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Sean Julian photo
South Africa, Pretoria
1 Level
693 Review
49 Karma

Review on πŸ”΄ Chase Harper USA 4200 Hideaway Tail Trunk: Water-Resistant, Tear-Resistant Red Bag with Adjustable Bungee Mounting System by Sean Julian

Revainrating 5 out of 5

I replaced my 5.11 Rush 12 backpack for commuting.

This tail bag exceeds my expectations in almost every respect. The build quality is far better than what the Amazon images show. The stitching feels very strong, the zippers feel high quality and not cheap like many others; The elastic tensioning thread at the top doesn't feel flimsy, and the tensioning mechanism is a lot better than any other similar system as it holds tension by looping around itself and allows you to use that tension when moving the sliders. lock the item. I have completely replaced my 5.11 Rush 12 backpack as a commute bag when commuting to work with this back bag. My full workload which I usually charge at 5.11am. Backpack with additional MOLLE compartments, contains the following: 13" laptop in compartment 2" work belt with tools Emergency tool kit Warm weather gloves Uniform 4" x 9" pocket for essentials (battery, charger, etc.) Beanie carrying case for glassesSunglasses caseRaincoat* *Winter in South Texas gets 30 degrees in the morning, 60 in the evening, so the following winter clothing is packed on the way home: windbreaker, fleece sweater, winter gloves (the jacket ties with an elastic drawstring on the outside for quick access) and I probably could compress a little to add a few other bits and pieces if needed The zips are still closed! I can store small items in the side compartments, including a travel towel and snack bars. tudy (it's the season), hand lotion for chapped hands, work badges and other little things. The rearmost compartment (which serves as a pocket that the entire bag folds into when not in use) is ideal for storing spare bungee ties and other items. I wish this particular compartment had two side pockets because it's more of a pocket on the outside of the bag than a pocket that shares storage space with the main compartment. What I like: - Sturdy construction. Very durable material and high quality zippers that won't break after repeated use. looks clean Not much ugly branding. Durable carrying handle integrated in the bag design. Large main compartment with enough space to replace my EDC backpack, MOLLE 5.11 Rush 12 tactical backpack. What I would like to improve: If the main compartment is even moderately filled, the side compartments will compress to the point of being almost unusable. excluding small, flat or compressible items as shown in my pictures. I would appreciate if these side pockets were external pockets and not zippered pockets that share storage with the main compartment. I wish it had at least one shoulder strap. It has attachments for a top which is impractical in actual implementation due to the shape this bag takes at full capacity, but a strap was not included in my package. Good luck finding. I'd love to see a backpack style shoulder strap that fits into a zippered bungee compartment in the lower back that either detaches for storage or zips open so you can carry it on one shoulder when not on yours use bike. .- Need more reflective tapes. It has two side pockets and one back pocket (provided you attach it to the bike correctly) but they are narrow. I wish they were a bit wider for visibility and maybe even in more places or at least all 4 sides for multiple mounting orientations. - Admittedly I'm a bit of a tactician, but I'd love to see a MOLLE version of this pouch to add extra pockets to the outside. Chase Harper could bring in a whole new customer base if they also offered compatible packages. A hard bottom layer would be nice if I need to carry a small amount of stuff but don't have enough to fill it. Chase Harper recommends inverting the bag and using the included bungee system to attach it to the bike upside down when carrying part loads, but that seems silly when they can easily include a removable hard insert that snaps into the bungee bag slides. . Yes, it will probably reduce the compactness of folding this bag when not in use, but personally I don't think I'll be cramming it into another bag any time soon if it's so handy.

Pros
  • Large selection
Cons
  • So so