FulFUL Refugee

Bought it for myself. I did study some web opinions before buying it and it ended up being on par with the feedback I've been hearing. One thing that I hoped would work for me (but didn't) was the larger side pocket. I thought it would fit my Thermos tumbler and... it does slide in, but doesn't zip. My tumbler is a bit too large for it. Though to be fair it's not the backpack problem. Another thing that I don't like (and this one is the backpack problem) is that it doesn't stand on the floor. I'm not sure whether it's a design problem or something was compromised during the production process but when I try to put the backpack in it's standing position on the floor it falls on it's face (especially if front pockets are filled with some usual stuff). In other words it doesn't stand on the floor unless it's leaned against some vertical surface (say facing a wall). It's not that big a deal but sometimes it gets annoying. You have to constantly look for something to lean the backpack against. Other than that everything else is nice and sturdy. Overall I really like the backpack.

Excellent

This is a great, great backpack. I feel sorry for FUL because Amazon somehow does not make this backpack easy to find in search results; one would have to know about it and search for FUL. I know about it because I bought one in 2009, randomly, at a Sports Authority in the real world. This bag is tough. In fact, this bag blows away *any* of the "tacti-cool" bags for EDC, concealed carry, just plain ruggedness, including the Maxpedition. In my opinion, this bag is THE best concealed carry bag, by far, because even though it does not look tacti-cool (it is marketed as a regular school/non-military looking bag (this gives you the best true "conceal"/element of surprise, it has THE best, by far, area for your handgun: the part that is for a laptop. And this bag will actually hold a 17" laptop. It's big, unlike the tacti-cool options, all of which seem to be smaller than you thought (am I right?).And this bag (which the tacti-cool bags copy but don't do a good job of) has the best compartment, because it's actually VERY padded on both sides, protecting both your weapon(s) (might as well keep a 14" knife in there too, if you fee like it) and your back AND it has a zipper access.Here is why the zipper access matters: it's easy to unzip and actually access your weapon, unlike the Velcro or snap options that are on the tacti-cool bags. Yet, the zipper and this entire compartment is entirely hidden and secret to anyone who didn't know. True story: I actually owned this bag for 5 years before I even realized that this compartment and that zipper was there!! It is covered by a flap of material (yet easy to access, if you know it's there). Not even kidding: I originally bought this bag to be my man diaper bag when I got divorced and had a baby in diapers with me every weekend. This was about 4 years before I ever owned a Glock. I did not even see or realize that this "hidden side-entrance" compartment was there for about 5 years.Now that I have my CCW and carry (but for me IWB is not practical, but having any weapon with you, even in a backpack, is better than nothing), I have discovered that this bag is AWESOME.I speak from knowledge: I have tried many of the tacti-cool options. They are alright, and the Drago one that is a copy of Maxpedition has become my range bag. It's nice enough.But this under-the-radar FUL blows it away with the 1600D toughness. Most of the tacticool packs are proud of being 600 or 1000. Another thing I did with this bag, recently, after I've owned it for over 6 years and used it daily as a beach bag, range bag (before I got the other one) etc, is I filled it with about 150 pounds of coins that I was taking to a place where you can put coins in a machine and get useable money back after they take 11% for the service. Well I didn't realize it, but my piggy bank contained about $250.00 worth of coins and I'm telling you it was heavy.The bag strained but no seams broke. It held.I notice that the tacti-cool backpacks are really proud of themselves when they last 2 or 3 years.Again, I've had my for nearly 7 years and it looks like the day I bought it.I am going to order about 3 more of these bags just in case they ever stop making them.At $37.00 this bag is so much of a steal that I can't even describe it. You can (and should) get about 4 of them for the price of a maxpedition tacti-cool back.Oh that's another thing: this bag has 9 separately zippered compartments. What do the tacti-cool packs have? Five. Then they are real proud of their molle webbing where you can spend more money and add extra pouches.Well, FUL has done that for you, as you can see -- the 3 compartments on the size are perfect and like what you'd add with MOLLE to a tact-cool pack, but these are 1600D nylon and double stitched in. Perfect for anything. My kids use to collect shells when we use my bag to go to the beach.That's 9 zippered compartments, not counting the standard dividers, hook for keys, etc that are inside the main and other big compartment.This is just a great great bag.If any EDC person looking for a concealed carry bag happens to find this review (not likely from what I can tell), buy this bag. It is top top quality.If you like the look (a personal thing), not tacti-cool, looks like a normal backpack that a college student would have, I'm telling you this is THE best concealed carry option for your piece.Again on that, I probably cannot draw my Glock as fast as Clint Eastwood does from a holster in a movie, but I absolutely can access my weapon (it should be in a regular holster to protect the trigger of course, but in a real defense situation you just toss that on the ground when the time comes) very fast, much faster than the tacti-cool bags that have the back hidden compartment (1) with very strong Velcro or a snap and (2) too tight a fit in the first place.With this bag, it truly fits a 17" laptop in the "laptop" part that's up against your back. You can easily put about 8 handguns in there (not even kidding), stacked on top of each other, or 4 of them if each is in a good Boyt zip bag to protect from scratching each other. Or you can easily carry your full size glock and a 14" machete with a 10" blade, and a 10" dagger for backup, easily, in the "laptop" part and you will feel VERY confident that it is totally concealed and nobody would have a clue you have those items. Don't ask me how I know.Again, the key part about that is the side zipper access and the ROOM in there I can tell that I would never actually be able to access my Glock fast enough in one of the tacti-cool backpacks that also have the "hidden" compartment up against your back, because these bags are always too small, too tight fit, too strong Velcro or snap to pull away. This FUL bag with the side zipper access is KEY, in my opinion. The zipper is hidden and nobody knows it's there but me, but when I need to get to it, swing the bag around, know that it's on the left side under right arm pit (you've practiced, of course), and wha laaa -- bam, I have my pistol in my hand, almost as fast as drawing from a holster on my hip.Buy this bag.

Brought this book bag from a clothing store around 2010-2011, used it many times, like at least twice a month after school ended for me, and it lasted for many, many, years, through very heavy rain, carrying many items, and etc, very strong and durable book bag. I can carry over 10 pounds in this book bag, I chose not to go too far over that 10 pound carrying amount regularly to help the book bag last longer, but this book bag is amazing. This FUL Refugee Backpack has many pockets, the bottom is strong, it has a laptop holder, and etc, it is worth every penny. The old book bag I have like this, is still strong, it just had some wear and tear, I could tell that the problem would get worse through time, so I decided to buy this new one and sit the old one down and use it for minor task only now.

Item ripped after using twice. I highly recommend investing into the slightly more expensive ones. I have an older model that’s cost a little more I see that there is a difference in quality. Unlike the one I recently purchased.