MOLLE Tactical Daypack - Laptop Sleeve, 10 Colourways

We measured it. The 35 litres was not there.

Most people buy a pack off its litre number. Thirty-five litres reads as a long weekend away; twenty-five is an overnight bag and a laptop. Get that wrong and you are at the ute at five in the morning pulling the whole lot out and starting again — or you have paid for volume that was never in the bag.

So we did the arithmetic on the supplier's own dimension panel instead of trusting the title. Converted from the figures it prints, the pack is 450 × 310 × 180 mm on the outside. Multiply that out and you get a 25.1 litre solid box — and a real pack, with curved panels, a tapered base and seam allowances, always holds less than its box. The 35 litres in the old title was not achievable. Neither was the 50 litres the old description claimed two sentences further down.

What you are actually buying is a MOLLE daypack that swallows a 17.3 inch laptop, spreads the weight over a padded mesh back with a chest strap and a hip belt, and sheds a passing shower. It is not waterproof, and we are not going to call it that.

What It Does

• Carries a day out: overnight kit, a change of clothes, lunch and a laptop, rather than a full weekend load.
• Takes a big laptop: a padded sleeve inside the main compartment, sized by the supplier for a 17.3 inch laptop, with two internal hooks.
• Spreads the load: padded mesh back panel, padded shoulder straps, a chest strap and a hip belt to move weight off your shoulders.
• Takes your own pouches: ladder webbing across the front and both sides for adding pouches, and a loop panel for a patch.
• Sorts your gear: six separate compartments, so the small stuff is not living loose in the bottom of the main bag.
• Sheds a shower: the woven outer beads light rain long enough to get you to the vehicle. That is the honest limit of it.

Key Features

• External size: 450 × 310 × 180 mm, taken from the supplier's own dimension panel.
• Six compartments: main (with laptop sleeve and two hooks), front compartment, zippered pocket, concealed zippered pocket, bottom pocket and two side mesh pockets.
• Laptop sleeve: stated by the supplier to take a 17.3 inch laptop.
• MOLLE webbing: ladder webbing on the front panel and both side panels.
• Loop patch panel: hook-and-loop strip above the front webbing. The flag patch in some supplier photos is a prop and is not part of what we ship.
• Back and straps: foam mesh back panel with padded, adjustable shoulder straps.
• Two stabilising straps: a chest strap and a hip belt, both webbing with side-release buckles.
• Side mesh pockets: open-top stretch mesh either side for a bottle.
• Compression straps: two buckled straps across the lower front pull the load in.
• Ten colourways: plain black, army green and khaki, plus seven camouflage patterns.

Limits

It is not waterproof. We looked for the things that would make it waterproof and none of them are there: no taped or welded seams, no storm flap over the main zip, no coated or sealed zips, and no IP rating or hydrostatic head figure printed anywhere on the supplier's artwork. The main photograph shows water beading off the fabric — that is a photograph, not a rating. Treat it as water resistant: fine walking to the vehicle in a shower, not fine left out in steady rain or put down in a creek crossing. Water will get in through the zips before it gets through the fabric.

It does not hold 35 litres, and it never held 50. The supplier's dimensions give a 25.1 litre solid box, and the usable volume is less than that. If you need a genuine 35 litre load, this is not the pack for it — you want a taller, deeper body than this one. We have left the real numbers on the page so you can check the arithmetic yourself.

We cannot confirm the fabric weight. The old title said 1000D. No supplier panel for this pack states any denier at all, and other sellers of packs in this class state 900D. Because the figures conflict and we could not match an exact model, we are not publishing a denier. The spec table says so plainly.

The colour options are not all the same bag. Five colours — CP, ACU, Black, Army Green and Khaki — are photographed as one pack, and that is the pack the dimension panel and the compartment diagram were shot on. The other five — Desert digital, Desert camo, Jungle Camo, Jungle digital and Black CP — are photographed as a visibly different body, with the webbing laid out differently and no patch panel fitted. The dimensions above are confirmed for the first five only.

There is no rating on it of any kind. No load rating, no carry weight limit, no standard and no certification is printed on the pack or claimed by the supplier. It is a civilian daypack in a tactical style, and nothing more than that.

It is not a hydration pack. No bladder sleeve or hose port is shown or stated. The side mesh pockets take a bottle instead.

Q & A

So how many litres does it really hold?

Less than 25. The supplier's own external dimensions of 450 × 310 × 180 mm work out to a 25.1 litre solid box, and no pack achieves its solid box once you allow for curved panels, a tapered base and seams. We are not going to invent a usable figure to replace the wrong one. The honest answer is that this is an overnight and commute pack, not a weekend pack.

Can I take it out in the rain?

In a shower, yes. In steady rain, expect the contents to get damp, mostly through the zips. There are no taped seams and no storm flap. If you are carrying a laptop or anything that has to stay dry, put it in a dry bag inside the pack.

Is it 1000D nylon like the old listing said?

We do not know, so we will not say that it is. Nothing on the supplier's artwork states a denier, and comparable packs from other sellers state 900D rather than 1000D. The fabric is a woven synthetic with a visible ribbed weave. That is as far as the evidence goes.

Will a 17.3 inch laptop actually go in?

The supplier states the sleeve is sized for one, and the external dimensions are consistent with it — a 17.3 inch laptop is roughly 400 × 270 mm and the pack is 450 × 310 mm on the outside. Expect a firm fit against the back panel rather than a loose one.

Why do the camouflage versions look like a different bag?

Because they are photographed as one. Five of the ten colours come from a different photo set showing a different body shape and webbing layout. We have flagged it rather than pretend the range is uniform. If the exact layout matters to you, pick one of the five the dimensions are confirmed on: CP, ACU, Black, Army Green or Khaki.

How long until it turns up?

Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you place the order, and up to 3 weeks to be safe. Regional and remote addresses take longer again. Shipping is free to Australia and New Zealand.

Specs