Review: Lander Carry System outdoor gear packs

The Lander Carry System is made up of two accessory bags, and two larger packs; the Traveler and the Commuter. The Commuter is a smaller backpack great for day to day use. The Traveler is a 35 liter roll top bag aimed at a 3-4 day trip. They have several unique features that set them apart from all other gear bags like waterproofing, the Crash Pad, and the Hot Route.

What is it?

Aside from those primary two bags,  you also have the Kit and the Parcel. The Kit is a small dopp kit that could be used for toiletries, or for your small cords and cables. You can assume I tried it primarily with the latter. It features several pockets and elastic straps that keep everything in check. Then you have the Parcel which is a mini bag, that can be folded into itself for easy storage. It has pockets on the left and right as well as a strap on top. It’s great for throwing a dirty pair of shoes in, anything wet, or even just your dirty clothes.

The two larger bags are the real story here though. The Traveler is meant for a few days worth of clothes and gear. It’s a bit larger than the commuter, but has many of the same features. The Commuter is a bit more of a standard backpack, but it still offers tons of storage and the ability to strap gear to about every side of the pack.

These bags feature tons of customs parts like the reflective zipper pulls or the metal hardware used on the Traveler’s roll top.

They clearly are well built and tough bags. The outer material (made of recycled plastic) is robust and water resistant. The haul handles feel solid and allow you to pretty much carry, hang, or throw these bags around.

The feature that is probably most important to me, and many of you, is how it can hold (and protect) your MacBook. For that, they have what they refer to as the Crash Pad. The Crash Pad is a ultra protective area along the back of the packs. Inside it is all microfiber lined to cradle your laptop and iPad. The zippers around it are taped to prevent water getting in. You could pretty much drop it in water without moisture getting near your gear. Of course, don’t try this unless you want to take that risk. Then it is surrounded in thick padding, that is ribbed along the back. The ribbing allows for greater rigidity, as well as breathability when you have it on. Basically, you could toss this around, with your Mac inside, and have it be fine.

Unique features

There are several unique features to the Lander bags, some of which we’ve touched on already.

  • Water resistant material
  • Sealed water-tight zippers
  • Reflective zipper pulls and logos for visibility at night
  • Crash Pad to keep your MacBook and iPad safe (up to 17″ laptop)
  • Hot Route along the back to run your wires between compartments
  • Shoe compartment (Traveler)
  • Microfiber lined sunglasses or phone pockets
  • Custom hardware
  • Additional Kit and Parcel

In use

After spending some time with all of the packs in the set, I’ve become more enamored with the Traveler. It more lends itself to my life. I love how roomy the Crash Pad is. Often, it’s hard to fit both my MacBook Pro and my iPad into a laptop compartment, but here it was no issue at all. Everything felt very secure and safe inside the bag. I found I could easily carry enough clothes, as well as my gear, to go away for a few days. The additional shoe pocket on the bottom of the traveler is nice, though I wish they had an additional housing to turn it into a camera bay. It would be handy to store my camera there, especially since I can already throw my tripod along the side.

I do wish more was done with the intervals of the bags. They felt a bit of an afterthought. Both of a little bit of internal pockets, with a large mesh zippered compartment on the Commuter, and an elastic pocket on the Traveler. Otherwise, that is it. I look towards the Peak messenger or the Booq line of bags for more what to do with the interiors. That isn’t to say they are bad, they are just a let down after all the other great features.

Advantages

There are so many advantages we don’t need to rehash them all. Everything included above in the unique features list qualifies as an advantage to these bags over others. They are well built, tough bags that can easily haul your gear and clothes, while still look cool and rugged. The Hot Route is one of my favorite features. I easily stored a battery pack in the bottom compartment, and my phone along the top and kept it charging, but the battery and phone separate. It was nice just to route the wire along between compartments on the bag. Really smart idea.

Disadvantages

I have two main downsides to these packs. The neglected interior and lack of camera storage. A lot of their promotional footage shows photographers using the packs, but I feel like I would still be forced to take a camera bag, or find a way to easily get my camera in and out, but still keep it safe. Of course, not everyone is hauling a camera around, and this would be a moot point.

Wrap up

While they may lean towards the pricey side, they are wholly unique and well built packs that any outdoor techy can appreciate. The multitude of unique features attempts to set them apart from a crowded field of competitors trying to carve out a niche for themselves. They mostly succeeded with their goal, only leaving themselves room to grow in their future packs to come. If you’d like to check out either of the two packs, or their smaller add-ons, you can still find them up on Kickstarter where they are just finishing a very successful run.