woods here. Poo. I still had room to spare. The Jumbo got dropped, stood on, sat on, dragged across a field, chewed by the dog, bashed, pulled through a hedge, snagged on trees, slung over a branch (useful, that buckle on the strap), etc. Basically, a quality day out. Again, it was comfortable to carry in whatever configuration. The bag stood up to a drubbing and came out fighting. I could have overfilled it and it would probably have hurt my shoulder but, if I’d wanted to carry that much stuff, I’d have used my daysack.

Add-Ons

As I’ve mentioned, the pack can be modular – attach/remove whichever bits you need or don’t need for what your activity is. Radio and accessory pouches can be easily connected to the MOLLE-style loops and they don’t have to be Maxpedition kit. The versatile nature and flexibility of use makes this more of a ‘system’ than a single item. But, I would warn not to overload it; otherwise it will hurt your shoulder and you should really be looking to use a daysack at this point.

The Damage

OK, what was the damage and where did I buy it? Well, I got mine through an Ebay shop. All those who refer to Ebay as ‘Evilbay’, please continue to do so as it leaves more bargains for the rest of us. Paul at Dixieknife Outlet[1] was more than helpful, and I got mine for US$78 – about 40 quid. Luckily, I have a friend in the US Army who let me use his APO address for shipping, which saved me US$15 (about 8 quid) on shipping costs. I had a look around for the bag from UK vendors and they wanted nearly 70 quid for the same bag and post and packing. So, I think you could actually purchase the bag from the US and still make a decent saving. Either that or find a friend visiting to or from the US. Dixieknife Outlet is not the only seller on Ebay – it’s just the only one I have experience with, so I can make a personal recommendation.

[1] http://stores.ebay.com/Dixie-Knife-Outlet

Summary

So, was I pleased with my purchase? Overview Bag.JPG

I was a little concerned that the bag was quite expensive compared to something like the Snugpak Response Pak, but it is flexible enough to be used in just about any day-to-day situation. Therefore, I will use it more; ergo, it becomes good value for money. I suspect it will probably last longer than I will. Depending on how confident you are, it can carry an afternoon’s kit, or enough for an overnighter in the summer. As I said, the more you use it, the more you come to appreciate the little things – the belt loop, twin zips, buckle on the strap, padding, Paracord zip pulls, and the fact that everything seems to be intuitively in the place you want it to be – it is a very successful ergonomic design.

I would recommend this bag if you want to use it for more than just Bushcraft (HERETIC!) – there’s a lot to it and you will, I promise, find yourself reaching for it instinctively as you walk out the door. It looks good: it’s like having Kate Moss on your arm. But, unlike Kate Moss, it actually has functional use and is probably covered in more material.

I love this bag – but not in a weird way, OK? Everything just seems so ‘right’. My wife is concerned that I am going to start sleeping with it soon. Now there’s an idea…I wonder if the padding makes it a comfortable pillow? …

Side Pocket

On the right-hand side of the bag, there is a small zipped pocket, 6” x 3.5” x 2”, with a single, flat divider at the back. The pocket is double zipped so you could have a radio or something in there with the antenna poking out, or maybe something on a lanyard, and the zips would still keep your stuff from falling out. It is the little details like this that consistently impress me about the design of the Jumbo. Side Pocket.jpg

Figure 3 - Side Pocket (note MOLLE Loops and GRIMLOC)
On the front of the pocket are four webbing loops, in a MOLLE-style. You could attach another pouch or carabiner through the loops if required. I’ve put a GRIMLOC[1] carabiner on there and it’s very handy for clipping a hat, gloves, just about any small item really, to the bag to stop things getting lost. I have to say, I really like the GRIMLOCS – shame about the name. Luckily, they also have that essential, low-IR signature so people will have to look that little bit harder to find me in the dark…

[1] http://www.maxpedition.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=15&idproduct=15

Front Pocket

The front pocket (7” x 6.5” x 1.5”) has a single mesh subdivider at the back and a ‘lanyard’ with a plastic clip on it, ostensibly to attach your keys to, but useful for making sure you can hang on to anything else small and important, like a GPS or pocket multi-tool. On the front of the front pocket is a flat, open slip pocket. You can see that every possible bit of space has been made useful in the design of the Jumbo.

Figure 4 - Front Pocket and Main Buckle

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