Tactical Tailor Urban Operator Backpack

I like gadgets and things in which to carry them. Last year, I fairly assaulted SHOT Show 2012 wearing a Maxpedition Sitka in Khaki. It was just too small for my burden then, and for 2013 I had since added a Canon DSLR. Although a sling bag is easy to access, when filled with notebooks, pens, cameras, spare batteries, an iPad 2 and accessories, business cards, morale patches, product CD’s, press kits, Clif bars, water, Mil-Spec Monkey hoodie, and a daily burgeoning collection of swag (pirate booty), the distribution of weight in the oft-rotated bag could vex a loadmaster. I needed a backpack. Okay, another backpack. Damn, I think my wife heard that.

When I saw the Tactical Tailor Urban Operator Pack, I though I was on to something. I have a Maxpedition Falcon II, but at 3+ lbs empty, it starts out a bit much for the trade show floor. I wanted to shed a pound or two where I could. Even though the weight was not spec’ed on their website, Tactical Tailor’s bag looked more stripped down than my Falcon II: fewer straps and layers of heavy nylon material.

Tactical Tailor added “Made in the USA” to its desirable attributes. At an MSRP of $99.00, it was also a bargain. But would the quality betray the price? In for 9,900 pennies, in for a pound.

And the Coyote Brown Urban Operator Pack arrived and I was very pleased. The UOP was sturdy. Stitching was solid. It had a properly padded pocket for my iPad (or my 17″ MacBook Pro). I was thrilled to try to figure out what I could jam into its cavernous spaces but still hover over the scale. The UOP’s svelte form and padded shoulder straps would ease any neck strain I could have suffered with a lesser pack.