Opinions on Maxpedition Monsoon and Kodiak

navihawk

navihawk

Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
4,677
I have been looking for a good backpack for general use. Not EDC, but for day trips and weekend trips. weekend trips it would carry my clothes and I would use it for carrying water snacks ect. during the day. The pack would also be used as a range bag, although at some point I plan on getting the small range bag. I did a search here on the Monsoon and all that came up was people selling theirs.
 
No experience on their backpacks, but both of the murses that I have had (fatboy versipack and larkspur) have both been too hard and ill-designed in general. Too hard with plenty of hot spots and uncomfortable. I am against the grain by saying this, but I am not the only one.
 
Those are sling bags and my opinion they are not very comfortable with any kind of weight. I would go for a backpack, you will be happier in the long run. I also noticed that sling bags shift a lot and are harder to lock into position.
 
Poorly designed has been my experience with maxpedition products as well.

On the civilian side you might look at.... Osprey, deuter, salomon, fjällräven, arcteryx, kelty, REI, the north face, or gregory.

If you want the military look I would look at source tactical, tasmanian tiger, arcteryx, camelbak, mystery ranch, or eberlestock.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. The Pygmy Falcon is a double strap. I think I will look at the doubles and some of the ones mentioned by sideways.
 
No experience with the Kodiak, but the Monsoon was my first Maxpedition and did not work at all for me. Too big for a single strap design and not enough organization. The flap closure also really got on my nerves. I ended up getting a Malaga as it was the perfect size for my laptop and stuff. It works much better for me, but if I had anymore stuff in it I would wish it were a two-strap pack. The others are right about the Gearslinger series tending to shift say if you lean down or something, especially if it's overpacked for its size.
 
I have a Kodiak and while it was great as long as you didn't pack it full, the single strap DOES become a hindrance once you load the bag down. The Kodiak can hold a LOT of stuff, so this makes it pretty easy to overload. Just my experience.

That said, I have many Maxpedition products and they are all well designed, well built, and durable. I enjoy the 1050 Denier, and all of the little straps, loops, pockets, etc. If you are an organization freak like me, Maxpedition products are solid.
 
The Sitka is the Kodiaks smaller brother and even that is easy to overload, so whatever you decide keep in mind anything more than 15-20 pounds may not be comfortable for more than a short duration.

My Sitka clone can hold 3 days of clothes without issue and makes a good weekend bag. As far as a range bag is concerned I'm not sure what you use mostly, but it has pockets that are sized nicely to fit AR-15 magazine pouches

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And of course this doesn't take up too much of the main compartment given the way it lays flat, so you still have room for a trauma kit, water bottle on the outside, targets, spare magazines for other firearms and misc stuff. Because it slings over one shoulder, the other shoulder is free so you can shoulder a rifle (not that most people would be running and gunning with it, but it's still nice).
 
I don't have experience with the Monsoon or Kodiak, but I had a Sitka for a while. It became very uncomfortable with added weight and I ended up selling it. The single sling was nice, but it's better suited for someone who is constantly digging in their pack. The guys from Black Owl Outdoors have a review on some of the Maxpedition Gearslingers and I agree with most of what they have to say.

I looked into all sorts of packs and ended up buying a Mystery Ranch ASAP.
 
I have literally had them all. I used a kodiak and Sitka for a couple years before eventually deciding that sling type packs are not for me. For very very light loads they are ok, but even a modest load and they become uncomfortable.

I switched my kodiak for a maxpedtion condor and still own a falcon II, a vulture II and many others.

The monsoon just does not fit me. I am 5'10" and it hangs waay to low.
 
Thanks bravodelta. I'm looking at the falcon now. Range time is pistols and double stack magazines. I like the 8x12 pistol rug they have and it looks like I could fix it to it in a pinch. I do like that compact range bag though. May have to get all three. Newman that Kelty pack is top notch. They've come a long way in packs.
 
navihawk said:
Thanks bravodelta. I'm looking at the falcon now. Range time is pistols and double stack magazines. I like the 8x12 pistol rug they have and it looks like I could fix it to it in a pinch. I do like that compact range bag though. May have to get all three. Newman that Kelty pack is top notch. They've come a long way in packs.
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The Falcon III which should be out in a few months is significantly bigger the the Falcon II and has a dedicated lockable ccw compartment. They already have my $$$ LOL
 
I didn't know there was a Falcon III coming out, if that's the case, I would look into that. I have a Kodiak now and you simply cannot make it comfortable. The fact that you can keep the bag on and swing it around is a major plus for it, HOWEVER even with minimal gear inside, that bag will want to drop to your hip. The Falcon ii is a cool looking bag, but keep in mind that it is incredibly narrow and short... I'm 5'11" and the waist strap is above my belly button. Also, when full, that bag sticks out a lot.
 
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The Vanquest Trident 20 is also an excellent small bag, suitable for EDC all the way up to 3 day trips. It's a little pricey, but it's essentially laid out like a Falcon 2 without the middle compartment so it doesn't stick out comically. For those who like the Sitka / Kodiak but want two straps ;)

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