LAPG Jumbo Bailout Bag Review (Mega Pic Heavy, worth it)

[Metropolicity]

Caveat: I have no affiliation with LAPG or the producers of this bag. When considering this purchase, I could only find the review for the County Comm Maratac XL BOB (which I thought I was getting). So in an effort to inform the masses and make smart consumers out of all of us, I am doing this review.

When LAPG had a sale for regular Bailout Bags, Beerplumber wanted to get a black one. I thought, what the heck, I could use an OD one and a black Jumbo size BOB (JBOB from here). I thought I was getting an upsized version of the regular BOB (30% bigger) I was wrong, very wrong. A misinformed purchased on my part turned out to be a robust, well made and multifunctional briefcase/bag with pockets, pouches hidden areas that will last the entire credits of Empire.

Here we go!

1. Straps



The main shoulder strap is a thick 2" nylon webbing with very robust plastic hardware. The shoulder pad itself is massive 12" long by 3" wide with a full .5" of padding. Covered in ballistic nylon and attached with a burrito style velcro closure, this pad is build to carry a TON of weight.



The grab handles, like on the regular BOB runs from the bottom to the top, supporting the entire weight of the bag by suspension instead of stitch strength alone. You can see this if you open up one of the two hidden velcro, full length side concealed carry pockets. The grab handles are made of the same 2" webbing, folded over and box stitched. The handles can be combined with a slightly padded burrito style handle to increase it's grab and go style activity. This handle, in my experience of lifting heavy photography equipment, can easily hold 50 lbs comfortably.



2. Materials





The JBOB appears to made from a 600D ballistic nylon. The nylon is backed with PVC, which over time will degrade and crack. Although it's bonded to the material, this bag may not be suitable for extreme cold conditions. PU coated ballistic is much more expensive and since this bag cost a mere $30, the slightly poorer performing material could be a factor. The one good thing about PVC backed nylon is that is fully waterproof, but the seams are not as the material is punctured. For a quick jaunt in the rain, this bag will hold up fine, but deep sea adventures, this bag will not.



The main zipper is a YKK clone and had burly teeth. The larger side pockets also have a YKK clone, and have a double zipper head to open faster. The zipper pulls are not paracord but have quality 5.11 type cord ends that can easily be opened and replaced with paracord (I plan to do this since it's a sea of black). They are apparently plasticoated and have a nice matte black finish.



The velcro is of standard strength and the patches are box-x-stitched. The inside of the concealed carry pockets is lined with loop for any admin panels, holsters or any other modular pouches. All the small pouches on the side of the bag have a full swatch of 2" velcro, even the small ones.



The main compartment is lined with a thin regular (not ripstop) black nylon, two large zipper closing mesh pockets.

The stitching appears to be well done and in areas where reenforcement should be, there is. Although, there are some areas that could benefit from some bar tacking for additional support.

3. Pockets



The ends of the JBOB have two, open ended pockets. Suitable for water bottles, radios anything you need quick access to. They aren't as open as the smaller BOB but they do have pleats to expand and have a draw string to close up the top.



One side of the JBOB has 5 velcro flap closed pockets, 2 tall, 2 short, and one wide one. Since I plan to use this as a medium sized camera bag, so I loaded up some gear for size comparison.



The otherside has two panel pockets that open up in two two separate organizer type compartments. The left side is perfect for pens, pencils a MT and some other flat items (notebooks etc). The right side has two smaller pouches with velcro flaps. The panel side also has room for more flat items.





The top of the bag has yet another concealed pocket. A long flat zippered pocket is perfect for my memory card holders, but it could also be used for a wallet, flashlight or anything that you need quick access to.



Unlike the smaller BOB, the JBOB has two large concealed carry pockets on either side. Imagine an iPad, magazines and a small folded softbox would be perfect for these pockets.

4. Main Compartment

The expansive main compartment measures 16" x 14" x 7", which equates to just under 1 cubic foot or 25.6 litre capacity. One side has the zippered mesh pockets and other side has what is presumably 4 mag pouches. The pouches are constructed from the same thin nylon material, which if was it was to be holding heavy mags, wouldn't inspire too much confidence.





This cavity can be divided by a removable panel, itself having more velcro attachment capability and flat item storage.





The bottom of the JBOB is padded and the divider would make this a suitable laptop bag, although an extra sleeve would be recommended so that you can avoid scratches from the internal zippers.



Here you can see a large full size DSLR with a pro size lens inside the main cavity, minus the divider. This will easily swallow a modular insert system or a full liner. Since it's padded on all sides, more internal padding for camera equipment beyond between the items inside is not needed.

5. Executive Summary

All in all, this inexpensive bag is a a great deal with a truck load of possibilities. As a briefcase, it's discreet, large, sturdy and will hold lots of large, thick documents. As a travel bag, it has lots of quick access pockets for reading materials, entertainment and secure documents with not much effort. As a gear bag, it has so many pockets you'll forget where things are if you don't practice packing the bag. As an EDC bag, it's a big large but as an option when you need the capacity, it can do the job with you breaking a sweat. All of these functions are backed with a strong grab handle and durable strap, with a comfortable shoulder pad.

As an owner of both the regular size BOB and this JBOB, I do miss the dedicated pen/flashlight slots as well as the slightly better construction and materials on the BOB. For the price, availability and function, this bag is tops!

LAPG sells this bag in OD green, Tan and of course, Ninja Black and on perpetual sale of $29.99, sometimes goes on sale for $25 or something. Either way, it's a steal.