Looking back, I can recall receiving a new backpack at the beginning of every new school year. Which reminds me, I have been out of high school for over 10 years now—does that make me old? Anyway, my backpacks would always wear out and need replacing, sometimes even half way through the school year. Because of all the other supplies needed, I am sure my parents (who were the purchasers then) didn’t necessarily want to spend too much on a backpack. But, now I wonder, why can’t an affordable bag be durable as well? This pondering has brought me to the subject of this review: 3V Gear Backpacks.
Over a year ago, I obtained a couple of backpacks from a newer company called 3V Gear (“Vini, vidi, vici.” 3V. Get it? I though it was pretty clever, anyway.). I wanted to thoroughly test and evaluate them before writing a review. Well, now that it has been what I feel is enough time (over a year’s worth of use) for me to determine how they hold up, here is my experience.
Price and Features
Let me start by saying that I have never used or owned backpacks from expensive manufacturers. The only real reason for this is only due to their cost. In general, I’d rather spend my money on firearms or ammunition instead of a gear bag, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still use and shop for them.
What I can say for certain though, is that these 3V Gear backpacks offer many of the same features as more expensive backpacks for a price that I consider more affordable. Before I get into how my 3V Gear backpacks have stood up over the past year or so, here are the features they are sporting:
Outlaw Sling Pack ($49.99 MSRP/$38.00 Amazon)
- Made with with heavy (600D) nylon.
- 684 total cubic inches of storage.
- 3 separate zippered compartments with pockets/dividers inside.
- Can be worn in the front while still having access to contents.
- MOLLE and PALS compatible.
- Hydration bladder compatible.
- Allows for cross-body style wear.
- Para-cord loop pulls on all zippers.
- Water bottle pocket holds up to a 32 oz. bottle.
- Velcro ID/Patch panel.
- Lifetime warranty.
Velox II Tactical Assault Pack ($69.99 MSRP/$55.00 Amazon)
- Meade with heavy (600D) nylon.
- 1628 total cubic inches of storage.
- 4 zippered storage compartments with internal pockets/dividers and storage
- Para-cord loop pulls on all zippers.
- MOLLE and PALS compatible.
- Reinforced “drag handle.”
- Expandable external pockets.
- Hydration bladder compatible.
- Two adjustable padded shoulder straps.
- Compression straps on the side and top.
- Adjustable hip and sternum straps.
- Velcro ID/Patch panel.
- Lifetime warranty.
How Have They Held Up?
To put it simply, both of these bags have held up great. I use the Outlaw almost every day for work. This means that it’s in and out of my car, thrown around, opened and closed multiple times per day and just plain loaded up with “stuff.” I even use the front MOLLE section as a pen holder—adaptability, no?
The Velox II is my range bag that I load with magazines, ammunition, hearing protection, heavy shooting rests and other range related items. This is also the bag that traveled with me to SHOT Show 2014. This backpack survived the abuse it endured from Minnesota to Las Vegas and back. This includes the airports, security, the hotel, media room and most importantly, the airplane. I have owned traditional luggage that I cannot say the same for.
With both backpacks, I have not experienced any broken zippers, clips, snaps or straps. Even the zipper loops of para-cord that run through the zippers have not become un-knotted. From experience with other (lower quality) bags. I was sure that at least one would become loose, but none of them have. There have also been zero holes or rips created in the material, even on the bottoms of the backpacks.
Considering the amount of time that each backpack has been dropped and dragged on its bottom, zipped opened and closed, loaded (I will even admit, sometimes overloaded) and unloaded, mark me as impressed. Remember, this is after a solid year of use by me. Well, technically speaking, since I obtained them in June of 2013 it would be a year, one month, a couple weeks and a day or two.
Final Thoughts
Considering the durability and that the cost of both of these backpacks combined may still be less than a single backpack from a more expensive manufacturer, I would recommend 3V Gear backpacks to anyone. This is especially true because these 3V Gear backpacks do not hold back on features. Ample storage, pockets, compartments, padded shoulder straps, water bladder integration, MOLLE webbing and even Velcro sections for your favorite morale patches are all features included.
If you are in the market for a new range bag, duty bag, bug-out bag, first aid bag, every-day-bag or even a backpack for school, then you may want to take a look at what 3V Gear has to offer.
Sounds like good, reasonably priced kit!