Camelbak is company not short on innovation. Bringing to market a line of very handy and convenient hydration systems has benfitted us all. We got a first look at two brand new packs from Camelbak, the Urban Assault and Urban Assault XL. The Urban Assault packs at first looks like an intimidating, menacing, ready to kick some butt pack. Loaded with features and hidden surprises, the Urban Assault is prepared for your day.

The Camelbak Urban Assault packs are constructed of a middle-ground 500D Cordura. As stated before, Cordura is pretty much the best material you can use, and at 500D the Urban Assault combines a good balance of strength to weight ratio. The zippers are genuine YKK and surrounding them is a rubbery flange meant to help keep water out. Camelbak had the right idea when they made their zipper pulls as well. The zipper pulls are made of cord with a plastic tube around them. This offers the flexibilty and silence you need, while offering the rigidity and strength required to open/close the zipper. Located on the back is a very intimidating, yet comfortable looking design. Three large foamy pads are arranged in an ergonomic design and allow for ventilation. The organization of the pads keeps the weight off of your spine and moves it to the sides and lower parts of your back. On the shoulder straps is some dense 15mm EVA foam. All of the side release buckles on this pack were made by ITW Nexus which is an industry leader in tough buckles.

The design of the Urban Assault packs is an adventure. With a plethora of pockets and many hidden features learning this pack may take a bit of time. I’ll start with the Urban Assault pack first.

Even though this Urban Assault doesn’t carry the “XL” moniker, it is by no means a small pack. The large internal frame sheet on the back is definitely needed to keep this pack upright. The pocket located next to the back is a small “comms” pocket as Camelbak likes to call it. It’s lined in padded in felt and will accommodate your phone or mp3 player quite nicely. Next to that is the laptop compartment. This pocket was large enough to fit 17″ notebooks which was a nice feature. Unfortunately inserting/removing your laptop was decently difficult due to the mouth of the pocket not being very large. An extra inch or two on each side would have been very greatly appreciated without taking away from the overall look of the pack. Camelbak also states that this pocket can double as a hydration reservoir pocket. Next comes the main pocket. In here is a cargo net which at first appears as conventional laptop pocket. I wouldn’t recommend putting your laptop there however. On the front of the main compartment is a felt lined accessory pocket. You do need to open the main compartment to access it. Following the main compartment is the secondary pocket with organizer. There aren’t any frills here and it offers the space and organization you need. Next is an interesting blow out pocket. At first it’s secured by a Velcro flap, but when fully expanded two fastex buckets can be found hidden within the top of the tongue. These connect to two hidden fastex buckles on the back of the Urban assault. The sidewalls of the expansion pouch have some elastic in them. On the inside of this pouch is a hook and loop enclosed pocket. It seems the right size for folded documents. If you’re looking to stow important documents and want them hidden, this would be the pocket to do it. Back to the rear of the backpack are the shoulder straps and secondary straps. The Urban Assault contains a removable sternum strap as well as a removable waist strap. The two side pockets on the Urban assault are insulated water bottle pockets. A very nice 750ml bisphenol A free water bottle is included with every pack. These pockets also double as laptop power brick/charger storage pockets. Something that really made this pack stand out from the others was the addition of strap keepers. With all the adjusting that can be done the keepers kept all of the loose stuff nice and tidy. Most packs don’t pay attention to this detail and it was a pleasure having them on the Urban Assault.

The Urban Assault XL is the larger brother of the Urban Assault. With a huge main compartment and increased size the Urban Assault XL can be classified as a 3-day pack. For the most part, it’s the exact same as the Urban Assault. Once you get past the main compartment however, things change. Instead of moving from the main compartment to the secondary compartment you go straight to the expansion pouch. This expansion pouch isn’t retained by a hook and loop cover, but instead always needs to be closed via side release buckles which aren’t hidden anymore. Having to do this extra step every time you open/close the pack does get annoying. On the front of the expansion flap is the organizational pocket. It’s increased in size, and also contains an internal accessory pouch. The back straps and sides are the same as the normal Urban Assault. If you need to carry a lot however, the Urban Assault XL is for you.

While the dimensions are a little different, the Urban Assault and Urban Assault XL both have the same comfort. Although they had what appeared to be a well thought out ergonomic design, I had a really hard time finding a comfortable position for these packs. I felt as if it placed too much weight on the lower back. Opposite to my problems, Lauren felt this pack placed too much weight on the upper portion of the back leading to discomfort. The shoulder straps carried the same misgivings as the back. What appears as a shoulder strap pivot (to adjust to each user’s width of shoulders) didn’t help much at all. The hard and dense foam in the shoulder straps didn’t have much cushion to them and you could definitely feel all the weight digging down in certain areas. The sternum and waist straps helped, but not significantly enough to make the pack comfortable. It was a shame that such a great looking pack had to fall so far in the comfort department.

