Initial thoughts/review Ogio Mach3 backpack

[subxero]

So I made a thread recently asking for peoples experience with back packs. Some decent feed back, I looked over lots of bags and the mach series from Ogio was appealing for many reasons, I was a bit hesitant because I figured it was going to be a very hit or miss back with me but I would never know unless tried it and I wanted to give it a go and here we are.

TLDR: I don't like it
Edit: I don't dislike it as much as I first did... it's growing on me


The fit and finish of the bag is pretty decent, it looks good, and fits very nicely (if you don't have a speed hump on your jacket)

quality... nothing impressive, everything is single stitched the material is decent.

Functionality -

I want to say it is a good commuter bag but it just isn't. Nothing about it really makes it commuter friendly, there are better bags out their for this IMO. I like that the main compartment has its zipper on the inside that rests against your back. I have this on a few other bags and It is nice knowing that if you are forgetful or a zipper fails you won't lose all of your stuff...

BUT there are no compartments anywhere on the outside for easy access. I didn't think this would bother me much but it gets annoying. I like to keep my wallet in my bag and my glasses along with my odd ball key set, all of which I use fairly regularly be it stopping for gas, need my id's for work, need key set for particular lock. Normally I would keep that stuff in a side outside pocket that I can get to pretty easily with out taking off any gear and only one shoulder strap. This is not possible with the Mach series, the pack has to come completely off to get into the main compartment and the pack straps fit fairly snug which is good but if you have broad shoulders like me it makes getting the pack on and off a bit of a task only adding to the annoyance. (Edit: noticed there is a quick release for left shoulder strap, makes getting pack off much easier)
I end up keeping most my stuff in pockets in my jacket or pants now, I would rather have it in the bag though.

The pack does not have a normal carry handle up top. the opening for the handle faces back wards and does not go completely through (the whole no drag thing ) So getting to the handle if your hands are full is annoying and this also means it is impossible to hang the bag from said handle say on a coat rack ect.... Sure you could use a strap but that does not always work well especially on my coat rack at work so the pack now takes up real estate on the floor in my pod/cube.
(edit: noticed there is a small loop for hanging the pack, it's small but should work on my hooks ect...)

I think I could look past all this ^ nit picking buuuuuttt the icing on the cake is that the pack does not fit very well with my speed hump on my perf leather summer jacket, not so much that it feels odd, it feels fine on my back but the back of my helmet makes contact on occasion with the top of the pack in certain instances, when turning my head, bending it back and since the pack is somewhat hard shell it is more than annoying. When mostly full tuck I can not bend my neck back the whole way as the pack hits my helmet and prevents it.

If the speed hump was not present on my jacket would this still happen? IDK? I could try my other jacket with it just to see but since the hump is on my summer jacket which I use the majority of the time it is kind of a deal breaker for me.

Ill probably put it up for sale in the market place and look for a new bag ASAP if I can't resolve this issue

it could be a decent bag for someone, just not me, ehh what can I say other than I gave it a chance

Edit:

So i might have been a little harsh this morning as i was upset with my commute to work with the bag.

So some good things about the bag. It is really light and with only a few things in it you can barely feel it on your back and shoulders.
It has a helmet lanyard incase you don't want to leave it on your bike. The padding on the back of the M3 and M5 (not on the M1) is nice and helps keep your back from becoming a sweaty mess.

It has a chest strap to connect the two shoulder straps and a waist strap. I won't use the waist strap. Never was fan of waist strap and to prevent the back from hitting my helmet as fist face below suggests i need to wear the pack with the shoulder straps out/longer so the pack is lower on my back, this puts the chest strap at my throat, me no like. But look at that, they are adjustable... problem solved

So i did ride home with the pack lower and it did not hit my helmet or feel overly odd being that low, so i will keep using it and see how things go.

My wife says she likes how it looks and how it looks on me when i am geared up.

The pack actually does have a fair amount of small features that help with my original complaints making them non issue so I guess I'm just an ignorant dumb ass Still not the best commuter pack but it has the cool factor, and it is really light. I actually forgot I had it on and wasn't sure if I did or not on another day when I left my house.

I do feel like this would be an awesome pack for a squid or someone with minimal gear though, it would fit very well over a light jacket or T-shirt

[ninjamunky85]

Well that sucks, was hoping to hear that you were happy with the new pack. Hopefully you can find something that works better for you.

[adouglas]

I had the AXIO pack that's similar to the Mach series. Didn't like it either, for different reasons.

How's the interior space in the Mach? I found the AXIO to have too many dividers and such... no single, sizable space to be found.

FWIW, through experience I've found that a motorcycle pack should be worn MUCH lower on your back than seems right. Almost over your butt. If you wear it at a height that seems correct while walking you'll have helmet interference issues, which is exactly what you're experiencing. Once you're on the bike and leaned forward it sits perfectly.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by adouglas

I had the AXIO pack that's similar to the Mach series. Didn't like it either, for different reasons.

How's the interior space in the Mach? I found the AXIO to have too many dividers and such... no single, sizable space to be found.

FWIW, through experience I've found that a motorcycle pack should be worn MUCH lower on your back than seems right. Almost over your butt. If you wear it at a height that seems correct while walking you'll have helmet interference issues, which is exactly what you're experiencing. Once you're on the bike and leaned forward it sits perfectly.

^ this is what I'm hoping for. I'm going to adjust the straps and see if it helps on the ride home today.

On another note I did just notice that the left strap has a quick detach release which makes getting the pack on and off a little easier.

As far as the internal space, I feel there is more room than I was expecting. The only dividers are on the opening flap that would be against your back, and it would be suited for flat ish things, laptop, notebooks none of which I carry which then pretty much makes for one fairly large open compartment. Since it is hardshell there will be not much wiggle room for squeezing things, what ya see is what ya get but I feel like I would have no problem fitting a large pair of sneakers, like basketball shoes, jeans, Tshirt and sweat shirt with room to spare for odd ball things, drink, snacks. With the pack empty I am fairly convinced I could fit 2 half gallon cartoons of milk with room to spare and this is the Mach 3 not the 5 which has a little more space.

Like I mentioned, I am going to try and ride with the pack lower on my back and hope there is no helmet interference, if I can get rid of that and the pack feels decent on my back I will probably just look past the other things I don't like. Time will tell.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by adouglas

FWIW, through experience I've found that a motorcycle pack should be worn MUCH lower on your back than seems right. Almost over your butt. If you wear it at a height that seems correct while walking you'll have helmet interference issues, which is exactly what you're experiencing. Once you're on the bike and leaned forward it sits perfectly.

Oh....that explains it....

*wanders off to adjust shoulder straps*

:-D

[alex.s]

i've crashed wearing my ogio m3 twice now. still just as good. stitching could be a lot better i agree. and it would be nice to have an extra pocket on the waist belt thing. but i like it.

[subxero]

Originally Posted by alex.s

i've crashed wearing my ogio m3 twice now. still just as good. stitching could be a lot better i agree. and it would be nice to have an extra pocket on the waist belt thing. but i like it.

There are definitely things I like about it otherwise I would not have given it a shot.


I will definitely keep it if I can resolve the helmet contact. It is probably a combination of the speed hump on my jacket and having it higher on my back.