Sackville Day Pack “It’s a jungle out there” is a figure of speech, but most modern pack designers take it literally, which is why even their smallish packs are so tactical. They have unused pockets, hidden pockets, and lash points wherever they fit. Inexpensive skilled-beyond-America's ability labor allows the complication, and competition requires it. The Sackville Daypack is at least as useful with only three compartments: (1) a main pouch big enough to hold a big watermelon; (2) an inner sleeve that fits any laptop, a paper notebook, and a real book, even with the watermelon just behind it; and (3) an easily accessed, bulged zippered pocket in the lid for wallet, phone, small books and notebooks, and a pocket camera. The lid buckles down, but if that’s too much work, push the top-flap into the main pouch and cinch it there with the drawcord. Capacity, about 1900 cubic inches, a bit over 31 liters. And, since it’s top-loading, you can overfill it with tall skinny things you’d never get a zipper around. Material The Sackville pack part is 100 percent Georgia-made cotton canvas that feels good to touch, and is quiet. Cotton grows in hot climates, so it’s inherently sun-resistant. The cotton is tightly woven weighs 10.1 ounces per square yard, and is treated with an environmentally acceptable process that’s been used for tents (Davis and Springbar brands), awnings, packs, and boat covers since at least the late 1950s. The manufacturer calls this process “Sunforger,” and it makes it water-resistant (casually we’d call it waterproof, but legally we can’t), and mildew- and rot-resistant. It’s not T-shirt and jeans cotton, and it’s not new: In the Bay Area all of the 1950s and 1960s Boy Scout packs were made of this same fabric, and I’ve had a day pack made of this fabric for 40 years, and it still keeps the contents dry. Compare this cotton to Nylon. Nylon is manufactured in climate-controlled buildings, and remains happiest indoors. Sun eventually disintegrates nylon along with its polyurethane coating which keeps out the water for a while. And with no coating to hold the threads together, the cut edges fray. The Sackville daypack’s three buckles are steel. The zipper is brass. The only plastic hardware on the bag is the cord lock. The shoulder straps are a mix of military spec nylon, because we couldn’t find cotton straps that slide easily enough through the adjusters. They're padded with 100 percent wool felt, made in Michigan. The shoulder straps are less bulky than you're used to, and padding is plenty, and even when you sling one over ashoulder on a nylon jacket, it tends to stay put. (A daypack with 1.5-to-2-inch wide shoulder straps doesn't need any padding, because the width distributes the load's pressure. We add felt for its grabbiness.) Strong stitching We know where packs fail, and reinforced those areas. At the top and bottom, the straps are stitched over two layers of fabric and bar-tacked. No straps are conveniently stitched in seams—the cheap, common, and vulnerable way. Good material + strong, reinforced stitching = a pack that’ll won’t degrade with exposure or fall apart prematurely. The Sackville Day Pack is a simple, durable, well-thought-out pack that works well for some, not so well for others. You may wish it had an extra feature, but you’ll find a creative work-around, and you’ll have decades to figure out how best to organize your load. Some are all one-color, some are two, a few may be three. The colors light gray-green, darker gray, or kind of an orangey dark tan. The one color bags look classic and plain. The multi-colored ones are a bit more “fun,” if less formal. Made in the USA (Arizona)
