review

MTW Backpack Review Moment Travelwear Everyday Carry Backpack

Friday, January 15, 2021

An everyday carry backpack is that one bag you can pack all your everyday gear and head out for the day, whether you're commuting to work, hanging out with friends or exploring the outdoors. There is no shortage of everyday carry backpacks to choose from so, you're bound to find one to fit your needs. If you're looking for a non-mainstream backpack that is smart, versatile and minimal, the the Moment Travelwear MTW Backpack is the one to aim for.
The front of the MTW Backpack integrates a vertical zip compartment that spans the entire height of the backpack (34cm high) and 23cm wide across it. The vertical compartment opens up via a single metal slider, revealing a roomy compartment which can potentially expand up to 5 inches, letting you store bulky items.
Inside the vertical compartment, there are three open pockets, a key chain and a large breathable zip pouch, measuring 30cm long and 18cm wide. The breathable zip pouch is made of stretch mesh fabric, while the pockets are made of medium weight fabric (210D nylon oxlan) with a water resistant coat and stretch zigzag stitching. The pockets are very soft but durable too, thanks to the hard-twisted (crepe) yarns of the oxlan fabric.
The open pockets have the same height (15cm high) with various widths (9cm, 11cm and 7cm), while the metal keychain has a flat carabiner style attached to a non-removable 10cm long fabric cord. The vertical compartment zip runs all the way down to the bottom of the backpack and, while the zip is not water resistant it has a reverse coil teeth design with a fly zipper over it that should slow down any water ingress.
The Moment Travelwear backpack has two main compartments, a middle compartment and a rear compartment. The middle main compartment measures 32cm wide and 46cm long and, it's the roomiest of them all, being able to hold 50% of the total volume capacity of the bag, which is 21 litres (there is also a 17 litre version). The middle compartment integrates a stretch mesh zip pouch, measuring 17cm and 13cm, as well as two elastic loops that can be used for clipping small things, even securing a small monopod.
The middle compartment has a non-waterproof reverse coil zip that opens via a single metal slider at an angle. This means, the middle compartment zip has a partial horseshoe opening where one side of the zip terminates three-quarters higher than the other side. Because of the relative small size of the backpack, the angled opening isn't an issue since you're still able to easily access the bottom of the backpack.
The rear compartment measures 46cm high and 28cm wide and, features several compartments for organization, including two large sleeves measuring 32cm high and 28cm high respectively. The largest sleeve is padded and can fit a thin 16 inch laptop. There are also two large open pockets and two pen holders sewn on the same axis. 
The open pockets measure 10cm wide and 13cm high. The rear compartment zip open ups via a single metal slider and, it's fully waterproof, thanks to the reverse coil design and thick rubbery coating on the seam.
The backside panel measures 48cm high, 29cm wide and, it has a slight diamond shape to it so, the middle section of the bag is wider than the top and bottom sections. The backside panel features a padded trolley sleeve, which doubles also as the backside padding of the backpack. The padding consists of two long split sections made with ridge/wavy closed cell foam padding covered with mesh fabric. The trolley sleeve pass-through has a 21cm long opening, while the grab handle on top is made of rugged webbing, measuring 17cm long, 1.8cm wide and 3mm thick.
The backside panel is firm and rigid so, it provides excellent stability when carrying a full load. The back padding is comfortable too, generating very little heat/sweat build up, thanks to the split padding design. Because of the height of the 21 litre MTW Backpack version, if you have a torso shorter than 46cm you should go for the 17 litre version since the 21 litre version of the MTW backpack is likely to overlap onto your rear-end, which is not ideal for a comfortable fit.
The MTW Backpack shoulder straps measure 46cm long, 6cm wide, 1cm thick and feature an s-shape design and mesh fabric covering. The shoulder straps don't have a ridge/wavy padding but, they are still comfortable, thanks to the firm but springy closed cell foam padding.
