Maxpedition Fatboy Versipack

Those that know me have seen my "Survival Attache" before. When I first got into all this survival stuff I realized that in order to be prepared at all I would need more than what I could carry. So my approach has become somewhat akin to not keeping all my eggs in one basket. If I lose one cache of gear, I have another backup. The basic idea is to have everything you need to survive within your home. Then to have enough to survive till you get home within your vehicle, and enough to survive till you get to your vehicle on your person. Go bags are pretty easy, just imagine you're going on a camping trip with the possibility of being robbed or shot at. Now it is certainly not possible to carry all that crap around with you all day, but you can carry the basics. I won't go into everything I carry as I already did a blog post on that. ( It's not a purse, It's a "Survival Attache" )





What I want to talk about is my new bag, the Maxpedition Fatboy Versipack. I heard about these bags from an ad in a magazine, they looked pretty good so I did some research. The reviews were overall very good aside from the occasional complaint that it was too small. (I can see that complaint, it seems bigger in the picture. If you want something bigger they do make the jumbo model, which I haven't checked out yet. ) There are many options with these bags, for this model there is the regular one and the GTG. This is the standard one. (The video below illustrates the differences) So you will have to decide what suits your purposes best.

First impressions are, damn, this may be too small. After a few days though that feeling has passed. It really forces you to prioritize. So I am carrying a smaller water bottle, but all the other essentials I was able to fit after organizing a bit. The construction is very heavy duty and it is quite obvious this will outlast my off brand bag. With many pockets and compartments it makes excellent use of the limited space and has molle style webbing so it can be expanded if needed. The major selling point for me was the dedicated concealed carry pocket at the back. Any hook and loop (velcro) universal holster fits but you can get one right from them for about ten bucks. The bag being a bit small it wont accommodate my 1911, but the XD fits (barely) and my little Smith and Wesson is the perfect size. If you don't plan on using it for this purpose the back pocket would still come in handy.




My complaints are few, but they should be noted. The "cell phone pocket" is a joke. Even a bottom shelf free phone barely fits. You could never fit a smart phone in it. The GTG model has eliminated this pocket, and put molle webbing in its place. I wish this was the case for mine, but I decided the rear pocket with the molle and the magazine pocket was worth the sacrifice and went with this model. I do wish my 1911 would fit, but I didn't expect it to. I am not a fan of off body carry, and rarely do it. If anything I wanted options. Now if I'm just running out in shorts and a t-shirt I can sling the bag with the .38 in it and not worry about a bulky holster. It also gives me an option for a backup in the bag with a primary on my hip. My final complaint is that It's made in Taiwan. Now I am not one to avoid a product based on it's country of manufacture, I would just prefer it was made here. If it is a quality product, I will deal with it. Overall an incredibly comfortable and well made little bag. At 78$ it seems like a very good deal. The quality being way higher than many bags I've seen. The bag can be purchased through the Maxpedition website, but I found it a bit cheaper on Amazon.