Tactical Tailor is a company that truly knows what “tough” is. Founded by a US Army scout sniper, Tactical Tailor has the expertese and experience in what a tough pack requires. Tactical Tailor’s Enhanced Day Pack exhibits this knowledge throughout from the materials used for construction, a “KISS” attitude, and the inclusion of almost everything you need, without everything you don’t.
Constructed of mil-spec 1000D Cordura no other pack in our lineup contained such a rugged material. Cordura is a type of nylon developed by the DuPont company. The Cordura brand is now owned by Invista. Cordura is 3x more durable than normal polyester and 2x as durable as normal nylon. Both inside and out the Enhanced Day Pack is made of this almost bomb proof material. All zippers on the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack are genuine YKK and pull smoothly. There aren’t any flanges near the zippers to get caught making it very hassle-free. On the shoulder straps a nice amount of 1/2″ thick foam is spread throughout. Along your back is 3/8″ thickness foam in a 1000D Cordura enclosure. This pack doesn’t have a true internal frame-sheet per say, but the sturdy foam in the backing keeps the pack’s shape nicely and is a suitable substitute.

At first glance the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack really doesn’t look very intuitive. It appears rather simple, bland, and boring. Using the pack however you’ll discover that this pack was designed by pure geniuses whose apparent goal was to make a very functional pack while keeping it simple. Located closest to the wearer on the side of the pack is a long zipper. Unzipping this reveals a side opening laptop compartment. While not very conventional, this design turns out to be a most splendid idea. The ease of removing or storing your laptop is increased as well as the speed. If you travel by air a lot, this side opening option is a godsend making taking out your laptop for screening much quicker and easier. As grand as this laptop compartment is, it does have a downfall. Users with 17″ notebooks have been sadly left out. The max this pocket will hold is a 15″. The next pocket down is the main compartment. This pocket is generous in size and will easily accommodate your textbooks and binders. No surprises there. The next pocket down is the organizational pocket. The size of this pocket is very roomy as well. You shouldn’t have any problem stashing another notebook or binder in there either. Located inside is a very sturdy key clip as well as a functional organizer. Past this pocket are two more standard pockets. One’s fairly tall should you have a smaller sized notebook and the farthest one acts a quick accessory pocket. On the sides of this pack is a water bottle pocket and an external organizer. While some may prefer an extra pocket to the external organizer, I’ve found the external organizer to be one of the finest features on this pack. Should you need a pen or pencil it’s very easily accessible. Initially you won’t think this feature as very grand, but soon you’ll begin to wonder why all of your packs don’t have an external organizer. The opposite side water bottle compartment folds out to reveal a mesh with shock cord retention. This will expand to fit large nalgene bottles. You can also choose to store small camera in this pocket and zip it back up. The carry handle on this pack is very beefy and is reinforced on the inside. A welcome addition to this pack is the inclusion of double stitching. This significantly reinforces the pack and adds to the peace of mind. Out of this tank of a pack, the only complaint I had were the zipper pulls. When I first received the box this backpack was in I heard a good amount of metal clanking. At first I thought, “Oooh, Tactical Tailor must’ve sent me some extra goodies!” That turned out to be sadly untrue, and it was the large metal zipper pulls clanking against the zippers. While this is an annoyance, it’s nothing a little wrapping of 100mph/duct tape can’t fix. On the front exterior of the pack is a large hook and loop panel for fun patches or ID.

However simple and plain looking the Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack may seem, it definitely doesn’t sacrifice comfort. While there aren’t any specially engineered, space-age, rocket-science ergonomic designs built into the back, the Enhanced Day Pack was a leader for men and women in this lineup for comfort. The nice wide shoulder straps distributed the weight well in conjunction with the padded back. There is hardly any ventilation for your back, leading to some sweaty moments, but the comfort is supreme. I would rate the Enhanced Day Pack a hair short of first place for light loads comfort, but with a strong lead in first with heavy loads.

