Comments on: First take: Patagonia MLC bag

By: Ian Monroe

Ian Monroe — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 12:28:34 +0000

I got the new MLC for my girlfriend last year, figuring it would be, you know, the same size as my older MLC. The ‘m’ stands for maximum right? Anyways as you point out its smaller.

While my old MLC was in Nevada getting some seams fixed (for free it turned out, so Patagonia certainly still has good customer service), I went on a 10 day trip to Finland. I used her current-generation MLC. It was packed a bit, but overall fine. And normally when you travel you don’t have to go someplace that needs a winter coat. Maybe its because I’m a programmer and don’t have lots of fancy business clothes? :) The last couple of days I had to clean some shirts in the sink, but thats no big deal.

So capacity isn’t an issue so much in my opinion.

But why oh why does it not have the waist strap? It makes a huge difference in comfort, especially when it was totally stuffed on the way home.

By: jack

jack — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:21:58 +0000

I should probably mention that I had two sets of ‘business casual’ wear (long-sleeved shirts and pressed cotton—yes, cotton). The old hot shower trick works pretty well to mostly de-wrinkle items; besides the distressed look is all the rage :).

The pocket designed for papers above the elliptical pocket was still fairly easy to get to ticketing and the like.

By: David

David — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:55:40 +0000

Thank you, Jack, for sharing your experiences. I am not surprised the MLC held up well. I think Patagonia designed the MLC well and it has a good balance of weight, organization and comfort.

Some reviewers in my opinion focus too much on the durability of materials. Patagonia doesn’t use the most durable materials but the bag is functional, comfortable to wear as a backpack, light and holds up quite well. What more do you need?

By: jack

jack — Thu, 28 May 2009 06:53:42 +0000

I just got done with a 14-day, 2-city trip packed full, and then back again with more purchased goods, and it fared just fine. (One day of laundry helped that a bit.) Those burdensome zippers seem to hold up well enough to do the ol’ sit-and-squash zip packing with confidence.

Even with everything jammed in, I still managed to squeeze a stuff sack of electronics gear in the main compartment, and a 311 bag in the outside pocket. Carrying around the airport and slinging it backpack-style was plenty comfortable (I think it finally ended up being a good 14lbs.). It survived the luggage handlers of at least three airlines.

So, from a tester: this product did extremely well in the real world.

By: David

David — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 03:07:25 +0000

I got this bag today from Zappos. (I ordered it yesterday and it came today!) I really like it. It is light and well organized with lots of places to store things like PDAs and iPods etc.

One thing I would mention: I see no point in buying a lifelong bag (although I expect the Patagonia MLC will last a long time) because what people want in a bag changes over time. People now want key clasps for going through security, a place for electronics, a place for the 3-1-1 bag. As the world keeps turning what we want will change and designs will change. Nothing wrong with that in my opinion