Pioneer Carry Duration Pack (2.0)

Note: this item was provided for review.

I was quite happy testing the Savant from Pioneer Carry, so when they offered to send over the 2.0 variant of the Duration Pack, it was an instant yes from me. Even more so after I saw the new green colorway they have for it — I love green bags.

The Duration Pack is designed as a travel personal item, and is well sized and laid out for just that — though it will work quite well for people using it for the office as well.

Materials

The ‘2.0’ upgrades are mostly around capacity, moving the bag to 22L (from 18L) and suspending the laptop sleeve. The bag measures in at 17” x 11” x 8”. It hits the scale at 2.1 lbs. Pioneer Carry explicitly designed this to fit at your feet on a plane, and I see no reason to doubt that, though my next flight isn’t for a few months so I can’t test that. While not feather weight, it’s not heavy either, a good middle ground — considering the material durability, it actually seems light for what you get.

As with the Savant, this has the removable luggage tag, which while not something I would use, is really nice looking and well done — it’s a small thing I dig. It’s specced to fit a 17” laptop, and uses YKK’s Vizlon zippers.

This is all clad in the Mandarin 840 — which is the best ballistic nylon on the market. Pioneer also notes that there is 0% polyester here, it’s 100% nylon — which adds to the durability and longevity of this bag.

As with everything from the brand, the fit and finish is on point.

In Use

Here’s how Pioneer Carry positions this bag:

Hits the sweet spot of compact and capable making it an indispensable travel tool with a timeless quality. Engineered for travel with robust and refined construction but excels as an everyday pack as well. Fits under the seat in front of you, stands up on its own and has a place for everything.

I like to think I know a thing or two about backpacks, and I have to say that their description of this bag is perhaps the most accurate description of a bag I have seen from a manufacturer.

My interest was immediately focused on the size. This is a near perfectly sized bag for what it’s trying to do. It feels about as large as you could have it for taking on a plane and keeping it at your feet. While at the same time, it doesn’t feel overly large for carrying around town — I don’t get that self-conscious feeling where I wonder if other people are wondering why I am carrying a giant backpack. It’s big enough that it can fit any and everything I need, without being overbearing. Both in capacity, but also the exterior dimensions of the bag. And it feels and looks good on my 6’-3” frame. Spot on.

The layout is simple: laptop compartment, main compartment, two front pockets. The laptop compartment has a suspended sleeve which is against the front side of the pocket, and a larger open area which is padded and not suspended. The zipper access is generous which makes it really easy to open and get at your laptop. The zippers (as mentioned) are not going to scratch your devices or hands, and are very smooth opening and closing. I’ve easily fit my Framework 13 and 11” iPad Pro in this area and it still didn’t feel cramped.

The main compartment is large. This is where the bulk of the capacity is. There’s a few anchor points for different bags you might want to attach, or straps if you like that. There’s a small open top pocket on the back side, which goes up about 1/3 of the space. I wish more bags had this, as this style pocket is really great. It stays out of the way, and nothing is ever so far below the opening of the pocket that you feel like you are noodling for catfish to find it. Just enough depth to keep stuff secure, but not enough to lose it. On the front flap of the main area is a smaller mesh zippered pocket, which has an open top pocket behind it — handy, but went unused for me because of the front two pockets.

While the main compartment is really nice, and can hold a ton, where this bag shines is the front two pockets. These pockets can hold a ton, are easy to get to, and yet so simple that you will underestimate them when you first get the pack. Both pockets have their own dedicated capacity, and lay rather flat against the bag when empty. When loaded, they can add a couple inches more to the depth of the bag.

The top pocket is basic, empty, and shockingly easy to get in and out of. While the bottom pocket is much larger overall, with an open top pocket inside and a generously long key leash. It’s easy enough to get into, but the size can mean stuffing larger items in this pocket might require an extra twist to extract cleanly. Both of these pockets have proven to be where I keep the majority of my gear, and which I use the most on this bag.

The bag can hold a lot, and it can hold it well, but none of that matters if it doesn’t carry all this well. Because of the use case this bag was designed for, there’s three things worth mentioning:

The bag stands up on its own. I’ve yet to have this flop over on me when loaded with my normal gear — only when nothing is in the bag except a heavy med kit in the front pocket. Outside of that, this bag sits nicely on its own, and does so without effort or thought when you set it down.

The top handle is fantastic. Pioneer Carry nails the top handles on the packs I have tested. They stand up, are easy to grab, comfortable to hold, and well positioned to carry the bag vertically without it tilting too much and smacking your leg. A good top handle is worth so much when you are traveling, and this is one of the best.

The shoulder straps are unadorned (no attachment points, no sternum strap) and are lined with a very slick material. They look clean, and they will slide on and off your shoulders without damaging your clothing — something I do worry about with many other straps. They are nicely articulated and padded. When new, they proved stiff. When worn out of the box, the inner material tends to wrinkle in a way that can be slightly off putting when you wear the bag. A half dozen wears more, and this dissipates. With more wear, I am certain this won’t continue to be an issue, just a small point of break in on the bag.

The bag, when loaded at around 12lbs, carries gear well enough that I wouldn’t bat an eye at selecting this for a long day of travel, or a commute to the office (or coffee shop in my case). It’s comfortable, easy on and off, and free of a lot of the dangly strap nonsense which plagues most bags these days.

This is a good looking bag, whether for travel, bopping around a city, or heading into the office. It is also very clean in design, which will allow you to easily slide it in and out of the area at your feet on a plane, without random webbing catching on the seat supports. It’s all quite well done, functional, and good looking.

Overall

All too often I see companies conflate “built for travel” with “we added a bunch of random pockets which are only good very very specific scenarios, and are largely outdated” — that is not remotely the case with the Duration Pack. This is a very streamlined backpack for travel, without being something which doesn’t actually carry much. In fact, my prediction here is that most people who buy this bag, will end up finding that this is their favorite bag for most things in general.

There’s plenty of people who want a single backpack which can handle nearly anything. While I wouldn’t use this hiking, I can’t see any reason not to use this for everything else.

That’s the trick this bag is keeping stashed away: while designed for travel is the the tag line, the reality is that your bag is tested at its hardest when you travel, and thus this is simply a fantastic backpack especially when you are not traveling.

Buy here, $329.