Review on Secure Your Travel With Pacsafe Venturesafe EXP45 Anti-Theft Carry-On Backpack In Elegant Black by Therealwesley Shaw

Excellent and No So Excellent - the Pros and Cons.My wife and I are traveling to Europe on a 2 week vacation in a few weeks (April 2017). We have been admittedly hyped up about it for three months or more now. In that time we have tested a lot of backpacks, carry-on luggage, cube packing, etc. We have read hundreds of reviews, watched a lot of fun Youtubers also evaluating packing etc. What an exciting life! Watching packing videos! Woooo-weee.This review will have PROS and CONS with the sub-categories. Feel free to comment and ask questions. I was super-hyped about this bag, but have lost some of that excitement after handling the bag, trying it on, packing it. I love the concept, and do hope Pacsafe reads this review as many are saying some similar things.We'll start with the PROS which is the bulk of this review, longer than the CONS.PROS: Definitely Pacsafe has made an excellent bag overall. It may be perfect for some. Not for me.MaterialThe material they have used for this bag is outstanding. You can really feel the material is a better grade. We have the Osprey Farpoint 40 and I like the Pacsafe material better. It is tight and feels extremely durable. Not a cheap look or feel.Look and SizeSmartly designed overall, stylish. Looks slim and does not have a bunch of loose straps falling all over on the outside. When it is on your back it looks and feels sleek. Very well balanced also. The size looks smaller than a 45 liter to be honest. We also have the Osprey 40L FP (small/medium) and that bag definitely holds a bit more and looks bigger and bulkier than this Pacsafe. Osprey has some flaws also, but that brand uses the zipper lengths better to open up the bag in all parts. As a result, for the Osprey 40 you are more likely to be able to use the compartments available.Color ChoicesWe only have the black color but it really looks awesome. Out of the box, you will immediately notice the Euro or more stylish look and feel of this bag. It has a muted sheen to it. Not loud but perfect. It does not look like a kids backpack at all. There is a light blue color choice that looks sharp but we went with the black for business use reasons and also for not showing the dirt.Padded HandlesThere are two padded handles and they are comfy. They are positioned in good spots for choices as you travel. One is at the very top and the other is on the side of the bag so you could carry it like a regular suitcase or briefcase. They are not as rigid though as I would prefer. They are padded for sure, but not sturdy or rigid. They appear to be stitched in well, yes. In comparison to the Osprey 40 Farpoint, the handles are not as good, in my own preference. I like a sturdier handle and these give too much. In the end if your bag is a bit heavy, you will notice the saggier handle on this Pacsafe. To give you an idea of how much weight I am packing - the bag weighs 2 pounds 5 ounces. I am packing 15.5 pounds of clothing. No laptop is being taken. The total weight of my bag is 18.0 pounds on the button. That's everything I am taking. In summary, I think the handles should be much sturdier and Pacsafe would be best to learn how Osprey made their handles on the 40 Farpoint.Main CompartmentThis Pacsafe EXP45 has two compartments. The main one on the bottom is cavernous, wide-open, and opens like a suit case. Extremely easy to access and pack the bottom compartment. Easy to fill with clothes and accessories or do it like we did, three cubes (Shacke Pak). It packs well in the main compartment and holds its shape well. It is though soft enough to give a little also.Main Compartment Straps (Cinch Strap System)Inside you will find on the bottom a clasping cinch strap that forms an X. Not so great. Nothing improved here whatsoever and a disappointment on this small detail. I would much rather have two thicker perpendicular cinch straps, from one side to the other, for sure.Color of the Inside of the CompartmentsNice, the bag color on the inside of the compartments is a light gray. Helps in contrasting darker items. But as I will explain, the top compartment, it is not as relevant because of access. I know, this must be for the safety reason strategy of this bag, but I'll explain my point later.ZippersThe zippers are in my opinion and testing the best you can find on the market. If there are better ones, then so be it. But we have compared it to our North Face Small Basecamp Duffel zips and the Osprey 40 Farpoint bag. We think the zips on this one are just great and the best of the three. The zip latches pair together nicely, beautifully really. They could, when in a hurry, present a hassle though. Not easy to undo quickly all the time. The metal zips are heavily built and you can feel it in your finger tips as you handle them. They do not have the additional string pull things on the ends. That is not an issue with me as the zips glided well enough and the teeth of the zipper feel strong, and very secure as they zip along.The Roobar ThingyCool, works really well, and would definitely add security and confidence in your travel. In this latest EXP45 model, they made an upgrade from the 45L GII Pacsafe by adding a small cover, with a buckle, that flips over and conceals the existence of a roobar. There is a positive to this. Crooks won't even know the roobar is there to begin with if that is in place unless they know about Pacsafe specifically. The zips, as you all know by now, can hook onto the roobar. You simply slide the twisting nut into place so the zips are essentially locked into place. The zips are not technically locked until you actually add a lock. Nonetheless a pick-pocket would be extremely stupid to try to get into the Pacsafe bag like