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A quick review of how the different Skyweight bags integrate with each other. Making for the ultimate pack system.
5.11 Skyweight Collection:
https://www.511tactical.com/bags-packs/featured/skyweight-collection.html
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0:00
Today I'm going to show you one of the most versatile systems I have seen in a
0:06
long time. This can go from urban EDC all the way to wilderness, bushcraft, survival
0:13
and camping. Stick around, it's going to be a good video. So not that long ago I did a
0:19
video on this backpack from 5.11. This is the Skywait 36. It's the 36 liter
0:28
backpack that 5.11 just came out with. It is a fantastic bag, very feature-rich. Go back
0:37
check out that video because there's a lot of good information there. And my opinion of this
0:43
backpack is very, very high. And what I love about it is it is very lightweight compared to
0:50
more traditional tactical backpacks. So as a survival bug-out bag, it really is perfect. It
0:59
is low profile in how it looks. It's not overly tactical looking, but also it is durable. The
1:07
materials, even though they're lighter weight and not the heavy-duty Cordura, it's still good
1:13
quality nylon. And it's just a very comfortable backpack to wear. I enjoyed using it. I have
1:20
been using it. It's a fantastic bag and it has some very cool features that a lot of other
1:28
backpacks don't have. But what is really awesome about the Skywait backpack and the Skywait system
1:36
is that all this stuff that 5.11 has come out with all integrates and works together to form
1:44
other bags and other ways of carrying stuff. And that's what we're going to look at today in this
1:50
video. So let's jump right into it and I will show you exactly what I'm talking about. Now
1:58
here we have several pieces from the Skywait collection. This is the 36 liter pack. Now
2:08
it comes with a removable belt. And this belt is really awesome because it is actually
2:16
MOLLE compatible, so you can put pouches on this. But what is very interesting about this is that
2:22
this belt integrates with other bags within the 5.11 series. And I'm not sure if a lot of people
2:30
know that or have seen that or it's being shown, but it's something that I've been kind of messing
2:36
with and kind of discovering as I start using this stuff more and more. So the first piece we're
2:43
going to look at is this is the 5.11 Skywait sling bag. So it's a very traditional sling pack in that
2:53
you have a padded single strap that goes over your shoulder and then you have a crossbody strap
2:59
that's going to help secure that and tighten the load to your body. Okay, nothing unusual about that
3:07
Of course, it does have really nice quality material. I love that the material that they're
3:15
using on the insides of these straps, it's the same material that's on the backpack. It is soft
3:22
but grippy and there is a decent amount of foam in there. So there is some padding. So you pop
3:30
that gate, that slides out. What's nice is they've actually put a padded wing that goes over this
3:37
buckle. So this buckle does not dig into your back when you're wearing the sling pack. It's a great
3:44
idea. So this comes off, totally removable. This, also removable, pops off like that. So now you have
4:00
this bag. And when I first got this, I wasn't really sure what the purpose of this is. There is a
4:14
tunnel that is in here and there's a piece of Velcro that's in the back of this. Well, once I took the
4:23
belt off my backpack, I realized that the belt can slip into here. And that's what we're going to do
4:37
So you need to thread it. size hip pack or lumbar pack. And you can configure it any way you want. So this top portion right
5:20
here, this is actually a place that you can put water bottles or a tripod or something of that
5:28
nature, something long. And then the bag itself is pretty standard in the fact that it just has a top
5:38
opening. And there is two organizational pockets here. And then there's one large pocket right here
5:51
in the lid that opens all the way up. And there's a smaller pocket down here on this side, right here
5:59
that corner. Also one in that corner. But the volume of this is pretty decent. So you could
6:11
get a fair amount of gear in here and then carry this as a lumbar pack, just like that. And that's
6:20
what I mean when I was saying that this system can go from urban to wilderness very easily, very
6:29
quickly. And what makes this nice is you're able to have several bags that all work together off
6:38
the same belt system. And you don't have to buy a lot of different stuff from different companies
6:45
This all integrates together. Of course, we have a little pocket on the front here as well
6:49
Water bottle pocket on the bottom. And what's really cool about this is this zips all the way
7:01
down and around and lays open like this. So if you are using this bag, let's say in a search and
7:14
rescue mode for medical gear, this would be perfect for that. You could load this up with
7:21
your medical gear and then have this thing open up and lay on the ground and then able to access
7:27
things very quickly. And since the belt has MOLLE attachment, you're able to add water bottle
7:33
pouches very easily, whatever ones you want. So 5.11 also came out with a chest pack. There are
7:43
two versions. There is a survival, one called the survival, and then this one. I believe this is
7:49
the other one. One has MOLLE on the front. This one has a mesh stretchy pocket, which is perfect
7:58
for a phone. You have zipper pocket underneath that. This opens up and you have organizational
8:15
pouches, elastic bands, a panel that floats in the middle, but that is also, there are gussets built
8:24
into this so the thing doesn't flop open and all the contents fall out. Pockets in the back. So
8:30
tons of organization in a very small package. But of course, since it's 5.11, they went one step
8:37
further and you have a Velcro field back pocket that is perfect for a holstered weapon. And then
8:47
our elastic bands built in here that are about the size of a magazine. So you can store extra
8:51
