010- Smart Alec Update

After 6 months of daily use in a variety of situations, the Smart Alec is still my go to bag.  It gets used for almost all of my backpack needs, but being as expensive as it was, I don't take it places that I think it will get excessive damage, i.e. canoeing.  For that I still go to the old REI Flash 18 UL.  It took a few minutes of sitting in the rain this summer without any of the contents getting wet.

I've bought a couple add ons to the SA and made a few carry tweaks that have made it even better. Two accessory straps now adorn the lower section of the bag and while not used much, they have come in handy.

Target had some cheap LED wire on clearance at the end of summer, and I grabbed one for $2.50. Turns out it worked perfect as a 'glow wire' run from one side pocket to the other through the pocket drain holes and around the accessory loops.  This routing also works well for a piece of 550 paracord. This can give the bag some added personality or be a useful thing to clip other items to.

A TB padded organizer pouch now holds my camera clipped to an O-ring in one of the side pockets.

The biggest add on so far is the SA upper modular pocket.  It works as well as advertised in that capacity.  I got it in steel and now wish I'd held out for the SA in steel too.  Great color.  The UMP easily holds 2 full TB small organizer pouches and bunch of other small items.

But where I've really found the UMP useful is to attach it to the INSIDE of the bag.  I just so happens that the top two gatekeeper clips on the UMP align almost perfectly with two webbing loops inside the rear of the SA.  I think these are for the TB Cache with Rails system, but I don't have one of those to verify.  When clipped together the UMP hangs inside the bag right up by your shoulders.  It keeps the overall exterior footprint of the bag nice and clean and leaves that spot on top open to bungee bulky items.

The UMP can be easily flipped out of the way when the bag is laying down on it's stomach to allow unfettered access to the main compartment.  This does not work as well however when the bag is standing upright.  The SA is not padded so it does not stand up on it's own with the weight of a laden UMP connected to its top (whether inside or out).

There is even plenty of space to hold a full double organizer pouch below the webbing loops meaning the bag can carry a typical load.  In fact, the UMP is roughly in the same footprint of the SA lid, only underneath instead of atop.  So when the bag is otherwise fully loaded it pushes the top of the bag upward evenly.  Further, that space at the top inside of the main compartment is mostly empty anyway with a typical load, so this arrangement does not sacrifice the ability to carry my usual load.

The SA is, quite simply, the best backpack I've ever had (and I've had a lot).  Comfortable, big (but not too big), tough, nicely shaped and with an unlimited array of organizational configs, it has handled everything I've thrown at it so far.  And as it gets older, I may start even taking it canoeing!