Over the last decade, us folks over at BOBB HQ have purchased, tested, tried out, beat on, fallen in and out of love with nearly 100 backpacks and bags. During that process our perspectives on what is good and what we think works and what doesn't has changed.

There have been 3 constants however: build / material toughness, overall design, and use-case functionality have always been critical. Especially since we are focused on products that are supposed to help people increase their chances of survival during life-threatening events. 

There are a handful of companies whose products have always impressed us, since they consistently meet our higher than average demands.

One such company is Maxpedition.

Over the years, Maxpedition has shifted the design language of their packs, but they have always adhered to what appears to be a core philosophy: use high quality materials that can withstand lots of abuse and that will function properly when you need them the most.

Since we have a bunch of their Legacy styled packs, we decided to try out some of their new stuff, so we got our hands on an Entity 27 and it was love at first sight.

It's been 6 months since then, so now it's time to give it an honest shake, so here is the Bug Out Bag Builder Maxpedition Entity 27 CCW-Enabled Laptop Backpack 27L Review!

What's it good for?

The 27L Entity is a great day pack. It would be a little small for a traditional Bug Out Bag. Maxpedition has the Entity 35 which gives you a little more elbow room and is a better suited for multiple day needs.

But if you are looking for a good 24-hour kit or Everyday Carry than the Entity 27 is perfect. It can carry a laptop, water bottles, lots of gear and keep it all organized. It also fits nicely under an airplane seat.

Keeping it low-key

Our first impulse for trying this pack out was the fact that it doesn't scream tacticool. Unless someone knows about Maxpedition bags (outside of service people and preppers, not many) this just looks like any old backpack, but is built like a tank.

We like that. Our philosophy is to keep things boring. Meaning we don't want our stuff to look too interesting to prying eyes.

That's part of the reason why we prefer Gray Man styled kits. Not that there is anything wrong with using military styled packs or bags, au contraire, but in certain environments it's probably best just to blend in to the civilian crowd.

What makes the Entity series bags so great, is that they blend the functionality of military packs into civilian/city-friendly design which to us is the Holy Grail of Emergency Kit Pack Design. Yes, we just made that up but it's still a valid idea.

The Entity 27 gives you a CCW pocket along the back side which keeps things inside accessible but unobtrusive. When we travel abroad we keep our passports and travel documents in there, in a separate pouch which is secured with velcro.

Designed to be useful

There is a fine line between making a pack that is just a giant empty sack, and making one that has so many pockets and zippers that you don't even wind up knowing that to do with them all.

The Entity 27 hits the sweet spot here: it has a nice big main compartment that is easy to access from top to bottom and it has just the right amount of interior pockets for the types of things you actually carry with you everyday.

And if you feel the need to add more, there is velcro compatible fabric along the inside front panel to add accessory pouches to.

The layout is intuitive and we found that we could very easily access 3 different areas inside of the main compartment without having to open the whole pack up.

This makes grabbing keys, wallets, phones, glasses, lights, and earbuds super convenient while the stayed nice and secure inside the main pocket, with 2 layers of zippers to keep pickpockets at bay.

Speaking of that, all the zipper pulls are lock compatible, so if you are in sketchy-town you can lock the pack down.

The two zippered pockets on the sides are OK for stashing smaller items.

Only problem I have with them is that once you have goodies in there, putting a water bottle of normal size on the outside pocket doesn't really work. So what I wind up doing is leaving one empty so the water goes on that side.

The Entity is not hydration bladder compatible technically, although you could put a bladder in the laptop compartment and snake the tube through the opening by not closing the zipper fully.

My only wish was that there was 1 zippered pocket on the front of the pack that would be large enough to hold a smartphone. They do have some Entity pouches that attach to the shoulder straps, which I haven't tried out yet.

There is a waist belt if you want/need it. It is removable, thankfully.

Tough as heck

Rather than reinvent the wheel, lets just use Maxpedition's own words to describe the build quality of the Entity series:

• 500-Denier Kodra™ fabric
• Triple polyurethane coated for water resistance
• High tensile strength composite nylon thread (stronger than ordinary industry standard nylon thread)
• #AS-100 high grade closed-cell foam padding material for superior shock protection
• Internal seams taped and finished
• Stress points double stitched, bartacked, or "Box-and-X" stitched for added strength
• YKK® high strength zippers and zipper tracks
• UTX-Duraflex® nylon buckles for low sound closures 

What this all adds up to is a pack that will not fall apart on you, even if you put a little weight in it. And the pack itself remains remarkably light at 3.6 lbs empty.

Conclusions

The Maxpedition Entity 27 is one of our favorite packs in this size category, period. It has everything you need without the fluff you don't, and it's tough enough to handle anything you throw at it.

It lives next to our 5.11 COVRT 18 and is now our other go to bag.

Where to Get One:

The Entity Series bags come in two colors: Dark Grey and Light Grey.

Maxpedition Entity 27 Backpack

Typical Price: $160

The Entity 27 is an ergonomic pack with padded shoulder straps and quick release buckles. There is a dedicated locking and padded laptop compartment. The main compartment is also lockable and has drawbridge straps.

The front exterior has tuckable magnetic wings for quick temporary closing of the main compartment. CCW compartment with a Security Lockout Strip is included. Dual side ports are perfect for headphones, charger cables, etc. Includes a rear trolley handle pass-through for traveling.

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