#its got more than 8 pockets on the front and is a silvery black with a subtle camo pattern in it. everyhting i could ask for

[dexaroth]

looong post about missing using backpacks and high-school experiences and personal feelings on the general 'busy/executive' look from carrying luggage and stuff. idk lots of thoughts here to summarize

theres this one hole that being done with high-school left me that's just. having a place to go. being busy, sort of..

having a backpack full of trinkets and your pencil case filled with clips and highlighters. or the rare bunches of printing and colored paper for the art projects or those mathematical rulers you used 3 times the whole year

and most importantly.. the feeling of being a Guy who has Places to go. look at all this luggage! the amount of things I need that goes beyond a simple bag! quite the work eh?

of course half of that perception is just 'wow! executive adult with responsibilities!' but not entirely, there are definitely tasks that require a lot of gear and stuff. filming crews, folks with laptops etc. and then there's the elusive Guy with a Big Bag With Wheels. thats the peak of the ideal

as with everything in my life specifically it all circles back to being disabled and having to stay at home bc I literally am not capable of physically doing anything even remotely close to what the generic student/employed person does and I think that helps a lot to the kind of romanticized view I have of this sorta thing

in a good day a majority of people would rather not have to carry and worry about a pack full of stuff or having to carry the weight of a computer and then some. but it's not that bad if you like/love what you're doing even if it requires those things yknow?

every year of high-school, even if it was the worst experience of my life that degraded me mentally physically and made me so fucked I had to cut myself in between or during classes.. I still looked up to the starting week and the feeling of a kind of new beginning. and packing everything to be super ready to whatever was to come like I was about to spend a month in the wild or climb a mountain

camping and stuff is another kind of 'look at all this shit we're packing and gadgets we have to make fire or little lanterns or makeshift homes (tents) that we have' and its just. holy shit man you sure are busy with a lot of stuff to do huh. and you've got the money to buy it all and friends to enjoy it with you. and you're going to the woods for fun and not to run away from your life because everything sucks. you've got your life all figured out! if only I could also match this unrealistic utopic vision that's sold in every sleeping bag package lol! 🙃

and the rest of this romanticized view also extends a bit to gender and self esteem in a way

of course I, a disabled person, would love to be a person that Can go places and even Has places to go and is important enough to have a complex task that needs all that luggage. and looks like a guy. maybe even a fancy guy with fancy bags and fancy clothing. it's all very important, being all that! unlike being a nobody that has to ask for a seat bc he can't stand for 2 minutes without crumpling like a wet sock because of his fucked up spine and spaghetti muscles

everybody looks up to someone who has something that they don't and wish they had or were like.. and I'm so miserable I just wish I mattered enough to be that average guy crossing the street with his bag on his shoulder. and it just so happens that's asking too much of life in my case

[renaer-is-allegedly-hot]

session 18

Session 18

Sunday, February 28, 2021       7:33 PM

  -  "we're all gonna die"

-  Lilguerite talking about soup and secondary soups and tertiary soups

 -  Last week on

-  We went to the hideout thing

-  In the prison thing

-  "you take little bites you fool"

o  "take bigger bites you fool" - marguerite, judging marianne

-  There's a minotaur

-  We tried killing this one guy but it didn't work lmao rip us

 -  6 for initiative

- 19 for L (22}

- 14 for M (17}

 -  Theo shoots, misses (10}

-  Dwarf

o  Sylvia: "how big is his ass"

-  Dwarf has an axe

o  Aerana is probably the closest

■       Is hit

■       I'm unconscious

■       "I'm expendable" "no binch I won't take any of this negativity"

-  Halfling asks theo for the lockpick

o  Theo gives it to her

-  Asyna turns into a crocodile

o

-  Adam o o o o o

Tries to bite and misses

 Cutting words Hits

Next minute dwarf is completely unconscious Strums one note for hypnotic pattern

Falls on his face (the dwarf not adam}

-  Time to go get his keys

-  Asyna has to roll a saving throw as a crocodile (17} ; she's fine

-  Cel adds 8 to aerana

-  Asyna turns into ape, grabs key, 11+2 for dex

-  Throws keys to adam

-  Adam lets big boys out first

o  minotaur, ogre, another w ogre-like features but not quite sure what type of creature it is

