Plan9

I shall play devil's advocate for the sake of this thread.

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Hey, I'm just some dummy off the street but it seems a little ridiculous that our boy is going to buy a ruck / assault pack to haul around school books and a laptop. All of these bags are probably more than he needs for the job, IMO. It's school, not scout camp.

Regarding the OP: If location of availability is any indicator of quality, Kelty sells a few outdoor products at Target. I'm guessing that means that they sell cheap / disposable products. I'd imagine they'd be okay for "mobile storage" and light use but nothing involving GI Joe tasks.

Avoid anything with mesh pockets, especially on the outside. Mesh is probably the worst material you can have on a hard-use bag due to snag/tear potential. The mesh water-bottle pockets on the sides of bags? Garbage. Mesh internal organizers? Pain in the ass.

And who gives a fuck what you look like, bro? You're modest. Trust me, you won't be the weirdest looking military dude wherever you go. Just don't talk about your supposed body count, m'kay? Leave the masturbatory unit PT shirts at home and avoid sewing Ranger tabs onto everything you own.

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You guys sure have a boner for the Diamondback stuff. That good, huh? I'm not as impressed with their armor. But I digress. Anyway, I used a plain black OGIO Mastermind backpack with a built-in sleeve and file cabinet pocket while I was in college and I'm sure I carried just as many giant WestLaw texts around. It cost me ~$60 and has yet to fail on me. Would I use it for a combat deployment? No. It's a bookbag, not a rucksack. I don't eat my dinner with a shovel and I don't carry my school books in a military rucksack. Proportionality? Yeah, I guess I'm that guy. The "universal backpack" thing might be good for a vacation to a third world country but is largely unnecessary for everyday use. I see these as good bugout bags but overkill for everyday use. Keep in mind that I say this as a guy that drives a dorky high MPG hatchback instead of a turbo Suburban on 34s with a bumper'd tow strap.

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And humble me if I'm wrong but I'm 99% sure you're never going to put a 2-quart and an e-tool on a friggin' assault pack so don't make that a requirement. Your unit will probably have some silly rucksack / assault pack packing list / use policy anyway. FWIW, my philosophy was one e-tool per fire team and the two-quarts were dummy corded with a bowline and secured inside a sustainment pouch if they were carried at all. Most of the time we just rocked a few small bottles of water and Camelbaks despite my long love affair with 2-quarts (I always carry two on my personal rucks).

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Also: Are your law texts available as E-books? That was becoming popular at my school before I graduated. It would lighten your load significantly. Retarded man's logic, I know... instead of looking for a better way to carry your heavy load, why don't you find a way to lighten your load?

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Check it out: Our brother KirStang has a problem with excessive gear purchasing and you guys aren't helping. He's a Geardo and needs intervention.

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All that being said, I'm going to hafta check out the DB SOF Assault Pack if I can actually get it for ~$150. My Camelbak pack isn't doing the job anymore.