Kicking it old School with Grey Ghost Gear’s Throwback Pack

August 13, 2015  
|  3 Comments
Categories: Gear Curious

Don’t want to look like you’ve been hydro-dipped in Multicam when you’re tooling around town? This EDC bag may be for you. Mad Duo

Grey Ghost Gear’s Throwback Pack EDC bag

Kicking it Old School with the Grey Ghost Gear Throwback Pack

MURRSOC

Long, long ago we lived in a world without high-tech materials, where stuff was made of things that grow from the earth, and men wore beards and carried arms at all times. If you wanted something durable for kit or clothes, you had to either hunt it down, kill it, tan its hide with its own brain, or plant seeds and loom fabric.

Man, that shit must have sucked!

We now live in a world full of super fabrics, from Cordura nylon to Primaloft to Goretex. Back in the old days though, before the existence of synthetic materials (but after the time you had to set dye in wool with hot piss), your great-grandpa probably hauled his ammo around in a hemp cartridge belt and sheltered from the elements under waxed canvas. That’s some nostalgic badassery right there.

Maybe that’s why Grey Ghost Gear decided it was going to make a day-bag-sized EDC bag using that old-school styling with modern design. It’s a unique mash-up of old and new, and a couple of us have had the chance to kick the Throwback concealed carry backpack around for the last few months. 

GGG started out by taking one of their very popular-sized packs as a base. At about 850 Cubic inches, they figured it would be the ideal size for a legitimate EDC bag (note that it’s not a Book of Eli you-have-to-cross-the-country-and-fight-cannibals EDC bag).

The body of the bag is constructed with waxed canvas material, which is highly wear-and-water resistant. Waxed canvas was and still is a favorite material used by outdoor companies such as Filson, and for good reason. It “weathers” with age, creating a unique appearance for each piece of kit but retains its water repellent qualities by dint of the wax that impregnates the cloth’s fibers.

Grey Ghost tells us they wanted to stay away from most of the features found on “tactical” bags, to give the Throwback pack a more subtle, old-school look. It’s fairly low profile, and that’s one of the aspects that make it so appealing. 

Take a Look Inside

Main Compartment

The main compartment opens at the top to a full 550 cubic inches in volume. The heavy-duty YKK zippers slide on beefy teeth, which is good to have if you overstuff the bag or drop it in the mud.

Grey Ghost Gear Throwback Pack EDC bag main compartment

Inside the compartment, there are two water-bottle-sized elastic-topped pockets on both sides of the bottom. These small pockets work great to stow small items such as a compass, energy bars, or a flashlight.

A modern touch in the form of female loop Velcro has been retained in the main compartment. The loop fabric is sewn onto the entire front wall, which it shares with the outer pocket. This loop can be used to organize more gear, add pouches, or stow morale patches. The main compartment has plenty of room for most common items carried on a day excursion and helps you rethink overloading your kit with the gear you won’t even use.

Zippered Front Compartment

Outside on the bag’s front, you will find two smaller, vertical running zippers along each side of the pack’s face. You can unzip from either side of the bag to access a smaller compartment (300 cubic inches) which is ideal for additional small items.

Grey Ghost Gear Throwback Pack EDC bag, zippered front compartment for smaller gear.

A small electronic tablet, camera, or mid-sized notebook will fit in there well. This compartment is also backed with loop Velcro, for all of your hook- faced accessories.

The “Bucket” Pocket and Shock-Cord Bungee

Last, there is a final, smaller “bucket” pocket secured with a horizontal zipper. This small, deep pocket is great for your most small and valuable items, like your car keys or cell phone.

Grey Ghost Gear Throwback Pack EDC Bag

 The face of the bag has a shock-cord bungee, which one can use to stuff a rain jacket or warming layer into on the run. The cord is secured at four points and features a cord lock to cinch your gear down.  

Grey Ghost Gear Throwback Pack EDC bag with shock-cord bungee

More EDC Bag Features

The Throwback pack has four fasted-buckle-equipped compression straps, two to each side of the bag. The wide, lightly padded shoulder straps also have fasted buckles for quickly ditching the bag, and a sternum strap to help prevent sway.

At the top of the Throwback, you will find a top carry handle and a small, modest leather maker’s tag. Below the carry strap is a sleeve commonly found on day bags and frequently used to hold a Camelbak-type bladder. This open-topped sleeve is secured with Velcro and can be used to carry a small, thin computer. While not ideal for rucking the Throwback about the countryside, this application works well for carrying your computer to the local coffee shop. 

GGG with laptop

The Grey Ghost Gear Throwback pack is available in color combos of Black/Olive Drab, Black/Grey, Black with Wolf Grey buckles & zippers, or (as was our test sample), Olive Drab/Field Tan. The two-tone waxed canvas looks sharp and definitely gives the bag a more “outdoor” look. We found the bag to hold just the right amount of gear we commonly carry, and to not scream “this guy has a gun!” in urban environments.

The downsides?

Waxed canvas ain’t cheap, and neither is this day bag. GGG does its best to keep its prices low and competitive, but they can’t do much about the complex process of making the special fabric. We’ve used other waxed canvas gear over the years and love its look, feel, and performance.

If you’re looking for a quality bag that doesn’t make you look like you’re deploying to Dirka-Dirkastan, you might want to give the Grey Ghost Gear Throwback a look. It’s become one of our favorite bags, and it’s likely to become yours as well. 

Nate Murr

Nate Murr

About the Author

Nate is a former USMC Sergeant turned nasty civilian and idiosyncratic inventor. He lives largely on nicotine, whiskey, and hate and can be frequently found orating Kipling poems to frightened hipsters. A renowned procrastinator and storied adventure protagonist, Murr is a graduate of the Camp Lejeune School for Wayward Boys. A combat veteran of multiple tours in Iraq and Africa, he was a Marine NCO, Infantry Platoon Sergeant and Scout Sniper team leader. Murr is a fully qualified American Jedi, self-described handsome badass and world-renowned field barista (true story - he's brewed great coffee on at least four continents). As anyone who has spent any time talking gear with him, Murr is something of an idiot savant when it comes finger-fucking stuff to make it work better. Nate only chain smokes when he's drinking, and only drinks every day. We reckon he is probably best described as a sociopathic philosopher with vestigial cutthroat (though poetic) tendencies. Thus far Murr's writing has appeared in such places as here on Breach-Bang-Clear, on Military.com, in field shitters and portajohns on at least 3 continents, in RECOIL Magazine and of course Penthouse letters. You can follow him and his company at @frontier_resolve on Instagram.

3 Comments

  1. JESullivan

    GREAT GRANDPA MY ASS!! That’s how I camped back in the lats 50s early 60s!! Clear thru until the 70s & 80s brought us the aforementioned super fabrics. No more drippy tents, itchy wool next to the skin, or damp cotton that would never dry! And wet boots & feet,,,sweating under rubber coated rain gear,,,damn, within a couple years of returning from SEAsia, I was living large in the Rockies, with killer gear that just keeps getting better.I still have my first Lowe Alpine Systems internal frame BlackPack… thanks for the memories.

    Reply
  2. Thomas Hodges

    It looks as though Steampunk is making its way into the Wonderful World of EDC.

    Reply
  3. voodoo_man

    will it take an AR15 folded?

    Reply

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