-  Cel lets out human and drow

-  Asyna takes battle axe

-  Asyna looks through pockets, 4 for investigation

-  Asyna gives adam the axe and gives the axe to the minotaur

-  Theo gets lockpick back

-  Aerana moves to the back bc she's casually bleeding out

o  Aerana in back with sword

-  Asyna still an ape

-  Theo doing smth I didn't hear lmao oops sorry lillian

-  Dwarf gets up

-  Adam "so you wanna surrender now?"

o  Dwarf grunts

o  Adam tells minotaur to sic him

-  Cel rolls to hit, dirty 20 w disad

-  theo rolls to hit, 15 w disad

o  Cel hits

■       12 damage

■       "can I shoot him in the ass?"

-  Adam has to persuade minotaur

o  11, persuades and minotaur

o  Hits, 21 damage

-  Back to theo

o  18 to hit

o  9 damage

-  Halfling looks around, turns to squad, says we have everything covered

o  Adam asks for any helpful things

■       27 for ?? Persuasion ??

  -  Asyna

o

□

□

 21 to hit

Sighs and has a crude shiv and walks up and shivs the dwarf Hits, damage ig

o 6 damage

-  Dwarf uses half his movement to stand, tries to run

o  18 damage from ppl around

-  Asyna gets to hit again

o  21 to hit, 9 damage

-  He runs off to the right

o  Adam is like 80? Ft away from him, casts sleep ?

-  Cel peeks out, sees arena with a bunch of blood

o  No bodies ???????? Ew

-  Arbys is the minotaur

o  Because he's got the Meats

-  Dom asks us for our passive perception

o  We apparently don't see the thing

-  Drow woman steps out

-  Does blood trail stop?

o  Adam investigating, 11

■       "sure" there's a trail of blood leading to wall, adam pushes wall, it swings inwards

-  Cel goes in first, adam right behind her

-  "are you guys finding the way out?" "we're finding the way in, dawg"

-  Inviting them to come with us

-  Ask them their names

o  Human names

■       Arthritis

□  "there you go. He's smoking hot"

□  This is an elderly man

□  Why are we into him

♦

■       Claudio

■       Jia

OH WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT ARTHRITIS

o  Drow

■

■

 ■

Raylan Arwindar(?}

"if you follow quickly, minotaurs have an uncanny ability to memorize where they've been"

Looks @ asyna and aeranan and in elvish says if we're interested in visiting below, operation works on level 5

□ Puts on a ring and disappears

o  Humans choose to follow minotaur

o  Halfling is gone

-  We can still pass without a trace

o  Time to go down secret passage

-  Adam peeks head into somewhere and sees four pillars glowing w sickly green/yellow light

o  100 ft long

o  Urns scattered throughout

o  Via thaumaturgy dims the lights, walks over to urns

■       Stealth check to go to urns

■       30 stealth, notices some things abt room

□  Nine alcoves in wall; ones he can see have murals w beholders painted on them

□  Diff patterns + colors + eyestalk shapes

□  Large statues of beholder heads that look similar to the ones in the murals placed in front of them

□  To right, carved stone display of a scowling beholder flanked by two statues of wizards

□  Beneath each wizard's hood a light that pulses

□  The pillars are kinda pillars but they have bubbling liquids w a beholder n all of its eyes shuts in the tank

-  Adam wants to let them out

o  "bitch what the fuck" - sylvia

-  Adam looks back at everyone else and says "what the fuck"

-  There's an exit to the south, ahead of us

-  Adam investigates

o  Walks up to biggest beholder and "no don't do that" (sylvia} looks at it

o  They're frozen in a serene pose; the furthest one is jet black and chonky, larger than the one that attacked our house