this while the bag is actually on the person or close to the person. It is just too much of a hassle. One hand would not be able to release the roobar, take off the zippers from the roo bar, and then finally uncouple the zippers and slide them, etc. No way you could not be disturbed, or else you are easy pikckens'! If the bag is not on you, perhaps they could do this, for sure. So in those instances use a lock and the provided steel chain if you want.In all events it would require two hands and about or at least 15 seconds of time to take those zips off the roobar.On this issue of being targeted, I am so happy Pacsafe followed customer recommendations to mute down the colors and also make the larger, bright, "Pacsafe" name, previously stamped on the 45L GII, much smaller and therefore less conspicuous on the outside of the bag.Side PocketGreat location, like it. It is well made and flush with the bag otherwise. Some may not like the size. I like it because I do not carry water bottles on the side of a bag, period. I just carry a water bottle and drink it as I walk. I would rather use the side pocket for the not-so-valuable items, but still travel things I want access to quickly, such as a pen, charging battery or charging cord etc., general receipts from purchases. Nothing important that can get me in trouble if I lose it or it is stolen. It is tight enough that you could probably fit in a pair of sunglasses in there and the glasses would not slide out. Looks great.The Quality of the BucklesGood, but there is nothing outstanding here. They are smaller than some competition and the slides are not the best I have tried. Osprey has the best buckles or comparables I have personally tried. We tried an Eagle Creek bag also and that bag had better buckles than this one in my own taste. I like the slide pulls to be easy as I pull on them. These kind of feel like you are scraping the strap as you pull. I pull them as close to the strap buckle as possible to relieve the strain and they still felt a bit difficult to make the strap slide. Nothing gigantic, not bad, but it was noticeable in comparison to the Eagle Creek and also the Osprey, and even my North Face small duffel, brands.Shoulder StrapsThese are well made. Just enough padding in my preference. Could be more, but this is not an all-day hiking pack, at least for me, or at least not designed as such. Big people may not like how narrow the straps are (right to left that is). I thought they were perfect.They are permanently stitched in at the top end and click-buckle with slides on the bottom side. They do not have the better method of the load pulls at the top. I did not find this a problem in comfort. The straps can be adjusted fairly easily once you become acquainted with the positions of the strap pulls. The sternum strap is nice enough but could be wider. It has a buckle and also can be adjusted easily.The Hip Pad StrapsNice, just enough and it works. I like the padding, not too much, which is fine with me. No complaints on that. The buckle is fairly wimpy in comparison to the Osprey. I have some recommendations on this portion of the bag.Hide-away Channels for the Shoulder Straps and Hip StrapsThere are two cut out entry point slots in the top where you slide in the right and left shoulder strap if you want to conceal them. There are two cut out slots, right and left, in the bottom end for tucking away the hip straps. You can pretty much get the shoulder straps in the intended slots. The hip straps are much more difficult to get into the slots designed for them.The padded backVery comfortable. Just right to me (I am 5 foot 7 - 160 pounds). It has a mesh-like honey comb fabric. Seems durable enough but I really do not like it being exposed all the time as it will get dirty from all sorts of things (plus the heat and moisture issue of the human body) and who wants to put on a backpack if it might be dirty on the side you would have against your back? I wish they had a cover for it like the Osprey that can be untucked and then snapped, zippered or velcro over the strapping area and padded back made of the same material as the outside of the bag.AdjustabilityWorked fine. No complaints on my end on this part.Top Compartment - Laptop Area etc.For a laptop, this will work if you do not overstuff the bottom main compartment. Very well protected and padded. Really nice for a laptop. To get into this area, this outside compartment has two zippers which have very short and limited zipping, creating a tight and limited opening. This is a terrible choice to me, and for this reason and the backstops (shoulder and waist straps) this bag is going back to the seller. These are the two most important, relevant decision-making, big misses for me.This compartment is well made, has a few nice internal pockets. It just cannot be used or accessed easily and is in all measures to me, a waist of space and design here. All I would ever use it for is a wallet and a laptop. They have so much potential with this area and all they had to do is make the zippers go 3/4 down the sides of the bag on both the right and left side. I realize this is a purposeful choice for the laptop or security of the outside compartment, but for me, I will not use this area because it is way too difficult to access, cannot see what is in it, and way too tight. You will lose things inside this bag because you cannot see the inside of this area unless you have someone stretch it as you hold a flashlight and point it to the inside. Some may like it; I hated this portion of the bag immediately. I had read this from other reviews and Youtube, but thought they may be overstuffing the main compartment. Not the case. This is one of those aspects you would have to judge for yourself.CONS:Material: No complaints at all.Look and SizeNo complaints. The