Let me preface this by saying I’ve spent thousands of dollars on 1620 gear and have been thoroughly impressed every single time. You could say I’m a fan. A big one. So when I have notes, know they come from a place of love.
Two things on this particular product:
Shipping — it took a while. Like, a while. My philosophy is simple: if you’ve got stock, ship it. If you don’t, just say so. A heads-up goes a long way. That said, I wasn’t counting on this arriving on any particular schedule, so no harm done. Just something to consider.
The bag itself — it’s good. A better zipper would make it great. And the material is lighter than I expected coming from 1620. To be clear, I’m not predicting imminent destruction — it’s not thin, and I’m not stress-testing it. But I’ve come to associate this brand with clothing built to outlast me. Those double-knee utility pants are so well-constructed I can actually bend down while wearing them, which is genuinely impressive. So maybe I’ve been spoiled. This bag just doesn’t quite hit that same “built for life” feeling.
It’s a little knapsack, though. It’s not going to change my view of the company. I actually respect that they’re branching out.
Now, since we’re here — and since I was asked — I do have one note that applies to the utility pants too: why does the zipper close when it goes down instead of up? Whoever designed that reads books from back to front, and I genuinely love them for it, but for the rest of us left-to-right types, zipping up should mean closed. I know I’m not the first person to mention this. Worth a look.
None of this would ever get the pants below five stars. A quirky zipper isn’t going to shake my loyalty. But you asked for my honest take — so there it is.
Cheers. 🤙