-  Adam looks inside an urn

o  Adam makes constitution save

o  Dirty 20

o  Unique smell that makes adam wanna puke

o  Quickly shoves lid back on, adam picks up urn and takes it with him

o  No one is hiding in alcoves

-  Go out south door, see a hallway that looks like another hallway we were in earlier

o  In front is heavyset wooden door, another passageway extending to right

o  Door swings open, aerana looks inside; pitch dark which is unusual

■       Heavy desk made of stone in corner, ornate chair behind it w a spider motif

■       Bookshelves not really w any books

■       Two open crates

■       25 for perception

□                Nat20 bois "it's an 8" "no it's a 6" - lillian and marguerite

◆      Spider motif gives off drow vibes

◆      Crates: stuffed beholders in them

◊ Grabs a bunch of them

◆      Small statues in other crate like trophy depicting smaller beholder being caressed by hands

◊ Looks kinda nice

◊ Some type of stone

◆      Empty bookshelves

◆      Chair smushed

◆      Drawers in the desk? Pull desk back

◊ Nat20, we move desk and it grates against stone; see different compartments in desk

◊ Nothing on or behind the walls

►            Asyna recognizes chair theme

-   Not made of wood, made of mushrooms

-   13 history check

•   Looks like a chair from menzo bonanza

•   Basically drow capital

•   Asyna remembers that her mother used to hide things in her chair

•

•

 -  "guys there's a key in the chair. Can we look for a keyhole"

14 investigation

There's a sealed compartment in the chair, pulls out a small black key

o  Try desk keyholes

o  Left cabinet

■       Silvery silken sack

□  "what's in the sack" - adam

□  Asyna pulls out sack, hard to see

♦

♦

♦

♦

♦

♦

o  Right drawer

Nothing in it

Adam cannot tell us what it is

Jacob cannot tell us what it is either Asyna puts her hand in it, feels around Fits her arm in the bag

Tardis bag

■       Heavy tome

■       "it's not even a book. It's like a tome. This big black book"

■       Wrapped in webbing

■       Asyna recognizes it as just a typical book protector

■       Pages of symbols n words; some in elvish

■       Arcana check 17

□  It's a wizard's spellbook

-  Use naya to find the jailer

o  Goes out of pathway and to left

o  Let's go kids

-  Puts a plushie in the bag

o  Puts 30 plushies in bag, they fall out one at a time

o  Bag does not get heavier

o  Puts urn in the bag

o  Takes urn back out

o  Only fluff in the plushies

o  10 investigation to see if there's anything in the plushies

■       Yellow n blue beholder

o  Puts book in sack

-  Aerana wonders if turning bag inside out is infinite

o  Everything falls on the floor

■       The animals and the trophies

-  Theo steps into the bag

o  Put on the ground, oh never mind it's been 15 minutes

-  70 ft down hallway, see an eyeball thing

o  Looks like a living thing, alien, looks back and forth every once in awhile

o  Doesn't see us

o  Sneak past it?

■       Narrow hallway

o  Theo + aerana 20 to hit, same time

o  Cel 17 to hit

■       Creepy shriek noise

■       Liquid slips out, drips, turns into cloud of green dust

o  Dust in the bag

o  Adam tries to do monster lines

o  "now it's a bag of . beholding" - lillian, 2021

o  We get some beholder dust in the bag by blowing

-  Hallway continues, ends at a doorway w heavy wooden door w side passage and stairs heading up

o  Naya looking up

o  Adam peeking into other door

o  Black smoke billows out of room, adam sees room lit with a halfling male with a dirty apron on, running around frantically

■       Appears to be cooking

■       Adam opens door and salutes

■       "head chef I'm here to help ! I was sent by the upper"

□  "finally I haven't had a break"

□  Gives adam the apron and mans leaves

◆      Leaves out off to right

□  "does the apron say anything"

□  Cel says if we survive she'll embroider "kiss the chef" on the apron

■       Adam puts food on top of rack, two halflings on bottom?

