Orca Tactical Backpack 40L Large Military 1 to 3 Day Molle Assault Pack Rucksack Army Bag

Disclaimer: I bought this bag a couple of years ago and returned it. Although it looked like a good bag, some of the MOLLE loops on the sides of the pack were not full width. As a result, I couldn't hang a water bottle holder on the bag, which was a deal-breaker for me. I returned it but always regretted it because otherwise it was a good looking bag. Recently I had an overnight trip coming up. I needed enough space for a change of clothes, a laptop, a tablet, some toiletries, and a few other odds and ends. The catch was that the bag had to conform to the carry-on dimensions of the airline I was flying (22x13x9 inches in my case) because I didn't want to check a bag. I have an Outdoor Products backpack that I love and works well, but at 26L it's too small for all that I was planning to carry. On the other hand, my giant rucksack would never fit in an overhead bin or under a seat. I needed something in between. I decided that not having a water bottle holder on my pack wouldn't be a deal-breaker for this trip. I ordered the Orca pack and had it the next day. The quality of the pack is excellent. The shoulder strap are padded and there's a grab-handle on top (which I wish every pack had). The material looks good and so do the zippers. I replaced the pull tabs on the zippers with bright orange paracord, mainly because it makes the zipper tabs easier to spot on the bag. I had originally returned this bag because there were several MOLLE loops along the sides of the pack that were too narrow to use. I'm happy to report that, at least on the bag that I bought, this problem has been corrected. The old bag tried to fit 3 rows of MOLLE loops along the side, which didn't work. The new bags appear to have 2 rows of loops, which fit much better. I was able to hang a MOLLE water bottle holder on the side of the bag after all, which was a nice last-minute surprise. Everything else-- clothes, laptop, toiletries, etc.-- fit inside the bag. Some of the MOLLE loops held a pen and a Sharpie. I like that there are several pockets with plenty of organization. I was able to cinch the compression straps down enough that the bag fit neatly under the seat in front of me. It fit with room to spare (once I took my Nalgene out of the bottle carrier, that is). I didn't intentionally abuse it but I didn't take it easy on it either, and the bag never missed a beat. OK, so are there any down sides? The only one I can think of is the lack of a sternum strap. I've grown used to having one on all my bags, and it really helps to keep the shoulder straps in place, especially if I'm doing a lot of walking (or I'm on my motorcycle). I had an add-on sternum strap that I put on this bag and it works fine, but it would be nice if the bag came with one. This is an excellent travel bag if you're taking a short (1-3 day) trip. I'm sure I could have fit at least 1 more day's worth of clothing in it even with my laptop in there if I'd needed to. I'm glad I gave the Orca a second chance. It looks well built, I like the organization, and it's a perfect size for most of the day trips that I take.

This backpack is definitely worth the money. It really deserves 5 stars but for me personally there are some QC issues I feel should have been caught or improved on. Let’s get to the good stuff first. The bag is sturdy as can be. I beat up bags and typically do quickly but the material this is made out of is great. It is huge! I can fit my laptop, workout cloths, two pairs of shoes, and still have room for more. This is great because I originally purchased this bag to use as a carry-on when I start traveling for two or three days at a time and I have packed what I needed and it is still small enough to qualify as a carry on. It also takes all Molle comparable attachments from all manufacturers which cannot be said for some of Orca tactical. Now to where I have personal issues with the bag. The chest straps aren’t double sown and can slip off if you don’t have them attached to the shoulder straps tightly. Another issue I have is the amount of loose or untucked stitching, more can be done to remove the excess strands in the manufacturing process but it is simple enough to remove them yourself without damaging the backpack. The last issue I have is that some of the stitching seems to be incomplete, nothing is loose just seems like they went half way with a double stitch. Overall, it is a great bag for your money. I get tons of compliments at work for it. I would highly recommend this pack to anyone! ***Update*** I took the backpack on a flight as my carry-on. It worked great! When I came back home though, the stitching started to come apart where the shoulder strap meets the bag. Emailed customer service and received a response within the hour. Offered to send me a new bag. Replacement came in less than a week. I love this company and lover their product more! Will continue to purchase Orca Tactical gear!

