Travellious Test Lab: On The Road With The Blackhawk 3-Day Assault Pack

Backpacks. If they do a good job, you won't even know they're there.
When we started planning our most recent trip to Italy, we decided that this time, we were going to go as light as humanly possible. Our ultimate goal: to get away with only carry-on bags, despite the fact that we were traveling for 3 weeks, packing electronics, and taking goodies for our Italian friends. With the luggage we owned, it seemed like a tough task. But, through some research, a few good blogs, and some luck, we were fortunate to stumble on the Blackhawk 3-Day Assault Pack. It seemed to be an enigma of a bag: it's easily smaller than most carry-on size limits, yet people reported that they'd been able to carry enough for almost any trip. To top it off, it's the standard issue pack for the US Army. It's got to be good, right?
Want to know how it held up on our trip? Keep reading to find out our thoughts on how well the Assault Pack performed.

Before I jump into the details, I want to give you an idea of what we were able to cram into the bag on our way over to Italy. We were both carrying one of these bags, mine black and Kelly's olive green. Crammed into mine were 3 thinner short-sleeved button-up shirts, 4 t-shirts, 5 pairs of socks, a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of quick-drying boxer-briefs, our netbook (in the front pocket), a few boxes of jello pudding, an empty expansion bag for dirties, our assortment of liquids...all packed in a government approved, clear plastic bag, AND my digital SLR in its own bag. I don't even think there was air inside.
These bags were full. And fairly heavy.
After three weeks with our Assault Packs, it was pretty clear that we'd made good choices in packs. While we didn't have to carry them every day, we did have to lug them around enough to form an opinion (and a good one, at that!)

What I liked:
It's comfortable, even when packed to the gills.
As I mentioned before, we loaded our bags as full as they would go. But, thanks to some good design, we didn't end up a contorted, painful mess. The Assault Pack has a padded, contoured back and thick, comfy straps, so it fit well on my back. It was easy to adjust, so I was able to find a comfortable position on my back without much effort. Unlike some other bags I've tried, it fits my long torso quite well. Unfortunately, it's not quite as comfortable for folks with short torsos. Gals, keep in mind that the chest straps seemed to have been designed with a guy in mind.

It's carry-on & train sized.
In all my plane-riding days, I've seen some ridiculously sized bags make it on as "carry-on" luggage. But these bags, even when crammed full, fit easily into the luggage compartment of most airplanes (regional jets excluded). Our bags fit easily, when other people's wheelie bags were hanging precipitously.
But the plane wasn't the only type of transportation we had to endure. We carried & stowed our bags easily on just about every type of Italian train, from Eurostar to regional trains. On every train, they easily fit into the luggage rack (when they had a luggage rack.)
Heck, on our way back from Rome, we were crammed into Francesco's Volvo - with my backpack on my lap and Kelly's under Fabi in the front seat. Let's see you try that with a suitcase.

It's expandable.
If you happen to need some more space, you can attach 3 different expanders to your bag: a compression bag to the bottom and 2 expansion bags on either side. As an added bonus, you can get a water pouch that fits into the back of the bag: great for anyone going hiking, camping it up, or taking a longggg road trip. I've never had a bag with so many options.

It'll take a beating.
The Assault Pack has fared well on the two trips we've been together. Nothing has broken, the zippers all work flawlessly, and all the straps are still intact. No cuts, no holes. (The only thing it hasn't done well is repel cat hair.)
But, this durability shouldn't come as a huge surprise: these bags are standard issue for everyone in the US Army, so they'd better be able to take a beating and stay in one (functioning) piece.

Compares well to full-size backpacks AND travel bags.
I've traveled with full-size backpacks and tried in vain to find a good travel-sized bag, and have never been truly satisfied. Big bags are far too big: you have to check them when you fly and then stumble around, unbalanced for the duration of your trip. Most travel bags, on the other hand, are too small to be useful, so you end up having to pack additional luggage. The 3-Day Assault Pack combines the best of both of these worlds, living at the sweet spot between the full-size pack and the travel bag. For the numbers folks, it measures at 6" X 13" X 20" and carrying a little over 36 liters worth of stuff.

What bugged me:
It's strappy.
By the end of the trip, only one thing really bugged me about the bag, it has a ton of straps. They're great for compressing the bag, but when it comes to considering checking one of these, I get really nervous about getting them back in one piece. I've had less strappy bags come back butchered by airlines, so I'm hesitant to hand over another bag to be rendered unusable by a box cutter-armed airline thug. (no, I'm not bitter)

Would I recommend this bag? Absolutely. If you're looking to pack light on your next trip and avoid baggage checking fees, without having to use a dinky roller-suitcase, this bag would be a great choice. It's comfortable, holds almost anything you could ask for, and should stand up to the test of time. For under $100 US, it's a great deal and a great bag.