■       Adam rolls 14 investigation, sees one dirty apron and chef's hat combo

□  Aerana puts on chef's hat and apron

□  Thinks this is stupid

□  Asyna and aerana cook

□  Nvm asyna and aerana r following naya

-  Adam pushing cart towards good smelling food

o  V elegant chef ppl walking around

o  Hallway transforms into smth less dingy

o  Two large stoves

o  Spice rack

o  More elegance here

o  Seven chef ppl

o  Two small beholders; gazers

■       Floating above, chef gazers

o  "well fuck you too" ???? Cel to adam ???

o  Adam goes to most important looking chef and says he's responding to duty, says he was instructed to feed lord silgar but bc new doesn't know where to go

■       Gives self bardic inspiration

■       17 for deception

□  Chef goes "what are u doing w that"

□  Can't give food to silgar

□  Cobalts look like little lizard ppl

□  Adam instructed to follow stairs from outside

◆                                                                                                              Left right left right again for xant chambers

[doux-ciel]

Blurb *COMING SOON*

CURRENT WIP: Gift of life

Release date: January 1st 2019

Summary: Charlotte and Nathaniel have the perfect life, a beautiful house, great jobs and a beautiful daughter. But there was always something missing, another child. They wanted to conceive but they had some complications so they hire a young surrogate but as they soon find out things take a unexpected turn.

Literally took me all day to find pics that I like to create this mood board...lowkey stil hate it

Tagged: @erinisawriter @pazwrites @ghost-possum @riftversus @requiemdelune @thewritertiffany @theouterdark @jess---writes @jadeswritinggarden @seraphilth @cvlms @lefttowritee @blackandwhitesunsets @youngdumbxlit @marniewrite @queen-of-the-jabari @viviscreams @niva-writes @natalierosewrites @alinakerrin @sugarmommamusings @bzrtales @bambimattel @fannistwrites @xanderswriteblr @between--alleys

*Let me know if you want to me added or removed*

After getting out of that unwanted conversation with the Ice skating coach Harmony; I walk over to the office where my bag and personal contents lay. As I’m taking off my socks I notice a red blister start to form on my right heel. I wince as I examine it, touching it lightly.

I haven’t skated in a couple months and boy was it showing, I knew my skates were a little tight but I didn’t think I needed to go out and buy a new pair.

Sighing, I place my now sore foot down on the cold tile floor. All of a sudden I hear my phone ringing. I don’t recognize the number but I answer anyways.

I immediately hear a woman's voice on the phone,“Hi this is Kim from Gifting Miracle’s I was wanting to speak with a Yesenia Cervantes?”

I was caught off guard, I didn’t think they would call this soon. It’s only been a couple days but I was happy the company called me back. I answer, “This is she”

Kim’s voice was bubbly, “Oh great, well I was calling to set up an appointment with you to meet?”

I was smiling so hard I thought my face would crack, I can’t wait to tell Nova that I booked an appointed to potentially be a surrogate and get the check that comes with it. I then tell her that next week on a Tuesday is ideal, since I only have a 12 p.m. lecture and I’m free for the rest of the day. While I hear her on the other end typing my information in the computer I realize; I don’t even know where these people are located. I then ask Kim, “Where are you all located?”

Kim clears her throat and says the address as if she memorized it off a script, “389 Riley Drive, its going to be the building on the end of the street” While trying to repeat the address in my head I was also trying to find piece of paper in the office but my eyes weren’t spotting anything. “Hold on I need to write that down” 

Kim says she will hold and I dig in my bag, grabbing a napkin from the pocket that holds all of my miscellaneous items. I then spot a pen on the desk I quickly grab it and ask her to repeat the address again. She happily does so; even though the napkin is somewhat damp I write the address down. Placing the napkin on the arm of the chair I’m sitting in. 

I quickly thank Kim for being so patient and we say our goodbyes. I hop out the chair, not even worrying about my sore foot; I start to do a little victory dance in the 10x15 space. Not even 3 seconds later I open my eyes and the napkin is gone. 

“Shit” I whisper to myself, as I’m scanning the ground to look for the slightly damp and now probably dirty napkin. I can’t wrap my brain on how I lost the napkin in 2.5 seconds but I have to find it. 

I’m on my hands and knees; I look out the office door only to see the feet of the various people walking by. Some of the students laughing at me and the mom’s/dad’s of the girls probably puzzled as to why I’m on the floor in the first place. 

