KIT & GEAR
MAXPEDITION HEAD-TO-HEAD
I was buying watches I suppose . There is an integrated handle which doubles as compression straps ; this is a mixed blessing . I love having a handle I can grab when I ’ m not wearing a bag over my shoulder , however , you have to unclip two buckles to access anything but the end pockets .
In summary , tough , compact , and versatile , if not large . Expect to pay between £ 65 - £ 85 depending on the retailer .
THE “ NOT-EUS ”
This came from eBay and has no branding whatsoever , unlike the Seibertron bag . It doesn ’ t even pretend . Cost ? £ 10.00 !
The basic design and layout are identical to the Proteus but that is where the similarity ends - with a screech of balding rubber and the crump of something hitting a concrete barrier !!
This is basically , well … crap ! Yes , the nylon is PU backed but it feels like something a “ bag for life ” from your local supermarket should be made from . The buckles are functional black plastic , although I suspect I could snap them by hand . The webbing straps are thin and floppy , unlike the Seibertron where they were flexible but reassuring . The overall standard of construction is , sadly , exactly what you should expect for £ 10 ! Someone , maybe many someones , has made some money from this and that left precious little for construction and materials . In order to photograph it , I have stuffed it with socks , otherwise it was just a coyote brown blob with buckles .
The colour matched zips are , to my surprise , similar in size to those on the Proteus but again , that ’ s where the similarities end . They ’ re unbranded and are stiff and jerky in use , giving me all the confidence of a man parking his car in the middle of a frozen lake at the start of the spring thaw ! Stitching is off-line , offcentre and generally awful .
There is one interesting original idea though , and that is a strap which serves as either a waist belt or a shoulder strap ; a smart idea badly let down by its execution . For me it is far too short to be a useable shoulder strap , although it is a perfectly functional waist belt despite the fact that , like many of us , I have gained a few pounds over this year . The method of attaching the strap is good but let down by shoddy construction . A combination of Velcro and a pressstud is combined to hold the strap ends onto the anchor points and this works well , unfortunately , the poor stitching doesn ’ t really give me much confidence that it would withstand much abuse . To its credit , this bag does feature the same belt storage as the Maxpedition and while I feel exactly the same way about it , it works and it ’ s there , so some points for that .
CONCLUSIONS
Yeah , I think you ’ re way ahead of me here ! For £ 10 the Noteus is almost a disposable item , I certainly wouldn ’ t spend any time repairing it should it fail . It will do all that you can reasonably expect of a cheap bag but it is just that – a cheap bag and while it might last and last , even as I unpacked it , I was expecting something to fail , which is a poor start .
The Maxpedition , on the other hand , is an absolute tank and I would expect it to emerge from a nuclear conflict unharmed ! It is a very particular piece of luggage and will do what it does very well . It isn ’ t large but within its capacity limitations it is very competent . I really like mine and it gets more use than my Jumbo Versipack . You could stuff it with anything I suspect , and it wouldn ’ t care and certainly wouldn ’ t tear . It screams “ quality ” and “ tough as a bast ***” and I like it for that alone !
Value for money is subjective and there is an ocean between the price of these two . I find the price of the Maxpedition less daunting but that is in part because I like this style of bag and I appreciate the quality , so while I do stand by my comments regarding Maxpedition ’ s pricing in the previous article , I think this is acceptable . You will get you money ’ s worth out of this bag and it is very functional , discrete , and flexible .
The Noteus and its ilk are best avoided . There are much better bags available for a little more . Even though it was twice the price of Noteus , it is still substantially cheaper than the original Proteus and is very impressive for the price . For the purpose of this article , I bought a fairly rotten bag so that you don ’ t have to . Tucker couldn ’ t even bring himself to give it a serious savaging , I think he felt it was beneath him !
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