After reading a lot of reviews and looking at customer images, I purchased both the 34L and the 40L Orca tactical backpacks to compare them. I ended up sticking with the 40L because I have a family and often times need to carry extra stuff for the kids. If I was single or often traveling solo, I would have probably stuck with the 34L because I think the size is the perfect balance between flexibility and space with portability. Also, the ability to use MOLLE attachments means you can add a lot of weight/storage as-needed rather than carrying an extra big bag all the time. PROS FOR BOTH: PRICE! As well as quality fabric, MOLLE webbing, and pretty good zippers. All zips are double zippers. The hip belt webbing is thick enough that even without padding it is pretty comfortable to wear. Design - the large storage compartment can unzip completely like a suitcase, very handy for accessing things in there. The quality is way above and beyond for the price. CONS FOR BOTH: I had to dig a bit but IMO there are two small things that make this a little less than perfect. Perfect to me is the quality of materials found in backpacks such as those sold at REI - which cost between $100-$200. These may not even be cons to some people. 1. the padding in the shoulder straps is light-duty. There is some foam in there, probably between 1/8" to 1/4" thick. I have not loaded this with a lot of weight yet but I would guess that padding would compress down under load and you would start to feel a nylon strap pressing into your shoulder. 2. The backs of these have little or no structure to them, just some of the foam padding, similar to that used in the shoulder straps. There may be a very thin layer of hard plastic in there but if so it is barely detectable. There are pockets inside and out that run parallel to the back - if one so desired I suppose you could put something in there for more rigidity. I can easily ignore these in light of the price point, but am posting just for reference. COMPARISON (see images. Tecate and Binder are for scale) While about 90% the same, there are two major differences between these packs that I could find. 1. The 34L pack has a vertical buckled strap that goes vertically down the outside of the pack. The 40L does not have this. 2. The 34L pack has a zippered pocket behind the padding that touches your back while the 40L has a pouch with a couple velcro tabs. I'm not really sure what you would use that pocket for anyway since it is going to be right against your sweaty back.

Alright. So I've been looking at a lot of tactical bags for a few weeks now to find the right one for me. I like the whole OD Green, military surplus thing; so I wanted a good backpack in OD G with Molle. So far, after a few weeks of use, it's comfortable, there's plenty of space, and I like that the zipper goes all the way down on the main compartment similar to a suitcase. Sturdy, overall, good bag. The waist straps are a little high (but I have a fairly long torso, so that's okay). Originally, I had some questions about the practical use for some of the features of the bag. The compartment for the water bladder is external, however, the top of the bag has an opening for a bladder hose. At first glance, this didn't make much sense to me until I thought about the possibilities for this backpack in both everyday use and in camping or military use. Compartments can be for anything, and this bag has plenty of those! Most importantly, ORCA is a company that continues to improve and adjust their products. If you noticed that some of the bags look different when you select different colors, that's because ORCA is still working on them. Check back in a few months and it could be updated with newer, better features.

Great quality. Had an issue with my 1st one when the handle came off after a few months. Company replaced it right away no problem. That was 5 years ago and it's worked perfectly until I crashed and ruined it. But it saved my back and reminded me to review it