The shoulder straps have very good separation (8cm apart), which means the shoulder straps won't be rubbing against the sides of the neck, even if you have broad-shoulders. Adjusting the shoulder straps on the fly works extremely well, thanks to the flatter shape and metal construction of the ladder lock buckles, which allows the webbing strap to glide through without getting caught like it can sometimes happen with some plastic ladderlocks.
The Moment Travelwear backpack also features a detachable sternum strap, which is great when you don't want a strap across the chest. The sternum strap works as it should but, it cannot be slid down on the fly because of its "notched" design, which requires removing and manually clipping the sternum strap onto a different notch. Also, the notches holding the sternum clips in place are made of plastic. In contrast, most adjustable sternum straps tend to have a linear guide rail design for the sternum strap to glide on, making it easier to achieve a more gradual height adjustment on the fly.
The entire outer shell of the Moment Travelwear backpack is made of the same material; hence there is no reinforcement on the base of the backpack, which is ideal to prevent water ingress.There is only one side pocket, which is elasticated so, it can expand for larger items like a tripod or water bottle.
The Moment Travelwear MTW Backpack comes in three colorways, olive, black and clay. The olive color (seen pictured) works well as it's a neutral color plus, it has an army green vibe to it, which is currently trending. The MTW Backpack weighs 980 grams and can be easily compacted flat for storing inside a large suitcase for day trips. The outer shell of the MTW backpack is rugged, thanks to the denier (weight) of the yarn used, which is 600D recycled nylon with a water resistant coat. The MTW backpack is internally lined with bright stretch fabric similar to spandex/lycra/elastane fabric. The zippers are all YKK sliders with cord fabric pull tabs.
The MTW Backpack also comes with tech organizer bags, which double as packing cubes for tech gear. The organizer bags are add-ons so, you have to buy them separately. The names of these organizers are Tech Organizer, Tech Organizer Mini and Battery Organizer, all of which are designed to fit inside the MTW Backpack middle main compartment. The tech organizers use the same materials as the MTW backpack, including 600D recycled nylon (outer shell), 210D nylon oxlan (internal pockets), stretch mesh fabric (internal zip pouch) and stretch fabric (internal lining).
The Tech Organizer is the largest of the three tech organizers and the one to go for if you have to pick one since it comes bundled with the tech organizer mini at no extra cost. The tech organizer weighs 200 grams (empty) and measures 25cm long, 16cm wide and 9cm thick. The tech organizer features fabric hinges with 90-degree opening and an internal divider separating the organizer in two halves.
On one half, there are two open pockets and, on the other half there is a stretch mesh zip pocket with two small pockets inside it, measuring 8.5cm long and 6cm high. The internal divider is also functional, integrating three elastic holders on both sides, as well as a small elastic holder on top of the divider. The elastic holders measure 6cm wide approximately. The larger open pockets measure 10 cm high with a length of 9cm long and 12cm long respectively. The internal depth of the tech organizer is 8cm high.
The Battery Organizer weighs 130 grams and has a clamshell style opening with two stretch mesh zip pockets, a small elastic pen holder, two open pockets and four elastic holders of various lengths (4cm and 4.5cm long). The open pockets measure 7cm high and 10cm wide. The stretch mesh zip pockets measure 8.5cm wide and 21cm long and have an overlapping design (one on top of the other). External dimensions are 23cm long, 14cm wide and 5cm high. The internal height is 4cm high.
The Tech Organizer Mini weighs 75 grams and has a clamshell style opening. There is no stretch mesh zip pocket in this organizer other than pockets, a total of five pockets and a small elastic pen holder. The two pockets on the left side measure 11cm and 8.5cm long respectively. 
The height of the pockets is 8cm. The three pockets on the right side have various lengths (5cm and 5.5cm) with the same height (6.5cm). External dimensions are 22cm long, 13cm wide and 2cm high. The internal depth is 1cm high approximately. You can buy the MTW Backpack directly from Moment.

Similar Gadget Explained Reviews

0 comments

Connect With Gadget Explained