My eyes now scanning the floor of the lobby, I spot it.

Not only is it underneath somebody’s feet, its underneath the feet of Natasia Monterro. I rise up from my prior position on the office floor, now walking with no shoes on to retrieve my napkin. 

Natasia bends down to pick up my napkin, her eyes narrow observing the piece of linen she slowly rises back up. I stand on the lobby carpet waiting, my eyes travel up and down her body examining her attire. A cream colored blouse, brown slacks and a nice shade of nude lipstick. My eyes focus on her hands, a bit blotchy; some discoloring in the skin but her nails look amazing. The polish is burgundy perfect for the fall weather we are experiencing.

She finally realizes I’m standing in front of her, Natasia’s brown eyes slightly puffy looking like from lack of sleep look down upon my petite frame. “Is this yours?”

“Yes” I nod.

She hands me the napkin, afterwards she brings out some hand sanitizer from her purse. Placing a few drops on her hands, her eyebrows knit together as she puts her left index finger just below her lips. “Serena?” She points to me.

“Its Yesenia” I remind her.

“Anyway! How was today”

I give her a tight lipped smile while focusing my eyes on my napkin reading over the address. I bring my free hand grabbing some hair; that was falling into my face tucking it behind my ear. “It was hectic but it was fun teaching the girls”

I hear her voice sightly, taking on a more silvery tone. While placing her hand on my left shoulder she says. “That must be an important address, you were running after it like it was an $100 dollar bill”

I slowly remove her hand from my shoulder, my eyes looking at hers while my voice is low. “Well it could be my ticket to freedom”

I slightly jump when her granddaughter Adalynn comes running from behind me and stops right near Natasia’s feet. “I found my gloves Grandma!” Adalynn’s cheeks are now a nice shade of red, while holding up her Elsa from Frozen gloves. 

She promptly grabs the 8 year olds hand,“Come on lets go.” Turning around to exit the building, she shifts her purse from her forearm to her shoulder while waving goodbye to all the other parents following right behind her. I see her open the back seat of a very expensive looking truck placing Adalynn on the right side. While another man with a suit on comes from the drivers seat, grabbing Adalynn’s bag and placing it on the other side of the truck. Swiftly moves to open the passengers side door to let Natasia in the truck, they drive away. 

“She definitely comes from money” I whisper to myself.

Just then I hear my best friend Nova call out to me. “Yesenia?” Why don’t you have on shoes?”

I laugh while peering down at my bare feet. “Don’t ask” I playfully roll my eyes as I run back to the office to grab my bag and follow her out the door to get into her Volkswagen beetle.

After bringing Adalynn back to her parents home, I just couldn’t do anything for the rest of the day. So I told the help to leave me be and I would be in my piano room. I was just messing around with my piano, while playing I remember when I was 14 and just learning how to play. My own mother would want me to play in front of guests and of course every night after dinner. Even though I was no good, eventually I got better with practice of course and the right teacher. By the time I was 23 I was Playing with the Chicago symphony. 

Taking a deep breath I focus back on playing when someone interrupts me, opening the door. I throw my shoes at the body not realizing its my life partner Wallace. 

He is quick but the shoe hits him in the shoulder, he chuckles as he picks up the shoe. Wearing a grey turtleneck, some black slacks and only white socks he walks up to me bending down on one knee. Placing my house shoe on my right foot, I bend down kissing him softly on his cheek. “Wallace honey can you bring me some tea?”

Rising up his eyebrows raise, “What kind do you want?”

“Chamomile would be just fine.” I say while sliding to the right to get up from my piano bench. I saunter over to my cream colored velvet chaise I have sitting in front of one of my many 1920 arched ceiling to floor windows. Looking out into the outside world, seeing the different color leaves fall to the green grass. I remind myself later to tell my maid Jenny to tell the Gardner to come back tomorrow morning and get the leaves from my property. 

After a few minutes of waiting, I see Wallace out of the corner of my eye with a teacup in one hand and his tablet in the other. I grab the handle of the cup and bring my lips up the edge taking a slow sip. “How was your day?” I ask him while he sits at the edge of my feet.

