This is a product review of the Urban Hybrid ConvertaPack (its online catalog description), but it’s also known as the VaultPro Urban Hybrid Convertible BriefPack (via the item’s label). The hybrid bag being reviewed is sold by Magellan’s and was designed for the retailer.
I was provided this product for review, but I wasn’t required to recommend it. Furthermore, the following tests I conducted and my written observations were of my own doing.
ConvertaPack hybrid bag aspects
According to the product description, it’s made of nylon and has the following measurements — 16 1/2″ x 11 1/2″ x 5″, and weighs 1 lb., 11 oz.
This bag acts like a briefcase, backpack, and shoulder bag. On the back of this item are straps which are detachable from the clips, and can be put in the pocket when not being used as a backpack. This same pocket opens at the bottom to where luggage telescoping handles can go through it for transporting during travel. To make it a shoulder bag, a carrying strap comes with weighty steel attachments (to the metal clips on the bag’s top sides) that lock in place at the top.
The bag contains three outer pockets, including one on the flap that zips up, one that’s under the flap and zips, which can hold flatter items like books, and one part mesh pocket on the left hand side to hold drinks. The flap itself is held in place by Velcro-like sections on the sides. At the top center of the main compartment (under the flap), another hook is located so it can be secured to another object if desired.
The straps are designed where it makes it more difficult for thieves to simply grab the hybrid bag by the strap, hoping it will be ripped off. Per the ConvertaPack’s product description, it is “Reinforced with anti-slash stainless steel cable in the shoulder strap, steel mesh in the outer panels.
Furthermore, what I found notable was that the strap fasteners are made of a thicker plastic than a typical backpack, whose more flimsy fasteners often break with continued use. Additionally, the strap adjusters are also thicker than a typical backpack’s, making it less likely to break because of all the adjusting and stress put on it when it’s loaded up with various items.
My personal tests on the Convertapack
For a hybrid pack, the most important aspects to me are how well it does as a backpack in three areas – comfort, storage capacity, and durability. Rather than just walk with a backpack, I run with it some three miles to test its ultimate durability and comfort.
The ConvertaPack, as a medium-sized backpack, does hold a lot of items in its main interior compartment. This is what I put in it – a pair of gloves, a stocking cap, a camera, some Styrofoam cups, 2 water bottles, a padded envelope that contains several tea and coffee packets, and a hand towel. Two zippers open and close the main interior, and have holes in them so one can put a lock through them.
This item passed my tests, since it has a lightweight feel on my back, despite all the items I put into the interior, which also included a trade paperback book and part of a newspaper in the smaller pocket outside the main compartment. The hybrid bag kept its stability in that it didn’t shift from left to right neither, which has been a past problem for me with traditional backpacks.
Furthermore, because of its handle on top, it can be carried with one hand, and again, it felt lightweight and stress-free as I lugged it around when not running with it. So not only can I travel with my essentials using this hybrid bag with more sense of protection, the lightweight feel is a plus.
One of the other reasons I recommend this product is because it ingeniously contains a small flashlight (with a changeable battery) in the main interior of the hybrid bag, which makes seeing what I’m looking for easier when I’m in the dark, such as at night in a car.
The price of this product is currently $99.50, but the added security features will give travelers extra protection against would-be thieves.
The bag currently comes in the charcoal color besides black. One can purchase the ConvertaPack at the Magellan’s link here. Its catalog number is SB303.
