Rat Patrol Travel Bag by Granite Gear Tactical: Briefcase, Backpack, Laptop Case, and Daypack, All Rolled into One.

By David Crane
defrev (at) gmail (dot) com

All photos contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are copyrighted. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos.

May 7, 2010

Here at DefenseReview, we travel a lot. We travel to various industry exhibitions/shows, tactical training courses (including tactical shooting classes), and events. Just like all travellers, we have a few favorite mission-specific travel bags. One of these is the phenomenal Rat Patrol travel bag/travel pack by Granite Gear Tactical. It’s basically a combination soft (padded) briefcase/backpack/daypack that doubles as a laptop computer case (holding up to 20″x13″ laptops).

The good folks at Granite Gear actually gave us this case at the very tail end of SHOT Show 2009 in Orlando, Florida, and we’ve been using it ever since in our travels around the country. That includes our trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for SHOT Show 2010. We absolutely love this bag, since we can carry a a lot of stuff, including, but not limited to, laptop computer, cameras, cords, CDs, DVDs, flash drives, important papers, magazines, you name it. The bag has a plenty of internal pockets for organizing your stuff.

The Rat Patrol’s breifcase-style heavy-duty cordura nylon carry handles allow us to carry it like a brief case, and the backpack-style straps allow us to sling the bag over one or both shoulders when it’s filled to the brim and we have to walk long distances or run with it through a busy airport or hotel.

Plus, the bag just oozes quality of design and manufacture. We noticed this as soon as it was handed to us and we started playing with the heavy-duty zippers on the main pockets at the Granite Gear booth. 15-16 months later, the bag is holding up phenomenally well after a lot of miles and banging around. So far, we have no complaints, except we’d prefer Crye Precision’s MultiCam camo pattern (camouflage pattern), if we’re being honest.

Bottom, the Granite Gear Tactical Rat Patrol travel bag is one of the best day packs we’ve ever used, and we HIGHLY recommend it to anyone out there looking for a great multi-mission travel bag/day pack/briefcase/aptop case/backpack. If you need one of those, this, my friend, is the bag for you. You can’t go wrong with this bag.

The Rat Patrol gets a big Defense Review thumbs up!

The following information comes from the Granite Gear website:

Rat Patrol: $249.95

The rat packs are really briefcases that turn into full-on daypacks. As more and more people commute on foot, bicycle or via train or bus, the laptop bag turned backpack is becoming an essential item. These packs feature our Vapor frame, tuck-away shoulder straps and belt, a removable pad for setting your laptop on, and so many interior mesh pockets for organizing the cords and mice of your digital life. The Rat Pack is slightly larger than the Rat Race to accommodate laptops up to 20″x13″. The Rat Patrol is the largest in the series. It can accommodate laptops up to 20″x13″ and also has more capacity to hold a weeks worth of clothing for extended traveling.

Specifications:

Torso Sizes: Regular
Weight: 1.76kg | 3lbs 14oz
Capacity: 38 liters | 2300 cubic inches
Suspension: Vapor
Load Capacity: 30lbs | 14kg

Materials:

210D Nylon CORDURA® fabrics

Features:

super rugged 210D CORDURA® fabrics
largest capacity of Rat Series packs
internal compression to secure clothing
hydration compatible
iPod and laptop compatible
iPod earbud pockets
multiple internal and external pockets
harness tucks away to convert into brief case

Zippered Panel

Zippered access to main compartment

Additional Photos:

Company Contact Info:

Jeff Knight, CEO/R&D
Granite Gear
2312 10th Street
Two Harbors, MN 55616
218-834-6157 Office
info@granitegear.com Email
http://www.granitegear.com Website

Disclaimer: The items shown are sample units provided to DefenseReview for the purpose of review/T&E (test and evaluation), and were not purchased.

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