“It was gruesome as usual, I'm actually getting sick of these people leaving us with the blood bath” He grumbles while looking down at his tablet. 

“Well that’s apart of your job, I saw what that girl wrote on the napkin it looks like she’s with the agency. Did you handle the other thing I told you about?”

He nods, pressing on his tablet he brings it closer to me. I reach over to the side table that holds my reading glasses placing them on my face; I begin to read the file he has made on Yesenia Cervantes. “Yeah, she went to juvie couple times here and there but since she graduated high school her record has been spotless. No drugs, she drinks a little other than that she seems like a damn good-”

“Wallace!” I gasp at his use of profanity. 

He quickly apologizes while taking the tablet away from me. “I mean she seems like an appropriate woman for the job.”

“Perfect”

A/N: I hope you all are ready for this book as much as I am because when I tell you shit hits the fan real quick, I’m not playing!! Anyways stay tuned for 2019✨🖤👼🏻

[lightandmatter]

The glowing LEDs of the main straps can be seen here.

The Udee Backpack

Though not strictly a camera bag, the Udee backpack may appeal to photographers who want to carry a minimal camera kit and still have plenty of space to use as a day pack. Along with a padded lower compartment to hold camera gear, the pack boasts a 25 liter volume and a long list of 18 additional features. The pack is launching on Kickstarter right now with an early bird price of $109 and a retail price listed as $229.

Is it worth it? I’ve spent a few weeks playing with the bag’s features and giving it a rough test, and my findings are below[1.I received a review copy of this backpack, free of charge. I always strive to be honest and unbiased in my reviews, but as usual, take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt. I’ve tried to not let the price affect my review.].

Appearance & Volume

If nothing else can be said for the Udee backpack, it’s pretty sharp looking. The main panels are dark grey with the texture of denim, with highlights of silvery reflective material. For contrast, the top handle is a bright orange that is matched by an orange front zipper and nameplate logo. And if that’s not enough for you, you can click on the front strap switches and the LED lights turn on, giving you a matching bright orange glow. And of course, the straps and back padding are black (which goes with anything). It’s a snazzy combination.

The shape of the bag is a bit on the boxy side, as the material and padding makes it rather rigid. The bottom compartment is rectangular, while diagonal seams in the top of the bag make for an angular, structured shape overall.

The interior of the main compartment.

The interior pockets of the main compartment.

The camera compartment of this backpack is large enough to hold a DSLR and large lens, or a couple of small lenses.

In the upper compartment you’ll find a large open area with no dividers, although there are two padded flaps that can be used to secure books or a tablet. The interior houses a variety of pockets, some with mesh fronts and zippers, and others that are open. Below the main compartment is a padded section with two dividers that is intended for camera and lens storage, though it can double as a soft-sided cooler.  It’s large enough for a full sized DSLR with a large 70-200mm f/2.8 lens and perhaps a flash, or a more compact SLR and two or three lenses.

Behind both of these compartments is a laptop computer sleeve with three pockets, making it great for a laptop and a tablet.

Features

This image and list of the backpack’s features was provided to me by the manufacturer.

The main selling point of this bag is ostensibly its long list of features; nineteen of them to be exact. Upon closer inspection, though, many of these features are just statements of the obvious and common (e.g., 1. photography  bag, 2. phone pocket, 3. notebook pocket, 4. pen pocket, 5. passport/cards pocket 6. power bank pocket). These are pretty common with any school kid’s backpack, and some of these pockets are just pockets.

Others features are a little less common, but are still not very exciting ( 7. lightweight, 8. safety reflective stripe, 9. large 25 liter capacity). A couple of the features are pretty questionable (9. expandable volume: this actually only means that there’s a zippered divider between the two compartments, but OK, and 10. portable cooler: this just means that the padding in the lower section of the pack doubles as insulation. This is true of any padded camera bag.)

One feature doesn’t appear to exist at all (11. carabiner). I looked all over for a carabiner, but didn’t find one. Perhaps they mean the keychain clip.

