Bounce Design Labs - Nexus Backpack 20L Black StormShield

Received my Nexus backpack this last weekend and have been waiting a few days before posting anything as I wanted a chance to figure this bag out a bit first.  This backpack is very different from most out there due to its' extensive amount of pockets and organization and I didn't feel it would be right to comment on it without having a decent chance to use it in action.

1. If you're a person who lives and organizes out of pouches, this bag isn't for you.
2. If you're a person who prefers to utilize the organization within a bag and doesn't like having all those additional pouches to take in and out all the time, this is 1000% the bag for you.
3. 20L is a lie.  With all it's organization, this bag can easily hold more than that.  The bag itself feels huge when you're searching through it.  It doesn't feel that way when carrying it though.
4. Travel much?  If so, you need to check this one out.  I can easily see this as a one-bagger.  The additional advantage is those hidden pockets - they're ideal for stashing cash, Passports, ID or anything else that you're wanting to make it a little harder for others to find.
5. The water bottle pockets are probably on of my favorite parts of this bag.  They're so tall!!!  I have been using them to stash my glasses cases and wallet/keys.  I bent over to pick something up the other day without thinking - nothing is falling out of those pockets!!!
6. StormShield.  Need I say more?  StormShield and Robic are my absolute favorite fabrics these days.

When I first picked it up out of the box, my first thought was how hefty it is.  Carrying it by the top handle, it feels heavier than I expected.  That weight does not carry over to the backpack style carry at all.  I was shocked at how comfortable and lightweight it felt after I got all the straps and things adjusted.

I wasn't sure how this bag would fare in my work/school EDC.  I'm a nurse and tend to carry some weird sized/shaped items with me.  Anyone in the EDC world who carries a stethoscope and/or works 12 (or more) hour shifts knows what I'm talking about!!!

Typical work carry for me includes: stethoscope, planner, iPad Pro, iPad mini, CAP1 with office supplies, sweatshirt, pocket knife, Olight flashlight, small multi-tool, all my medication, some other medical items in an Alpaka Hub Pouch, wallet, keys, glasses case and a ridiculous amount of drinks and snacks as well as other small misc items.  

I was worried about having to have a pocket for each and every individual item.  I'm a combo person - I rely on a bags' organization to an extent but I also tend to prefer pouch use for a few situations such as my office supplies and First Aid/Medical necessities.  This is not a bag where you can easily use a variety of different pouches.

This bag does require some wrangling.  It's not a "drag and drop" style bag.  You're going to have to play around with it a bit, move some things around and figure out what works and where.  You may very well have to pack it, use it for a couple of days and go back and re-think your strategy.  If you take the time to do this though, it's well worth it.

The Nexus is quickly becoming one of my favorite backpacks.  This will absolutely stay in my work/school circulation.  I'm on the tech/backstage crew for my daughter's ballet school (never thought I'd be a dance mom!!) and I'm curious to see how this will work in that scenario as well.

Let’s start at the beginning. When looking at this bag from the front, you immediately see hook/loop sections great for all your morale patches. There’s a couple of vertical pockets there as well – one kind of sits overtop of the other. They both run the width of that center section. The other nice thing is those small loops – 3 on either side plus 2 on the bottom. Looks like you can run some cord through there if you wish. I have no use to do that but I can also see them being great for things like patch tags!

The back of the bag is just as impressive. Beautiful straps that are incredibly plushy and comfortable! If you look, you’ll find something that most bags don’t have – quick release buckles at the bottom!!!

  

There’s also a sternum strap on this bag with a nifty quick release buckle. put the ends together and they snap together magnetically. Pull on the zipper pull on the left and it quickly detaches!

 

Now for the interior of this bag. If you open up the front compartment, you’ll see this black admin panel inside. Just like admin panels of other bags, this one is magnetic as well. Very easy to pop on and off! See that zipper just above the admin panel??? Yep, there’s a zip pocket back there! Down at the bottom, another zip pocket with mesh this time. It’s a single zipper but the pocket itself is divided in half – great for keeping small items organized so they can’t slide all over the place. Behind the mesh is another slip pocket.

The front wall of that same compartment is another Mecca of organization. This time, you have a built in admin panel of sorts, fantastic for pens and, as you can see here, a tiny pair of scissors. Believe it or not, I end up using those darn scissors more frequently than I ever would have guessed!!!

Thought you were done with pockets??? Nope – the back wall of that whole admin panel is the front of an entire open slip pocket!!! Once again, below that is another zip pocket!!

Let’s move on to the main compartment. The back wall of the main compartment is hook and loop. Great if you want to attach some extra pouches (although you don’t need them with this bag!!!). I just have some of my larger items sitting in this area. Plenty of room left if you want to toss a sweatshirt or something like a CAP2 in there as well.