magazines. And then these tabs, what these are for, is you pull those open like that. And then
8:59
now that becomes a grab tab. So if you want to access your pistol quickly, you can do that. It's
9:05
kind of a rip open feature and there is one on either side, left or right. So if you're left-handed
9:12
or right-handed, it doesn't matter. This pack will work for that. So this is a great way of concealing
9:18
a pistol on you while you're hiking or backpacking. Often with larger backpacks, you don't have the
9:26
ability to carry a pistol on your hip because of the hip belt. That's why chest packs are so popular
9:32
for that application. And they're great for also keeping all those little items like your compass
9:38
notebooks, flashlights, headlamps, pens, pencils, organized in a very easy to reach pouch
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And then on the bottom of this, there is webbing loops built in. So you can attach a tourniquet
9:53
pouch. You could clip on a knife, kind of whatever you want to do. And then a very nice padded back
10:02
that's going to keep the contents from not rubbing or banging into your chest. So that's
10:10
going to help with that. And then once again, they have this very unique strap system that
10:18
unbuckles like that. The harness top portion comes off just by threading the strap through
10:41
Remove the harness. Once again, there is a tunneled system. And guess what that's for
10:51
Well, that's for putting the belt inside of this. Kind of tough to get the Velcro lined up at first
11:03
to be honest. So you just have to play with it a little bit. Get it lined up the way you want
11:12
There we go. Now you have a smaller fanny pack that has the capability of carrying a firearm
11:26
So you can carry this. This would be fantastic if you're on a mountain bike, if you're hiking or
11:34
walking trails with your family, you don't want to wear the chest pack because that's too obvious
11:40
Put this on, put on a water bottle pouch, and you have a great little hiking kit that is very
11:50
nondescript. And then when you're done and you want to go for a longer trek, take the belt off
11:58
add that to your 36 liter pack, put the harness back on this. Now you've got a chest pack and a
12:04
backpack that go together. So I wanted to show what this looks like on with the belt. Now
12:12
something to note with this 5.11 system and this belt, the belt is at its maximum width for me
12:23
So if you are bigger than me, this is not going to fit you. And I don't know if they make a bigger
12:27
belt or not. I think there are two different size belts. I'm not sure what size belt this is. I
12:32
thought it was the large, but it may be a smaller version. I don't know. I need to check that out
12:37
Pretty easy to get around to. The water bottle pocket is kind of unique in that it has drawstring
12:49
closure on top and bottom, so you can go either way. So you close up the bottom of this, and then
12:55
there is a retention strap that hooks, and that prevents the bottle from going through. And then
13:02
if I want to, I can use this to go around and hook, and that'll hook the bottle in if I want to
13:09
secure it. But the bungee system that it has is actually pretty secure. Now, this is a slim bottle
13:18
and it fits in there perfectly. So you're getting the bigger stuff, like the 32-ounce Nalogenes
13:26
it's probably not going to work as well. But, you know, it still gives you the ability to carry a
13:33
water bottle on your sling pack. So that is an overview of the 5.11 Skyweight system. Now there
13:41
are other bags and pouches within this collection. These are the three that I've chosen because I
13:48
think these three, for me, cover a lot of different things. So I can go from a summer overnight trip
13:57
with this backpack, I can go sightseeing or hiking with the sling pack, I can use the chest pack in
14:06
conjunction with my backpack to conceal a firearm, or I can add it to the belt and use it as a very
14:12
lightweight fanny pack system. So a lot of versatility. I don't have to have a lot of different
14:18
bags that don't work together. I have three bags that all run off the same belt platform. And the
14:28
cool thing is you can buy the belt separately. They actually sell it separately. So if you wanted to get
14:35
just these two packs and the belt, you could do that or whatever. So there's a lot of options
14:41
And there are different colors that they come with. I think there's an all black. This is kind of a
14:47
brownish color. I really like this because it's very muted. It looks great outdoors. It blends
14:55
very well. And it doesn't attract a lot of attention. I mean, I think the only thing on
15:02
these bags that really stand out is on the sling pack with the 5.11 logo. So other than that, most
15:09
people are not going to recognize or understand what these are or for what company they're from
15:15
So it's not really going to be a lot of red flags. It's a pretty decent gray man approach, especially
15:20
with this 36 liter pack, which I just love. And then the chest pack, you know, in the fanny pack
15:26
configuration, it's very nondescript. So a lot of options with this stuff. If you like this video
15:35
please consider subscribing. Hit that like button. Give me a thumbs up. Leave a comment
15:42
down below. Let me know what you think of this stuff. If you're interested or not, there will
15:46
be links to 5.11 down below. There'll be links to my Amazon store as well. Also check out my Facebook
15:54
group. Really getting huge. And check out preparedwanderer.com. Lots of extra info on there
15:59
articles, photos, videos, and Prepared Wanderer swag. So as always, thank you so much for watching
16:06
and we will see you next time on the Prepared Wanderer. So there's the ample padding for the
16:12
lumbar area, the waist belt, nice padding on that, some channels for airflow. But this is what
16:19
really sets this pack apart from a lot of others, is that you're able to remove the waist belt
16:26
completely. Pull that out. And now you have
16:41
a completely separate war belt setup that you can use for scouting around
#Hiking & Camping
#Backpacks & Utility Bags
#Luggage & Travel Accessories