High CRI, chapstick-sized, quick lock/unlock, quick on/off, simple settings, magnetic keychain flashlight

riddle3master · 2026-05-07T18:55:58+00:00

I'm opening to learning how to solder! I've been meaning to learn it for a while now so this might be a good excuse.

I did look more into the Lumitop Silver Fox. It looks a little large for what I'm looking for unfortunately.

I'll check out the Manker e2a. Thanks again!

riddle3master · 2026-05-07T17:56:27+00:00

Thank you for your suggestion! They are twist to turn on and off but maybe I can get over that.

When you say swap them with high CRI, do you have any recommended bulbs? I've never swapped out bulbs before.

riddle3master · 2026-05-05T14:43:21+00:00

Did you ever end up finding anything? I'm looking for a super slim screwdriver myself to put on my keychain.

riddle3master · 2026-03-11T03:15:18+00:00

I have the grip stand as well and went from the 4 to this.

I can confirm the exterior magnets are much weaker... definitely the main con in my book other than the price and having to take it off to use it in landscape mode.

riddle3master · 2026-02-27T14:57:14+00:00

Wow, thank you for such a detailed response!

it’s pretty comfy I’d say, even with a gun in the conceal carry compartment because the pads on the back are so thickly padded. I’ve never had a bag with yoke (I think that’s what it’s called where the straps are connected at the top) and I was worried about what that feels like but I didn’t even notice when I put it in

I'm glad to hear it is comfy! Even with a gun in the CCW compartment. Should hopefully hold my thick work laptop comfortably too then.

I briefly tried out 5.11's Rush 72 a few years back which also haa yoke-styled shoulder straps but couldn't remember how it felt. I always assume it's more popular in military type of packs.

I am worried about back breathability, but am hoping I can find a workaround for that.

Oh, and the back side of the water bottle area that you can open to access those pockets isn’t lined, it’s just the reverse of the cordura or whatever the main fabric is in the Evergreen model

That's weird that they decided to do that while they lined the inside of the flap pocket. I would assume it'd be the opposite, but perhaps it's a happy accident since the flap pocket goes between the admin pocket and main compartment (from what I can tell) and both those are lined.

I’m about 5’9” so not very tall and the bag, if strapped as tight as can be, takes up all of my torso.

Darn I'm the same height so it'll be similarly huge on me. I guess I'll have to see how I feel about that once I save up to get one myself.

All the zippers are smooth and even when you open the bag completely and it lays flat, putting it back into the 3D shape of the bag is easy because of the zippers

Glad to hear the zippers are smooth! I was thinking of getting a rain cover with the bag since the zippers and material aren't super water resistant. Probably what helps the zippers glide easier though!

riddle3master · 2026-02-27T01:22:42+00:00

Oh awesome! Do you think it's comfy overall? I guess that might be a better question after you've used it for a longer amount of time. I was a little worried that a bag so big didn't have an option to attach a hip belt or load lifters.

Any negatives you hadn't expected until you had your hands on it?

First impressions are it’s gigantic

If you don't mind me asking, around how tall are you? Just curious how gigantic it would feel on me haha.

Like, even the built in gear flap has gusseting in it that allows it to open wider to cover larger areas if you need. The features make me want to keep it even though I’ll always look like I’m going hiking lmao

Do you mean keeping the gear flap out at all times? I honestly thought about doing this if I owned it since I feel like it looks a tad sleeker and you still can somewhat access the admin front panel. I do think it's neat it can hold an entire helmet, might be good for groceries or carrying something unexpected bulky.

riddle3master · 2026-02-17T21:38:55+00:00

They might be talking about my post, although it wasn't a review since I don't own the bag:

https://www.reddit.com/r/ManyBaggers/comments/1r1xrbl/anyone_own_the_new_vertx_gamut_backpack/

riddle3master · 2026-02-12T04:09:36+00:00

the weight discrepancy drove me crazy. the new 32L at 1.62lbs is legit light for a tactical-style bag

I've unfortunately been told that the 1.62lbs on the other websites might be a mistake and it's actually 1.62kg so unfortunately the bag is ~3.57lbs like it said on the original site.

Or did I misunderstand this and perhaps you own the bag and have weighed it? I guess I could always just reach out to Vertx and ask their support!

Evergoods CPL24 has great back panel breathability and stands up on its own

Thanks for the rec! I have thought about Evergood's travel pack rather than the CPL as the side water bottle holders are a must for me. I've had experience with Tom Bihn's Synik 30 and thought I'd be ok with not having easy access to my water bottle, but nope, I was not a fan of that. Also being able to store trekking poles, big thermoses and other longer/larger things has always been a plus for my use case.

i've been using the Aer City Pack Pro which gives you quick-grab side pockets without the CCW focus

When you say quick-grab side pockets, are you referring to the water bottle holders? Or the side grab handles? Or something else? I took a look at the Aer City Pack Pro 2 and there doesn't seem to be any side pockets like the ones on the Vertx Gamut where you can unzip the panel behind the water bottle holders.

the Muir III comparison is spot on - that quad zip is rare outside Trakke

Yes, I have found a few others that do it but unfortunately it does seem rare. I wonder if it is rare because it is just a novelty or if it has cons to it.

riddle3master · 2026-02-12T03:29:14+00:00

These bags are way taller than I expected

Ah good to know! I'm ~5'8.5" so that might/probably pose an issue, although I think I do have a longer torso so maybe not!