I have never written a review this long, or this detailed, ever in my life. But PLEASE read this if you are considering purchasing this product. UPDATED REVIEW OF REPLACEMENT PACK FROM ClayPro Products _________________________________________ Let me start off by saying this first: I have never been the type to change my mind or opinion on a matter. Unless you can provide 2 the 2 variables I need to hear/see. After my initial review of the first Orca Tactical Molle Pack I had purchased from ClayPro Products/Amazon, I never expected to hear anything back from any one representative of the company. Let alone their owner, Doug Taylor. The only correspondence between myself and the company had been from the initial transaction, a bill of sale generated to my email and my review a couple of weeks after I received it. My next correspondence came from Doug Taylor, The owner, by email. He was personally sending a replacement Molle Pack at no cost whatsoever to me, with no return shipping stipulations for the buggered up original. I could have cared less to be honest about it, but I thought hey...I'll give it to my nephew and let him tear it up, so it was whatever at that point. Once the USPS had completely FUBAR'D shipping of the second item to a small unincorporated community in Eastern N.C. (mind you I live in the foothills of Western North Carolina), all possible doubt lingering on this product and the company were no longer an issue. These guys suck and their products suck. That's what I had in my head. Here is where he & his company pulled a complete 180°. He emailed me consistently with an update on the status of my replacement. And kept his word that he would make sure a replacement would arrive on my porch within the scheduled delivery date and time. And he did. He stood by his word, and that was my first variable. ---ON TO THE NEW BACKPACK!!--- The product has one seam that has busted on the left shoulder strap. But that was from owner neglect. The stitching on the right side top Molle Ring has begun to unfray. This seems to be a manufacturing error as upon further investigation I discovered a mis-stitch/hook in the seam (I worked in textiles 4.5 years during college inspecting at Valdese Weavers). Aside from the neglect on my part, and the one mis-stitch, I have encountered NONE of the issues that I dealt with on my original purchase. And this thing has been put through hell since I got it, unlike my original purchase being babied at the time. The line of work I'm in calls for durability that can hold up through all of the elements I may face. It also calls for a design engineered for the most optimized comfort, because this pack is on me physically, 6 out of the 12-14 hours a day, 6 days a week I work. The best part of the pack is the secondary shoulder harness you can clip in to help release the weight from your shoulders if you carry a full pack. Please, consider this product before you consider the same one on another manufacturers site for 200 more. And also check out the add-ons the company sells as upgrades for their line of tactical Molle packs! I'm in the process of ordering the EMT-IFAK blowout utility pouch and multipurpose bug-out pouch for mine! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ORIGINAL REVIEW :: RECEIVED 2 STARS -------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, I DID love this tactical/molle style backpack. for the 3 weeks the stitching held together, that is. Both the top and bottom pouches on the front, their plastic zippers broke, the pull and the teeth, so I've held it together with the oversized safety pins I had to purchase ever since. Mind you, the items I carried in this bag were my laptop, charger, mouse,ext. HDD. I also kept 2 legal pads with pens at all times in it, 2 chargers with cables, as well as small to precision hand tools that weighed all of maybe 3 lb. at the most. But if you guys ever find yourselves in dire need of a review for extra heavy duty safety pins? I'm that guy.

It is perfect for emergency use. It is strong and more room to put anything in the bag. Highly recommended.

This is really a terrific bag. I previously had a Maxpedition Falcon III, which is obviously a phenomenal bag...but its also $150 before you even add anything to it. The Orca 40L Salish clocks in at $50, and is a little bigger than the Falcon III, which I want to say is 34L. Now, if you're using it like me, I think the Salish is a no-brainer over the Falcon III. I'm not out in the woods, my use of the bag isn't anything like life and death. I need a versitile, largish bag for work...I'm in a truck almost all day, so I like to have a change of clothes, beverages, and my essential stuff with me. I don't need the waterproofing of the Falcon III, which makes the bag a bit stiffer and the zippers more difficult to unzip...but I do need a little more size, and for whatever reason the zippers on the Salish are easier to operate with one hand than the Maxpedition's. I've added an Orca Tactical water bottle pouch to one side, and a Reebow admin pouch to the front, both using Blackhawk speed clips, with plenty of room for more stuff if I want to add anything. It feels really well built, I don't think I'll be replacing the bag for a while. Basically, its a good fit for me in a less heavy-duty role. If I really needed to depend on the bag, I might pony up the extra cash for the Maxpedition (which feels like its made of iron, awesome bag)...but this bag is fantastic and I'm stoked about it.

Everything is okay. The quality is good, this backpack is just what I need. I hope it will serve me at least 3 years. Will see... But the first impression is so good, that I may recommend it right now.

Perfect for my needs...

Das einzige was ich mir noch wünschen würde, ist dass links und rechts vom Griff noch jeweils eine Molle Schlaufe wäre - aber das ist schon meckern auf hohem Niveau.