When I see the endless reviews and recommendations for bug-out bags, get-home bags, 48-hour bags, even just Every Day Carry (EDC) “day-packs” that are intended to see a lot of routine use but be reliable and capable enough for emergencies, there are clearly thousands of contenders, and obviously personal preferences and brand-name biases play a large part in individual selections and recommendations, but I’m often perplexed at how rarely anyone mentions sling packs. For me, personally, there simply is no other choice
I’m a pack junkie. I spent a large part of my spare time in my youth on trails with everything I needed on my back, sometimes for weeks at a stretch, and it made some sort of permanent impression. I feel sort of naked out-and-about anywhere without one, at least in a nearby vehicle. I’ve got a lot of the things, mostly smaller sizes now just for kicking around, not the huge ones I used to live out of, but I highly value a good pack and it seems I can seldom go for much longer than a year without acquiring another one for a specific purpose or feature.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, for years at a stretch- more years than I care to think about- my daily commute to work has been very long and in three stages, driving my vehicle some distance in traffic to a subway station, then a long ride downtown on the subway, then, usually, a walk outside through the city. I’ve gone through a lot of packs and shoulder/messenger bags over all those years, trying to find the optimum arrangement, while keeping the possibility that someday things might go seriously wrong during the trip somewhere in the back of my mind.
I think most people are vaguely aware that some smaller packs have only one strap now, going diagonally across the chest, but few seem to understand it.
The big deal with sling packs is that you can pull them, on that single strap, around to your front without taking them off. One move and it’s in front, another move and it’s on your back, and it’s never “off”. That creates two huge changes in how you can use the pack- one is that you can (carefully) access the contents while walking without taking it off or stopping, the zippers are set up to do that. All that extra stuff, rain gear, water bottle, sunglasses, hat, whatever you might want on the move is accessible on the move.
The other is that you can pull it around to your chest, and sit down with it still on. In any circumstances that means that you can just stand up and leave without extra fuss or leaving stuff behind, even in an unexpected hurry, but it also means that you can pull it around front for riding in cars, buses, trains, cabs, subways, whatever, you don’t have to put it on the floor or on the seat and you take no chance of being separated from it, of inadvertently leaving it behind even in a panic, and once you stand up you can pull it around behind you when it’s convenient without breaking stride.
They do ride a little high in the front, so having it in front looks a little odd if someone’s in a seat facing your, more like a WWII paratrooper’s reserve chute than something sitting in your lap, but it’s no big deal. If you’re more comfortable with it in your lap when sitting with a little practice it becomes second nature to swing it around front, sit down, and flip the strap over your head to free it to drop it into your lap, and reverse that when the time to leave approaches. That technique is more hassle than it’s worth if you’re wearing a hat, but you can use the buckle instead to release it.
It’s a lot more convenient than a two-strap pack, and rides a lot more comfortably over distance than a messenger bag. It’s got the best qualities of both.
If it matters, another advantage is that it covers only one shoulder, you can shoulder a rifle on the other without all that thick strap padding in the way that changes the “pull”, the distance between the butt and the trigger, where the rifle naturally points relative to your stance, and the feel. of the rifle. Even if your rifle has an adjustable stock, with a sling pack over the other shoulder you don’t have to continually change that stock length for use with and without the pack. That’s a huge advantage if you need it.
For potential survival use especially, I don’t think anything comes close to the versatility of a sling pack for taking any possible means of transportation, including traveling on foot. The ability to access contents on the move, and the ability to keep it strapped to one’s person while seated not only speeds transitions but makes it far less likely to be lost or stolen in chaotic conditions.
The leaders in this field now seem to be Maxpedition and Hazard 4. I have multiples of each, but I rarely use the Maxpedition packs any more, IMHO they’re just not as well designed or comfortable over time.
I have to “thin out the herd” of day packs now, I’ve got too many and there are changes in the offing- I don’t expect I’ll keep any of the small-to-midsize packs with the traditional two straps. They may (or may not) be a bit superior for just walking distances, but the Hazard 4 packs are very comfortable as well, and I feel the versatility on and off the trail, the speed, convenience and extra security is more important.
Hazard 4 (hazard4.com)
– Robert the Wombat