This still leaves us with a list of seven features that are worth exploring a little further.

Charging port

Earphone port

Anti-theft

Safety LED light

Water proof

Security pocket

Luggage belt

Ports

The headphone port is this circular grommet.

An earphone port is a handy feature, especially for sports oriented backpacks. These allow you to keep your phone or iPod in your pack, where it’s protected, and string the earphones out the side. If you have a pair of smart earphones that allow you to adjust volume, and skip tracks from buttons on the cable, you’re all set.

The downward facing USB port for charging.

The external charging port is also a cool (if somewhat less practical) feature for those of us who are slaves to battery powered devices. If your phone is not in your pack but the battery is running low, you can simply plug your USB charging cable into the port on the outside of the bag. I say impractical because this is supposed to save you the step of unzipping your backpack to either get out your charger (and put it in your pocket, for example) or to plug your charging cord directly into the power-pack, but of course, unless you walk around with a USB cable dangling from your phone, you’re going to have to open your backpack to get one out anyway… and if you’re doing that, you might as well just run it out between the zippers of the top compartment. But nevermind that, it’s cool to have a USB port on the side of your backpack, in a nerdy sort of way.

Anti-Theft

The security cable is about 3 feet long, but coils easily and fits inside the computer compartment when not in use.

This is an interesting feature for travelers, or even those who frequent mass-transit. If you’d like to put your camera bag on the overhead rack on the bus or train, but you’re afraid that someone might run by and snatch it and hop off, this backpack includes a small, built-in combination lock and steel cable that will keep your pack safely attached to the rack.

Of course, the lock can also be used on some of the pack’s zippers, which is also handy. Either way, this is a great idea.

Safety LED Lights

As I mentioned in the “Appearance” section above, the LEDs in the front straps are snazzy looking and actually serve a practical purpose for those who walk along roadsides at night. With a click of a button on each strap, the LED strips with either blink slowly, blink quickly, or will stay continuously on. Each LED module can be removed from the strap and can be plugged in to a standard micro-USB charger, so there are no batteries to replace. I wish that they’d taken this idea a step further and included an LED stripe somewhere on the back of the backpack (to warn those who are coming up behind you and are harder to see), but the reflective stripe around the main compartment zipper will have to do. Another good idea, for those who are willing to use it.

This is one of the LED strips that slides into each of the shoulder straps. Note the micro-USB charging port on the red-orange section.

Water Proof

Since a camera bag’s job is to protect our expensive electronic equipment from the elements (and most of us have thousands of dollars worth of cameras, lenses, phones, tablets, etc), this is a very important consideration.

I’ve long since learned to take any claims of waterproofing with a grain of salt[2. When I got my first pair of Gore-Tex ski gloves when I was 13 years old, I immediately put them on and dunked my hands in water, and of course, I started feeling the water seeping in at the seams after several seconds. More recently, I bought a tent with a waterproof rain-fly and got drenched during a downpour in Florida.]. When I poured a bit of water onto the fabric of this backpack, I found that it did a decent job of keeping water out, though the interior did start to feel a little damp.

But the backpack has much bigger problems than that. Although the cloth sides of the bag may be water resistant, the zippers are not… and they’re not protected. There are no flaps of cloth to cover the zippers, and what’s worse, the design of the upper bag acts as a funnel to direct rainwater directly into the phone-pocket zipper, where it can then soak into the rest of the bag. Take a look:

This is a pretty dismal failure, and the laptop and camera compartment zippers are just as bad. This bag is not waterproof. This bag should ship with a rain-fly, like ThinkTank bags do.

Security Pocket & Luggage Belt

On the back of the backpack (that is, the surface that would rest against your back while you’re wearing the pack), there are two handy features. First, there’s a luggage belt, which allows you to slide the backpack over the handle of your rolling luggage while you’re in the airport (or otherwise rolling along). The designers have included a patch of Velcro in the middle to help keep the backpack from twisting and falling to the side. Nice.

To the left and right of the bottom back pad are the zippers for the security pockets, and above it is the luggage strap.

