Maxpedition Manta

I’ve played around with a few different shoulder bag ideas. I use packs all the time, but there are always certain items that I want to have quick to hand. Carrying things in pockets or on a belt only works to a certain degree. I absolutely detest carrying a wallet in a back pocket. And as more and more gadgets enter our everyday existence, the approach of stuff on a belt or in pockets, becomes even less feasible. I like the idea of a shoulder bag, something that allows things like a wallet, a bus pass, a cell phone or PDA, a flashlight, etc. to be quickly located and retrieved. Having to doff a pack and rummage through it to get at that sort of thing gets real old, real fast. And there are times when I really don’t need a pack, or times when I need to carry more than usual, necessitating a different pack. Having to transfer all those EDC (Every Day Carry) items every time that happens, becomes pretty long in the tooth. I find that there is a big difference between what I carry around in the woods versus what I carry around day to day in the city. I wanted something just for the latter.

Maxpedition is a company that has been around for a while. Interesting, well made designs. They had a few different shoulder bags, but none of them ever seemed right for me. When I saw the Manta, a modular platform that I could set up exactly to my liking, I decided to give it a try. I had a bunch of pouches I could use for it, and fiddled and modded till I got what I wanted. (The photos were taken at various points so things were taken off or added at later points.)

At the back I have a Maxpedition Cocoon for a boo-boo kit. Two Maxpedition Medium Tac-Tile Pockets are the main pouches used. At the front is a modified pouch that came with a Fenix T1.

Beneath them, on the left is a Maxpedition MM Rolly-Polly dump pouch, and beside that is a modified Petzl Tikka pouch.

Where the straps meet the body, at the front I have a Maxpedition Phone Holster for my cell phone, and at the back I have a modified Leatherman Wave sheath, and a Tactical Tailor multi-tool pouch for a monocular.

The rear Tac-Tile contains 2 joined Batuca battery cases with CR123, AA and AAA batteries (Batuca battery cases are made of translucent injection molded polymer. Each measures 5.84 cm tall by 6.85 cm wide by 1.9 cm thick. The lid on it is a flip-top, so the case isn’t waterproof. Each case will hold 4 AA, 4 CR123 batteries, or 6 AAA (although not very tight – a bit of tissue or cotton ball will silence any rattling), or combinations (3 AAA & 2 AA for instance). Two Batuca cases can be joined together at the bottom by sliding them together), a mesh grocery bag, spare battery for the cell phone, and tissues.

The front Tac-Tile contains, wallet, note pad, writing implements, bus passes, subway tokens, business card holder.

Leatherman Wave and monocular. The latter is a really handy thing to have.

Maxpedition Cocoon with basic boo-boo stuff. Laerdal FaceShield, Tensor bandage, TransPor tape, gauze, Ibuprofen, Imodium, Benadryl, Polysporin packet, moleskin, duct tape, pair of nitrile gloves, bandaids, topical wipes including StingStop, scalpel blade. I have a more comprehensive first aid kit in my back pack, but for most day to day stuff, this is sufficient.

Another view of the rear Tac-Tile pouch. Batuca battery cases with CR123, AA and AAA batteries, a mesh grocery bag, spare battery for the cell phone, and tissues.

Another view of the front Tac-Tile pouch contents, including wallet, note pad, writing implements, bus passes, subway tokens, business card holder.

 The inside back of the Tac-Tile pouch has a mesh divider. I sewed a seam down it to create two slots, one for the writing implements (which also includes a marker, orange highlighter and technical pencil.

The other slot is for the notepad.

Along the front and sides of the Tac-Tile I sewed a strip of webbing to create more slots.

The one on the front side is for a token holder that holds ten TTC tokens.

The two slots on the front are for the business card holder and the bus passes.

In the center sits the wallet. There is a paracord loop at the top, that I tied a length of paracord to that was then attached to the wallet.

Better view of the Fenix T1 sheath, and cell phone holder.

The Fenix T1 sheath originally had a Velcro closure, so I replaced that with a side release buckle. The back had a belt loop so I replaced that with PALS webbing. Read about it here.

Another view of the T1 sheath. The back of the Manta has a mesh and behind that a foam punctured by holes. Definitely increases the comfort factor.

A view of the front of the modified Fenix T1 sheath.

The Manta slung across my back. And no, that’s not an American Eagle shirt, but an Aylmer Express shirt.

Swung around to the front.

All in all, not a bad system. Worn by itself it is quite a comfortable means of carrying all the things I think are important. It’s a little bit too wide to be worn comfortably with some packs. A narrower, sling type pack works better. I’m thinking of building something similar, but a little narrower, maybe just stack the Tac-Tiles atop one another, or get one of the larger Tac-Tiles instead. But for now, I’m quite satisfied with this.

Here it is with the Sigg’mups mounted on it.