Camelbak Urban Assult XL
Pros:

• Sternum strap (removable)
• Removable waist strap
• Internal frame sheet
• Padded separate laptop compartment
• Zipper pulls
• Can hold 17″ notebook
• Good back ventilation
• Soft glasses and iPod pockets
• Included waterbottle
• Strap keepers
• Shoulder strap pivots
• Shoulder strap routers
• Internal cargo net
• Clamshell opening
• ITW Nexus snaps
• 17″ laptop (TIGHT fit)

Cons:

• Shoulder strap foam too hard
• Difficult to get laptop in and out
• Too much weight on shoulders loaded up
• Too much weight on lower back loaded up
• Single stitching
• Shoulder strap pivots
• Must unbuckle sides to open

Price: $179

Links: Camelbak.com

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The North Face Recon is a very sleek and functional urban pack. It is a frequent sight at college campuses everywhere and should just about have it’s own plug in the campus tours as well. Coming in at 19 different colors/combos the Recon holds the most variance of styles and is guaranteed to offer a style for everyone. While not a large pack (main compartment 1520 cu in, secondary compartment 330 cu in), the North Face Recon offers sufficient space for the majority of people out there.

The North Face Recon is constructed out of 420D Nylon (main body) and 1680D Nylon (bottom). 420D Nylon works fine strength-wise, but won’t hold up to rugged or harsh conditions. Luckily, this pack takes most of its beating on the bottom where the beefy 1680D construction should ensure a long-lasting bottom portion of this pack. Looking over this pack the stitching is fine, although no hints of double-stitching can be found anywhere. It’ll hold it’s own, but don’t count on being able to push it to the max. Since this pack is made of all nylon it is decently water-resistant and you can safely put this pack under a faucet for a minute without worrying about your belongings getting all soggy. This water-resistance also makes cleaning the outside much easier. All the zippers on this pack are tried and true YKK built to last. The Northface Recon is made in Vietnam, but was one of the better made non-USA made packs.

The pouch layout of the Recon is fairly standard. Peeking into the main compartment of the Recon you’ll notice a very conventional, and not the most safe/secure, laptop holding sub-pouch. It’s comforting to see a 1″ nylon fastex top fastener for your laptop. I much prefer this to a simple hook and loop fastener featured in one of the other packs. The laptop compartment can accomodate a 17″ laptop, although it will be a tight squeeze. As a general rule of thumb, all laptop compartments double as a hydration bladder compartment and the Recon functions just as well with a hydration bladder in the laptop compartment as a laptop. Moving around the pack some more are your standard assortment of pouches. An organizer pouch, snack pouch, ect. One interesting thing on this pack are the dual water-bottle pouches on the outside. I suppose North Face caters to both right and left-handers by placing a water bottle pouch on each side, although they might just be advocating their customers have extra water. It may have been more useful to replace one of those pouches with a zippable pouch that can double as another accessory pocket (to hold your laptop charger perhaps?) as well as a water bottle holder. I can’t say I found much use for the external cargo net on the front of the pack, although many people use it to stuff a spare piece of clothing. It’s convenient for quickly stowing larger objects, or dirtier ones that you wouldn’t want to gunk up the insides with. On the right shoulder strap is a handy compression pouch. It’s perfect for your cellphone or keys. Located above that is a cable/wire/hydration hose router which is always a nice touch. A very useful feature on the bottom of the Recon are some compression straps. They allow the user to adjust how far out they want the bottom of the pack to be able to go. This sets up the pack so that it doesn’t slouch as easily or fall over all the time. A very welcomed feature on the Recon is the rigid internal frame sheet in the back. This adds to the comfort of the pack and helps it maintain it’s shape while under load.

For both men and women comfort with the North Face Recon stands at the pinnacle. With a standard load none of the other packs came close to the Recon in the comfort department. Although the shoulder straps are fairly thin, their width spread the load very well. To supplement heavier loads a sternum strap and concealable waist strap are included. These show their worth with heavier loads (such as a few large textbooks along with your laptop), although still couldn’t make the Recon retain its spot as king in the comfort department with heavier loads.

Pros:

• Cargo net
• YKK zippers
• Depth adjuster
• Laptop top keeper
• Internal frame sheet
• Sternum strap
• Tuck away waist strap
• Dual water bottle pockets
• Shoulder strap routers
• Zipper pulls
• GREAT with light loads
• 17″ laptop ok (bit tight)
• 1680D Ballistic Nylon (bottom)

Cons:

• 420D Nylon construction
• Not much laptop padding
• Single stitched
• Small holder on shoulder strap

MSRP: $79
Buy Now: North Face Recon for $69 (no tax + ships free)
Links: TheNorthFace.com (Product Page)

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