My semi-E.D.C. – for my daily walks

I call it a semi-E.D.C. because it is an extremely light version of what people called an E.D.C. I have constructed this pack for my basic needs on my daily walks on wooden trails. I don’t need much, but what I need I don’t want to carry in my pockets or on my belt; so I bought a Maxpedition 2” Shoulder Strap with a 2” Shoulder Pad to fit my Maxpedition Bottle Holder. What I normally need on my walks are water (I use a Nalgene 32 oz water bottle), a snack (power-bar, fruit, or nuts), my phone and knife.

The Maxpedition Bottle Holder has a small pocket which can carry some smaller items like a spork, lighter/fire-steel, a folding cup, multi-tool, etc., but not really a good snack. So I attached, using 2x 5” BlackHawk Speed Clips, the Maxpedition Janus Extension Pocket to the side of the bottle holder, both which have a good amount of MOLLE/PALS webbings, as all Maxpedition products. The Janus comes with a removable strap which I of course have taken off, and the extension pocket fits perfectly, and it serves all my needs for this semi-E.D.C.!

The Janus pouch has a lot of potentials, and one of them is an external 2-sided pocket which I use to hold my Fällkniven F1 knife sheath (this sheath is specially made for the Airforce and I could not really use it on my belt and so on, because it has a specially made attachment system), but it is ideal for my Janus pocket.

My ex pack: Maxpedition Condor-II in foliage green

I wanted a sturdy and good pack for my time that I spend in the wilderness. I wanted a medium size pack because I’m not out for too long on my trips. I looked around on the net to find one that would fit my taste and needs; I looked for e.g. BlackHawk’s packs, but they were too big. And finally I found Maxpedition’s website (www.maxpedition.com) and I was amazed! I have been waiting for a manufacturer like this for a long time; someone who makes military-style equipment for the common man – the hiker. 

I thought Maxpedition Condor-II would be a good choice for me, and foliage green was a color in my taste. And the awesome thing with Maxpedition is their wide selection of pouches, pockets and accessories to their products. I’m a bit of a gear-o-maniac, so it suits me very well. 

This is what my Condor-II carried:

• Maxpedition Condor-II, foliage green
• Maxpedition Monkey Combat Admin Pouch, foliage green, which I use as an organizer for my basic tools, etc.
• Maxpedition Bottle Holder 10”x4”, foliage green, which holds my Nalgene 32 oz water bottle
• Maxpedition Cocoon Pouch, foliage green and black, small good pouches for all smaller stuff which I like to bring
• BlackHawk Speed Clips, to integrate accessory pouches/pockets unto my pack, much better than Maxpedition TacTies
• Maxpedition Web Dominators
• Maxpedition Grimloc D-Rings

I am very satisfied with this set and it works great from my daily hikes.

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Modifications

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I first attached the Maxpedition bottle holder to the side of the pack using the BlackHawk Speed Clips and the MOLLE/PALS attachment points on the pack, because it is so much easier to have the water bottle outside of the pack when you just want a quick swig. But just after five minutes into my first walk with the pack I felt how the one side that carried the bottle holder were pulling down and the whole pack became very uncomfortable at once. So I made a quick decision that having the bottle holder on the side of the pack was cool in theory, but a bad idea in practice.

But something that is a good idea – since I like fishing, shooting bow, etc. – is to attach a Maxpedition Single Sheath to one of the shoulder straps to hold my multi-tool so it is at hand whenever you need it quickly. The last thing you want to do is to take the pack off and start digging around to find tools when you are in a hurry – like taking out a hook from a mouth of a squirming fish. The Maxpedition Single Sheath has a perfect fit for a multi-tool or a smaller flashlight.

I have also found Maxpedition Web Dominators very useful. Since my first pack I have always been annoyed by all loose straps hanging around, and the Web Dominators have taken care of that problem :) But when I added them to the shoulder straps in the bottom of the pack they each had these two elastic cord-ends which poked my arms or ribs depending on how I attach them. Very annoying. But I found a way to hide those elastic cord-ends by hiding them under the strap itself, see photos.

But after using my Condor-II for a while I felt unsatisfied. First I thought that I’ve just become spoiled in all gear, but there was something with the pack that didn’t do it for me. And I realized that it was a tad small, I didn’t have to pack much until it became cramped – which in its turn made the pack a bit bulky and extruding on my back. So, I decided to get Condor-II’s big brother; Maxpedition’s Vulture II.