Helmie of Alpha One Niner continues to design and produce bags that serve his own travel needs. I really like his designs. So when he released the Chio everyday carry bag I have to get one to try out.
Last weekend I took the bag out for a day trip on a family event, where I would mostly be waiting around for the whole day in a conference center. So I took my 10.5 inch iPad Pro, a book, my A5 notebook, and my nockco pen case with me to do some work. I took my Bose noise cancelling headset, iOS device charging pouch, and my mini EDC pouch with me. Add to that a hat, wallet, and mints.
All of these things fit snuggly in the bag. I also installed a Mill Spec Monkey loop panel inside the outside large compartment to hold a few pens. Note that while the bag has 5 outside pockets, they do not offer additional depth to the bag. i.e. any space taking up by these pockets pushes partially back into the main compartment. Or in my case, because the book and my notebook and my iPad with a Smart Keyboard cover together are quite thick, it does not leave a lot of extra rooms for the other pockets to hold anything beyond thiner items.
That is not an issue though — I have my wallet, my pen case, my car keys, and my mint tin placed in the outer pockets. The rest of the items fit perfectly in the main compartment. I like how the bag, once filled, fill out nice and symmetrically and the bottle flattens out. The bag can almost stand on it’s own. This goes to the very careful design of the shape of the bag.
Fully filled and weighted, the 1.5 inch strap feels comfortable either cross body or on one side. The zippers are buttery smooth. The construction of the bag is of very high quality — but then I expect nothing less from Alpha One Niner. The Evade backpack is one of my go to backpack for travel.
I went with the Kryptek typhon material because all black I think will be too boring for a everyday carry bag. I am not a big tactical bag guy but I really like the typhon pattern on this bag. For the average person it just look interesting. My minor complain is that the material feels a bit rough to the touch. My Evade has the two tone ripstop material that is very nice. However in this bag, the Kryptek may offer a bit more structure, especially when the bag is not fully loaded.
In conclusion, the bag works really well for as an every day carry bag. This is going to replace my smaller sling bags, or sometimes my Jack Spade canvas field bag as my EDC bag.