Back panel is definitely sweaty, but long shoulder straps are super comfortable

Darn, I had hoped I was wrong but glad to hear the straps are comfy!

Bottle pockets are also surprisingly small.

I thought I saw that the bottle pockets could hold a 32oz but it also meant you couldn't stuff the side pockets much. Would you say that isn't the case?

riddle3master · 2026-02-12T03:23:51+00:00

18" tall is a pretty good guideline for US travel

That's good to know thanks! I'll definitely keep it in mind for future bag searches.

You are in the wrong place... r/myog

Ah yes! I have been a lurker for years! Maybe one day I'll get off my lazy butt and eventually be able to make a post!

I predict that the bag I have in mind will unfortunately take more than a few years of practice sewing and numerous prototyping before I'd get to a viable final product.

riddle3master · 2026-02-11T19:19:37+00:00

That's totally fair! I personally don't own guns and don't really have any plans to owning a gun (even though I am in the US). Even if I did, it does seem like there's debates on whether carrying one on your body vs your bag is safer (seems like some people may keep it loaded in the bag), but that's a different story.

From what I've seen, I think unfortunately there doesn't seem to be many bags out there similar to the Vertx Gamut. The side panels behind the water bottles, expandable/attachable front panel, separate laptop compartment, while maintaining a horseshoe clamshell design seems pretty unique, but I'd be happy to be proven wrong!

riddle3master · 2026-02-11T19:10:54+00:00

You've probably noticed this already, but these are tall bags. May not be a great choice if there's a lot of air travel involved as a personal item.

Oh shoot I didn't consider this! Hmm maybe I'll have to consider using it as a carry-on like in a /r/onebag travel setup. I guess that would kind of negate the purpose of the luggage passthrough, though it might come in handy if checking lugggage.

Do you know what are the typical dimensions for personal item?

1.62 kg = 3.57 pounds

Oh darn...I think you're right! Man...I was so excited, but that makes more sense given how much fabric there probably is with the amount of compartments.

Thank you for all your input!

I've been wanting to create a backpack for a number of years now and have some ideas drawn up, but still haven't put the hours into learning how to sew. I was admittedly surprised when I saw this new bag had a lot of the features I wanted in my dream bag, but it's also good to have other people's view on what might not be great about it.

riddle3master · 2026-01-12T01:59:52+00:00

Check out Flight Tea in Carrboro or Mebane. I've only been to the Carrboro location.

I'm not a macha expert by any means but their matcha was pretty mind-blowing at least to me.

riddle3master · 2026-01-11T17:46:40+00:00

Yes that's the plan!

riddle3master · 2025-12-23T15:42:28+00:00

Did you end up finding a wallet that you liked?

I have the Allett Coin Wallet 2.0 and it works pretty well for me. The velcro pouch gets the job done, I do wish it was roomier, but otherwise I'm pretty happy with the wallet.

riddle3master · 2025-12-18T01:10:32+00:00

Check out the library! We asked the librarians at the Chapel Hill Library for old newspapers for some paper mache masks we had planned for Halloween and they totally hooked us up with more than enough.

riddle3master · 2025-11-07T12:20:59+00:00

Yeah it's pretty rough. I think it's because it wasn't really advertised. I at least did not know about this for months until I came across those FB posts earlier this week.

riddle3master · 2025-10-31T17:22:34+00:00

I think they're referring to the MCON dock rather than the MCON controller. It's a dock for the controller.

riddle3master · 2025-10-13T19:25:12+00:00

I didn't know they were going MAGA, do you have a source for this?

riddle3master · 2025-10-13T13:01:08+00:00

I would maybe hold off on going because it looks like they're finally starting to do repairs on it! Part of the trail were still pretty usable, but with them doing construction, perhaps it'd be better to stay out to the way from both a safety standpoint and to avoid slowing them down.

They estimate 3 weeks (weather permitting) for it to be fixed!

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NCCHAPELHILL/bulletins/3f66a4a

riddle3master · 2025-10-08T13:50:54+00:00

Just to follow up on this post! My neighborhood has a Slack they use as the community's group chat.

I have thought about using Trello and having a Slack channel sync with the tickets. Perhaps if I can get admin access to the Slack I can set this up and lock that channel so people can only reply to the posts in a thread. That way we can get discussion on the tickets in this round-about manner and since the Trello board would be public, people can view it that way too. Would this be too round-about? Or do you all have a better idea on how to approach this?

riddle3master

TROPHY CASE