Pros:

• 1000D Cordura construction
• 3/8″ closed cell foam padding all around laptop
• Side opening laptop compartment
• Made in USA
• Comfortable with light or heavy loads
• External organizer
• Heavy Duty drag handle
• Velcro panel
• Stands up on own
• YKK zippers

Cons:

• Loud zipper pulls
• No back ventilation
• No frame sheet
• 17″ laptop incompatible

Price: $97.75
Links: TacticalTailor.com (Product Page)

RELATED: Day Pack Reviews: The Roundup

My quest led me to see if makers of high end enthusiast and professional backpacks offered anything for the average Joe. The companies were The North Face, High Sierra, Camelbak, and Tactical Tailor. The North Face has been making rugged outdoors enthusiast products for decades and seemed like a good place to start. High Sierra is another classic outdoors company that routinely provides packs and bags to professionals requiring ruggedness and function. The innovative Camelbak has always been there for the sportsman with their hydration system. Their packs are not only outdoors qualified, but battle proven around the world. The last company, Tactical Tailor is a smaller company than the others, but is known exceptionally well in military and government circles for their tough gear.

The Packs

Starting from the left to the right we have: The North Face: Recon, Camelbak: Urban Assault, Camelbak: Urban Assault XL, High Sierra: Grid, and Tactical Tailor: Enhanced Day Pack

Testing Method
The standard/control for this pack comparison is going to be the Recon backpack from The North Face. The Recon is an extremely popular backpack and has many great qualities. While not as obviously rugged as our other models, we felt it would display the differences between a more mainstream backpack and our overbuilt rugged packs.

Grading is based on a few different criteria on a scale of 1-10:

• Construction: Many cheap backpacks are constructed “just good enough” and the poor effort put into them shows. Blown seams, ripped stitches, as well as inferior materials can all lead to many annoyances in a backpack. We’ve taken a look at the materials used in the construction of our test packs, how durable the stitching is, down to the brands of the zippers.
• Design: All of our test packs had to meet a few criteria to be included in our tests. Since we are a tech blog, every pack had to accommodate a laptop. Along with the laptop compatibility we graded these packs on how well they stored your everyday gadgets such as mp3 players and phones.
• Comfort: One of the most commonly overlooked part of a backpack is how comfortable it really is. Seeing as it’s difficult to load up a backpack at a store this often taken for granted. We tested the ability of our packs to stay comfortable with both average light and heavy loads. Thanks to special correspondent Lauren Steussy we were also able to include any comfort/fit differences for women.
• Price/value: You can have the best pack in the world, but if it’s priced too high what difference does it make? Each pack will be graded on just how much it’s worth the price as well.

The Round-Up
Well here we are at the end of our journey and ready for the judges. Grading is based on a 1-10 scale. Here’s what the scale denotes:

• 1 – poor
• 2 – not great
• 5 – average
• 9 – excellent
• 10 – perfect

The Northface Recon
This pack exhibited much user friendliness. While not the best in utility due to the smaller size, for what it will carry the trip will be a comfortable one. With a price of $79, good design, moderate construction, and excellent comfort the Recon deserves respectable marks.

• Construction: 6
• Design: 7
• Comfort: 9
• Value: 6
• Overall: 28

High Sierra Grid
The Grid can easily be summed up as a well-rounded pack. With good looks, a good amount of pockets, and a comfortable fit the Grid was a pleasure to use. The construction of this pack is a bit disappointing, so if you need something near bomb-proof unfortunately the Grid will have to pass. For a light-weight pack at only $70, the Grid is a favorite.

• Construction: 5
• Design: 7
• Comfort: 8
• Value: 7
• Overall: 27

Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack
The Tactical Tailor Enhanced Day Pack exceeded everyone’s expectations and came out the leader of the pack with ease. With a simple, yet functional design, extreme comfort, near bomb-proof construction, and plenty of cargo room the Enhanced Day Pack is a near-perfect buy at $97.75 for anyone looking for a pack.

• Construction: 9
• Design: 8
• Comfort 9
• Value: 8
• Overall: 34

Camelbak Urban Assault
The Urban Assault is the most ferocious and action packed pack in our lineup. With many pockets and hidden features to impress, the potential utility of this pack is mammoth. If you’re looking for a pack that can carry a good deal and is average sized the Urban Assault ready for your mission, but at the price of $159.

• Construction: 7
• Design: 7
• Comfort: 4
• Value: 5
• Overall: 23

Camelbak Urban Assault XL
This behemoth of a pack is sure to carry whatever you need. Armed with large pockets, and secure connections you can count on this pack should you need to go out for a few days. Don’t underestimate what you can stash in this pack, but be prepared to feel it at the end of the day. The large offerings of this pack come at a large price of $179.

• Construction: 7
• Design: 7
• Comfort: 4
• Value: 5
• Overall: 23