Tortuga Outbreaker 45L vs Direct Action Gear Dragon Egg

Pluses: holds a lot, carries a 17" laptop, 3 locking compartments, load levelling straps really work well, sternum strap is movable! Minuses: hip pad, shoulder pads could be better (very good but not great), mesh back would vent off sweat

So what we're looking at here is a 500 denier Cadorra nylon backpack. That's great. I love 500 denier. It's very tough, very durable, but it cuts down...

Though the Osprey had a better harness/waist strap system, but for the size of bag, the Tortuga's removable waist straps works just fine. Most times I don't even use the waist straps unless I know I will be walking for over 20+ minutes. Plus, the Osprey is unable to stand upright on its own (due to not having a flat bottom) and the Tortuga can. Thus, making it easy to put the bag down on the floor when not carrying it

I mean there's still quality, don't get me wrong, but it's just kind of frustrating to have this amount of noise on these buckles. So naturally I was ...

Bag was comfortable and secure, travelled well around the city and doesn’t seem as big as it is. Highly recommend for travelers who want a lot of room but don’t want to check a bag. If you don’t have inserts of your own you might want to buy them to help maintain shape structure but overall highly recommended.

I know it’s not a “premium” brand, but for me the Direct Action Gear Dragon Egg II is my Goldilocks bag. It checks all the boxes you list, and it just works. I’ve carried that bag every day for several years now, and I can’t really find anything better.

I hopped on and off buses, the subway, and walked around. I’m 62 years old and the Tortuga bag is a game changer.

I am NOT planning to use it for Hunting, Fishing, Bug out bag, Get Home Bag, " stay-in the-woods" bag, Survival training, "leave-in-the-car" bag. I am 6'1" tall, 170 pounds and bought it just as an "urban" EDC "travel-with-the-family" / "Walk-all-day-Sightseeing" bag / Diaper Bag! So, I was looking for a comfortable backpack with a large enough storage room for my Macbook 13" or my iPad, some food/ snacks, beverages, camera, some baby stuff you need while on the road. It is a shame that a such nice looking bag is quite uncomfortable to use after all. All reviews mentioned the thick padding as a nice feature, but to me they are just a bit too hard/ stiff