Liking :: Mission Workshop Arkiv Field Pack

Customized bags are great – they look how you want them to look, they carry what you need them to carry, and they’re styled to suit your personal tastes.  Maybe you want a sleek, black messenger with enough pockets to foil even the Artful Dodger.  Perhaps you want a giant luminous-orange maw of a backpack that swallows whatever you throw in it and momentarily dazes all who gaze on it.  However, there is a limitation with customized bags (and most non-customized bags as well) in that though they will serve the function they were originally designed for very well, they may have trouble adapting to other functions.  You may end up with too much or too little space depending on what you’re using your bag for on a varying basis.

Imagine if transformers turned into bags instead of cars…now you’re kind of in the right mindframe when it comes to contemplating the Mission Workshop Arkiv Field Pack.  There’s customization and then there’s the Arkiv Field Pack.  This pack offers a range of accessories that can be attached or removed to alter the pack to your specific needs at any one time.  These accessories include a folio organizer, a laptop case, a tool pocket, a utility/cell pocket, a vertical rolltop pocket and a vertical zippered pocket.  The accessories vary in shape and size and can accomodate a range of items, including a laptop, iPad, cell phone, wallet, water bottle and everything in between.  The accessories can attach to several different surfaces on the bag, as well as to each other, and they are weatherproof so you know your possessions are protected.

The Arkiv Field Pack is constructed using either waxed canvas or a 1000 denier nylon for the exterior, and incorporates a weatherproof urethane coated nylon liner.  Come rain, hail, snow or winds, this pack can handle whatever nature can throw at it.  The pack utilizes military-spec thread and an LDPE frame sheet to provide added support and protection.

Yep, MOLLE systems have been achieving a similar thing for years with military and tactical packs, but it is neat to see an alternate system to the PALS webbing. We’re keen to have a play and see how it compares in use.

Every Arkiv Field Pack is made in the USA.  The pack is available in Black Cordura, Dark Gray Cordura, as well as Waxed Canvas.  You can opt for the small pack (1,200 cubic inches) at $209 or the large pack (2,200 cubic inches) at $229.  Accessory prices range from $28 to $86, with an additional $6 if opting for Waxed Canvas accessories.  You can pre-order your own pack now, and the first batch will be sent out on 15 June 2012.  If you want to see the pack in action, check out the clip below