Also on the back of the pack are two small pockets with zippers. Since these pockets will normally be flat against your back, they’re particularly difficult for thieves and pickpockets to access, making them ideal for carrying your cash, passports, tickets, and other important small items.

Laptop Pocket

Though it’s not mentioned in the extensive list above (maybe THAT’s what they meant by “notebook pocket”?), there’s also a laptop pocket and tablet pocket behind the two main compartments. It will easily hold a 15″ computer, plus a standard iPad or other tablet. The computer sleeve is padded for a little extra protection.

Quality & Comfort

For a brand that I’d never heard of before (Udee?), the quality of construction of this backpack appears to be pretty good… it doesn’t feel like cheap junk, though it’s hard to really evaluate something like this in a couple of weeks. The materials feel sturdy, the padding on the back of the pack is thick and soft, and I see none of the telltale signs of shoddy workmanship (hanging threads, uneven seams, etc).

The shoulder straps are wide and comfortably padded, the strap webbing is sturdy and smooth, and even the orange neoprene around the top handle is soft and easy on the hands.

On the other hand, the D-rings on the straps are plastic rather than metal. I’d much rather carry the extra gram or two of weight to know that they’re not going to break if needed.

My main concern about the quality of the pack comes with the zippers. Although the zipper pulls are marked as “YKK” brand, they do not all have the smooth operation that I’d expect. Actually, all of the zippers feel fine except for the main compartment zipper, which is not smooth at all and makes a sound like ripping cloth when I zip it up. It hasn’t actually failed yet, but it makes me nervous. I’ll keep my eye on it.

Design Concerns

I’ve already mentioned the problem that the front-pocket zipper presents in the rain; it funnels water directly into the interior of the pack, which is a serious hazard.

Almost as troubling to me, though, is the accessibility of the lower compartment… the part of the backpack that counts as the camera bag. The problem here is this: the laptop compartment, which is about two inches thick, runs from top to bottom of the backpack. However, this part of the backpack should be a hinge between the two compartments, lowering the bottom section away from the main compartment so you can easily access your equipment. As is, in order to get into the lower portion of the pack, you have the bend the two-inch thick side-walls of that compartment, which is not easy… and that’s if it’s empty. If you have a laptop in there, it doesn’t hinge at all. In that case, the only way to get at the equipment there is to try to grab the compartment front and stretch the opening wide. It’s a pain.

With the lower compartment unzipped completely, you can see that the entire laptop sleeve will need to be bent to open the lower compartment.

Now, it is possible to access that compartment from the interior of the backpack, since the divider has a zipper around it. However, that’s not practical if the upper compartment is also full of stuff.

Value

We’ve been told that the retail price for this backpack will be $229, which seems a bit high, considering the bag’s feature set. Yes, they’ve added a couple of ports, and for those, I’d reasonably expect a $10 price hike. For the LEDs, perhaps another $10 (LED-lit shoes cost about $30, these days).  But $60 more than the Pelican U100 truly waterproof backpack? Or as much as the Pelican Sport Elite or ThinkTank ShapeShifter? Hard to justify.

However, we’ve been told that the Kickstarter pre-sale price for this bag will be $109 (or $99 for a version without the LEDs), which is a much more reasonable price for this pack. It’s still a little high, considering the problems with their waterproofing claims and the camera compartment accessibility, but if those things don’t bother you, it could be worth a shot.

Conclusion & Rating

The Udee backpack is a snazzy looking backpack of generally good build quality. Its list of features includes some cool hits and some serious misses, and the poorly designed lower-compartment access is troubling. All in all, the retail price of $229 seems exorbitant, but the Kickstarter price is low enough that it might be worth a shot if you’re looking for a hybrid backpack/camera-bag and you rarely get caught out in the rain.

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Questions? Comments?

As usual, I’m interested to hear any questions or comments that you may have about this review or this backpack. Just let me know in the comments section below!

Review: Udee Camera Backpack The Udee Backpack Though not strictly a camera bag, the Udee backpack may appeal to photographers who want to carry a minimal camera kit and still have plenty of space to use as a day pack.