profile and size are about what we expected. It is really sleek. You will not want to overpack with this bag or use it to bring back more stuff.Color ChoicesI'd like to see a cobalt or some sort of granite or something like that. The color choices are fine overall to me, but one more.Padded HandlesI pretty much outlined the weakness of the handles, to me, in the PROs section. It is really about the rigidness of rthe handle. You generally will get tired more if you carry a bag with a flimsy handle. I realize no one could or will carry this bag for hours using the handle alone. But every little detail like this adds to the user's experience if it can be bettered. So that is my concern. Just make it a bit more rigid like the Osprey 40. It really does add to the overall quality and feel.Main CompartmentAs far as organization and size, no complaints at all.Main Compartment Straps (Cinch Strap System)I would much rather have two thicker perpendicular cinch straps, from one side to the other, for sure. The X-strap is not for me. I have never thought they worked well. I have thought that if you use an X system why not place two straps on both the right and left sides about 2 - 3 inches in from the ends and then have them come together as an X in the middle. Having the x start on the ends does not work as well. ALSO - Pacsafe, please use much wider straps, not the narrow ones you use, to cover more area or clothing area as it straps down.Color of the Inside of the CompartmentsNo problems, all good.Zipper QualityZero complaints - a big plus to me. Outstanding.The Roobar ThingyWorks well, great. No complaints. Smart and well-made.Side PocketNo complaintsThe Quality of the BucklesGood but could be better and thicker perhaps more like Osprey 40.Shoulder StrapsNo complaints - greatSternum StrapMake it with a wider strap.The Hip Pad StrapsUse a better buckle, other than that no problems, great.Hideaway Channels for the Shoulder Straps and Hip StrapsI give Pacsafe a C- on this one. Getting those straps into the slots is a real chore and not something you are ever going to want to do traveling unless you have plenty of time. When you have the two shoulder straps stuffed into their channels, I cannot get the hip straps into their slots. If you can, would you please show us a video? Simply not easy and a royal pain. Should not be a pain point to do this. Again, I go back to the choice to have a cover over this or do a better job of making those hideaway channels easier to use.The padded backGreat - no changes.AdjustabilityWorked fine. No complaints on my end on this part.Top Compartment - Laptop Area etc.For a laptop, this will work if you do not overstuff the bottom main compartment. Very well protected and padded. The smaller outside compartment has two zippers which have limited zipping, limited opening therefore. This is a terrible choice to me, for me, and for this reason and the back-straps (shoulder and waist straps) this bag is going back to the seller. It is well made, has a few nice internal pockets. It just cannot be accessed easily and is in all measures to me, a waist of design here. They have so much potential with this and all they had to do is make the zippers go 1/2 or 3/4 down the side of the bag on both the right and left side. I realize this is a purposeful choice for the laptop or security of the outside compartment, but I will not use this area because it is way too difficult to access and too tight. You could more easily lose things inside this bag because you can't see the inside of this area unless you have someone stretch it open as you hold a flashlight and point it to the inside. Some may like this, but I really did not like this portion of the bag, immediately. I had read opinions on this aspect of the bag from other reviews and a review on Youtube, but thought perhaps they may be overstuffing the main compartment. Not the case. Judge for yourself.SHOULDER STRAPWait there is no shoulder strap! I think this is an important miss. Most people buying this bag at this price level would want that choice also. Add D buckles or points where we can latch on a very nicely designed shoulder strap, as an option.RAIN COVERWait, again, there is no particularized rain cover. Please make one available to match this sizing. Can Pacsafe please do a video to show us how to use it? Please do no be $50 more bucks. A rain cover for this bag should be $20 or less.Overall Impressions and ConclusionsGreat company, customer service, and progressive design thoughts on the bag. Security is really great on this bag, with the mesh wire honeycomb underneath, the stronger zips, and the lockable roobar and stainless cord they provide.The Pacsafe EXP45 is way more a plus than a negative, but it does have a lot of room for improvement in two obvious and important aspects. That outside compartment is due for a redesign on the length of the zippers for much better access and visibility as to what you have in there. The backside, the straps need to have a place to hide, easily, and quickly. I suggest a hidden cover for the straps like Osprey has done so well and effectively. It will make the Pacsafe bag look neater and tidier, and, complete. Finally a shoulder strap and rain cover option will make purchasers feel Pacsafe is really listening to make the ultimate business and traveler backpack style, carry-on, travel bag.At $179 plus local tax we got this for just under $200. At this price level, Pascafe needs to step-up and listen to real travelers who continue to mention that outside compartment access. They about have it right, but when you can get the Osprey 40L Farpoint with much better access and a lot of important features at nearly $70 less sometimes, or 35% less, Pacsafe ought to redo this one more time with some of these comments in mind (or not! :) ).