Kathmandu Shuttle 40L Convertible Backpack Cargo

40L Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 is minimalist design at its best – Great travel bag If you want a versatile travel bag, carry-on friendly (as a soft luggage, meeting the 22x35x56cm restrictions despite it is a tad larger at 24x32x60cm), one you can take to the gym, to basketball, for a few days trip with several change of clothes, toiletries, equipments, an extra pair of shoes, etc, then this is the bag for the… Read more

job. It is a hybrid between a backpack and a sports bag aka cargo bag or duffle bag. It can be carried close to the body as a backpack with sturdy, breathable, comfortable padded straps. Releasing the two top buckles, padding on the straps would slide to the middle for you to grab (or you can use the integrated handle) and it becomes a sports bag or shoulder bag. It also comes with two thin but sturdy handles on top and bottom, very useful indeed. While I prefer meatier handles, they are true to minimalist design. I am amazed how often I use them. There is also a little velcro to neatly fold away excessive strap on each shoulder strap. LOVE!! Someone has put a lot of thought in the design of this bag!

Easy access Unlike rucksack or backpack, you don't have to pull out everything to get to the bottom. The opening to the main compartment is on the back. Opening it up, you can see everything inside and access everything at ease. Get a few organiser bags, like the Kathmandu Packing Cell Classic bags, and you can subdivide the compartment into sections. So versatile, so convenient!

Just the right size I prefer 40L capacity over larger, say 75L, rucksack because the latter encourages over packing. Whilst the larger hardcore trekking bags may have superior padding, breathability, frame, compression strap to reduce bulk, pocket for water bladder, etc. Some even come with trolley wheels. However they end up being heavy. Got to ask yourself, "Do I really need everything?" Even when empty, larger bags are usually 2x to 5x heavier than the Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 which is 800g net. As a non-fold up shopping bag it certainly feels that way given how much useable space it has, how flexible and how flat it is when emptied.

Not for mountaineering It is not for trekking or mountaineering, you don't want to have to carry this on your back for hours at a time with lots of heavy load inside. On the back, there are no channels for air flow nor does it have breathable mesh. At least the back is padded. There is no frame so if you have hard irregular shaped items inside, it can dig into your back. It doesn't have sternum strap or hip-belt either. Of course a sternum strap can be easily added such as with Op/tech mini QD straps.

Just the right number of compartments and pockets There is no opening from the front to the main compartment hence it is ultra safe. Fantastic! A large top compartment which is misleadingly large because it can go into the body of the bag. It can easily accommodate a pair of shoes inside plus thongs, slides and/or slippers. It can even fit a decent bicycle helmet inside! Both zippers are lockable. There is also a decent side pocket for documents and pens on one side.

Inside, there are two internal pockets, a 9cm x 20cm keys pocket which lies flat and not expandable hence it is small, complete with a keyring hook. There is also a 20cm x 20cm mesh pocket in the main compartment right under the top compartment which again lies flat but is fairly large because of how flexible this section is. Altogether 2 compartments, 1 external pocket and 2 internal pockets. That's it! You might want more pockets but this is precisely the strength of this bag, what makes it so versatile, spacious and light. If you need more space up the top, it will eat into the space of the body and vice versa. Likewise with the mesh pocket, it eats into the top compartment if you want to fit more into the mesh pocket. It is alchemy!

“Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange..."

Colour choices This bag comes in grey (so called granite marble) or black. Some time ago, it came in red too. I bought the black version with blue inside and buckles. The granite marble version is much more marble than granite. To me granite is almost black! But this granite marble is more light grey! Its colour is more neutral because buckles, straps and zips are black but it is a big lump of grey. The fairly large Kathmandu print on each side is white so they don't scream nearly as loud as the black version I have, good for you if you mind being a walking advertisement for Kathmandu. I don't! Frankly I am happy to parade a good brand and product. With the black version, I don't mind the blue interior, blue buckles however look at bit off despite they do complement the interior. I think I can live with that. Kathmandu, why not have grey interior and black or grey buckles? And bring back red please!

Materials The fabric is strong 840D ballistic nylon, heavier and with highest tensile strength than CORDURA or ripstop nylon Kathmandu employs. But it has the least abrasion resistance of the three. Frankly, abrasion resistance is definitely a good thing but it depends on Denier rating and weave as well.

Best bang for you buck Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 cost half of the next equivalent sized backpack ($120 vs $240). You would think that ripstop may be more costly. Interestingly, the cargo bag Kathmandu Pocket 40L Cargo is 60% cheaper ($48 vs $120) and made of ripstop nylon. Like most Kathmandu products, good quality colour matched YKK zips are used throughout.

Gregory Compass 40 There is one backpack that look really similar called Gregory Compass 40. It can't convert into duffle bag, the top compartment is at the bottom and it has laptop compartment and breathable back padding for comfort plus sternum strap. But it is about the same price as recommended retail price of the Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 at $190, cheapest i could find. I bought the Kathmandu bag at 40% off. I might have bought the Gregory Compass 40 if it was at the same or similar price. After all, I don't really need a three-way harness. I am sure I am going stick to the backpack configuration permanently. Specific for my use case, I do prefer the top compartment to be at the top rather than bottom like the Gregory Compass 40. With shoes at the bottom, I struggle to believe the bag could stand up-right on its bottom.

Verdict I give the Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 4 stars out of 5. Would prefer black buckles, thicker top and bottom handles (unreasonable ask), more abrasive resistant materials and larger mesh pocket inside the top compartment and integrated rain coat that can be stored away in a pocket in the bottom. Don't get fooled by some of the pics at the Kathmandu site, the bags inside are not included. They look like Kathmandu Packing Cell Classic bags. Whilst I haven't done it yet, I picture throwing this backpack into my luggage because of how flat it is so I have an extra carry on or checkin luggage when required.

Most popular Kathmandu bag The Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 is awesome but don't take my word for it. I haven't looked at all Kathmandu bags but of the 30 or so I looked at (pretty much all the hiking, travel and cargo bags), this has the 2nd largest number of reviews and the highest average rating. The only bag that has more reviews is the Litehaul 38L Carry-On Pack with 108 reviews at 4.6 average rating. Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4 has 103 reviews at 4.8. The next highest number of review is 33, then 30, etc. Amongst all the feedbacks for the Kathmandu Shuttle Cargo V4, the worst feedback is 3 from one person who didn't like to be a walking billboard for Kathmandu. The branding is only 2cm x 12.5cm. It could have been much bigger. Have you seen those Superdry backpacks?

Whether this is the right bag for you depends on your use case, contents and weight. Try it first in the shop for size and comfort. I bought this bag with a specific purpose, to carry some equipments and hardware. I love it!