The front wall of the main compartment pocket has, you guessed it – more organization!!! There’s a long orange zipper at the top that opens up a pocket there. That pocket goes all the way to where that second horizontal zipper is. You can also see 2 zippers that reveal two pockets there as well. I have an Alpaka Hub pouch in the open slip pocket on the left. There’s an identical slip pocket on the right where the elastic is – great for items like a small flashlight, pocket knife, etc.

The organization doesn’t stop there – take a look the bottom there. That horizontal orange zipper at the bottom? See the black trim that goes vertically down from there, about an inch away from the side of the bag??? Yeah, that’s a panel that opens up to reveal more organization 

 

If you open up that back compartment next, you find the laptop compartment. I have my iPad Pro in there right now. It goes all the way in, I just pulled it out a bit so you can see where the top of the pocket is in comparison to the top of the bag. Take a peek behind the iPad there and you’ll see the end of another orange zipper. Yet again another zip pocket!!!

If you look at the front wall of the laptop compartment, you find a thicker fabric pocket there where I have my iPad Mini stashed. This fabric is different than other mesh I’ve ever seen. It’s a nice, thicker, sturdy fabric that has a decent amount of give still but offers much more protection against bumps than your normal mesh. It’s nice and soft as well so no worries about scratching whatever touches it.

 

Thought you were done with pockets finally? Nope! If you didn’t notice before, take a look at this picture- there’s another little secret pocket hidden in the back of the bag!!! This would be a great location to throw any small, important documents such as a passport. Harder for others to get to but quick access to the person wearing it.

Water bottle pockets - there’s one on either side and it’s made of the same soft material as what’s in the laptop compartment. The biggest thing to notice about them? Look how tall they are!!! Water bottles are not falling out of these! Currently, I actually have my glasses case in one side and my keys/wallet in the other. You can easily lean over with this backpack on and not worry about things falling out easily.

Carrying: Considering how hefty it felt when I picked it up, I was worried about how heavy this bag would be on my back . I shouldn’t have worried at all. The straps adjust easily so that you can wear it higher or lower depending on your preference. Thanks to the plushy S straps, this backpack is extremely comfortable to carry and it doesn’t feel nearly as heavy on your back. I was very pleasantly surprised!!

Quality: As I’ve discovered with Bounce Design Labs, quality is of number 1 importance. The StormShield fabric is amazing as always. The build quality is top notch. Take a look at that sternum buckle again. It’s a good, solid metal buckle that is easy to use and will last years. The stitching of the entire bag is impeccable. You can tell that they truly looked at how pockets would be used to determine whether one or two zippers would be best. Speaking of zippers, they’re smooth as can be!! Every square inch of this bag was carefully thought about to ensure it was as useful and efficient as possible and that space was maximized as best as they could. BDL doesn’t skimp on quality.

Favorite Aspects of the Bag:

Comfort - It’s so comfortable!!!! Again, they really put thought into how to make this bag as comfortable as possible for extended use.

Quality- Many companies choose profit over customers wants and needs and find ways to cut corners. Not Bounce Design Labs. This is the 4th style of bag I’ve purchased from them and every one has been superb quality. The Nexus is no exception!!

Organization: I’m pretty sure I haven’t found all the pockets in this bag yet and there’s a good chance I never will. I love the thoughtfulness that was put into designing this bag. From spots to put pens to hidden pockets to safely store things like documents and cash, there’s a place for everything. Part of the fun of this bag is going to be figuring out where I’m keeping everything!

Things I Would Change:

Honestly, not much. If I were being nit-picky about it, my one qualm is the organization pockets don’t have much depth to them. If you have thicker, bulkier items, they will cause the pocket to bulge out a little bit. I struggled a little finding a good spot to put my medication organizer. It’s fairly small overall, but because it’s a square piece of plastic that is a little thicker, most pockets were not ideal for it. I ended up settling for the long, horizontal pocket in the main compartment and was quite happy with it there. The lack of depth is likely due to the thickness and squishiest of the fabric used throughout the interior of the bag. In order to have deeper pockets, you’d probably have to go with a thinner fabric and I’m not sure it’s worth the trade-off.

Overall Impressions:

This is one heck of a backpack. Even after exploring it, I’m still pretty sure I haven’t found all the pockets yet! This bag is ideal for people who prefer their organization built into a bag rather than using pouches for everything. I can see it also being incredibly useful for travel- there’s lots of little pockets and compartments that would be incredibly useful for hiding things you don’t want others to have quick access to.

Bounce Design Labs has knocked this one out of the park, as usual!!