Like most geeks out there, I carry a laptop and the sundry odds and ends it needs for work.  I used backpacks from Targus for several years, which were wonderful backpacks, but they were so large that I found myself throwing more and more crap into them as time went on.  Eventually, I was carrying as much junk to work as I used to take on ruck marches.

When my backpack wore out, I decided to go in another direction.  I wanted a laptop bag that was rugged, could carry enough stuff that I wouldn’t have to stuff it every day in order to get to work, but wasn’t so big that I could just keep chucking stuff into it.

I saw several people at the NRA Annual Meeting carrying small bags from Maxpedition, so I took a look at their line.  They have everything from the tactical man purse to rucksacks and everything in between.  My range carries a few things from them, so I was able to take a look at the quality of their work, and I was impressed.  I eventually settled on the Maxpedition Mongo Versipack.

Photo from Maxpedition website

The Mongo is big enough I can put a Dell laptop, power supply, a Logitech trackball mouse, a water bottle, a notebook, and my lunch without any crowding.  When I want to, I can fit in a Macbook, its power supply, a novel, and a few more things before having to wonder about how I’m going to close the main zippers and buckles.  Honestly, weight is the limiting factor.  The Mongo is a messenger bag, so the carrying strap is worn across your chest and shoulders.  Too much weight in the bag means discomfort in the shoulder.

Most of my EDC Crap

All the EDC crap in one convenient package, with a bit of room for lunch, another computer, or whatever

It carries exactly as much as I need for a day, but not much more.  It definitely keeps me from putting ever increasing amounts of crap into my bag.

The bag is well made and rugged.  I have used it as a laptop bag, diaper bag, picnic basket, and odds and ends bag while hunting.  It carries just about everything I need or want, and shows no wear after several months of use.  Cleaning the fabric is pretty simple.  I just use a wet dishrag and some liquid soap, and any schmutz comes off with a little elbow grease.

The bag has pockets and pouches for everything, including a water bottle holder with a drain hole, several pockets for whatever you carry, and a cellphone/MP3 player carrier on the strap.  The phone carrier holds my iPhone very well when it is in a slim case, but my OtterBox rubberized case was too big for it.

The phone carrier holds very securely, and has some expansion for larger phones

Interior pocket.  Hook and loop material on both sides allows for addition of accessories

One of two key hooks.  This one is located on the strap, the other one is in the front pocket. This is very convenient when going through airport security.

One quibble on this is that there is a LOT of hook and loop material on the bag.  When you’re trying to be quiet in the woods while carrying it, you’re going to make noise getting your water bottle out or opening up one of the pockets.  Also, hook and loop is a magnet for dirt and burrs when you’re walking through the woods.  Most of the time I have spent cleaning the bag up has been spent picking something out of the loop material.

One upshot of the hook and loop is that you can put on hook and loop patches. I got a nametape from Military Names, and it is easily put on and taken off of the hook and loop panel on top of the bag.

Maxpedition has a lot of extra pouches and other doodads that you can buckle, velcro, or strap to its bags.  These include a hook and loop ‘universal’ holster and magazine carrier for off-body carry.  Again, weight is a limiting factor in a messenger bag.  The more stuff you carry and strap onto your bag, the more weight the strap across your deltoids is going to have to sit under.  The strap is padded, but there is a point where it would be too much.

Two things that might give someone pause in buying the Mongo are its appearance and price.  Maxpedition is unapologetically making ‘tactical’ bags, which means they look like something you could take on patrol.  Unless your office is behind Baghdad barriers, you’re not going to blend in with the rest of the IT crowd.  Also, their color selections appear to be brown, green, or black, or some variation thereof.  I chose the more subdued of their greens, which they call ‘foliage’.

Maxpedition’s prices are a bit steep when compared to laptop bags from Targus or Swiss Army, but you definitely get what you pay for.  I’ve been using this bag every day for six months, and it has no sign of wear or stain.  Maxpedition lists the bag for $157.99, but Amazon has them for $112.  Either way, it’s more than I had ever spent on an EDC bag, but I expect that it will last far longer than the less expensive bags that I considered.

Overall, the Mongo is a good value, as long as you plan on using it often and for a long time.  Its looks might not be for everyone, but it is a good bag for carrying those things you need for your day and nothing more.

Almost forgot:  Disclaimer – I was given no compensation for doing this review.  I purchased the equipment with my own money.

A couple of months ago, I destroyed my third set of Apple headphones for my iPhone.  I like the soft rubber sort of noise isolation kind rather than the cheaper ear buds, so that means I’ve spent about $200 on headphones.  Yeah, I’m an idiot.  The main thing that would happen was that I would either lose the soft earbuds, which Apple does not seem to sell replacements for and 3rd party replacements didn’t fit quite right, or cut/break the wire when working on something.  BTW, if you ever want to hear good, honest to God American cussing, take a recording of my rant when I cut through the cord of $75 earphones with a hedge trimmer.

I decided to try a wireless headphone this time.  I needed them to be relatively light, stereo, and with good audio and range. 

A little research led me to the LG Tone HBS-700 BlueTooth headset, which gave me everything I need for less than another wired set from Apple. 

The Tone is different from any of the other BlueTooth headsets I tried out.  The set hangs across the back of the neck, with wired earphones that go up to the ears. This means they’re a lot more comfortable to wear than the other stereo BlueTooth headsets I looked at, which tended to be the over the ear type with more of the weight of the set being put on the ears.  When not in use, the back of each earpiece clips magnetically to the front of the set. 

Audio quality is pretty good.  It’s not as good as the high end Bose sets I looked at, but it costs 1/3 as much.  The sound quality is definitely better than most of the over the ear sets I looked at.  The noise isolation works as well as any other non-noise cancelling set that has the rubber inserts but not the noise cancelling electronics.

Controls are pretty intuitive.  One side has the on/off switch, volume control, and the button for answering the phone and initiating voice commands on your phone.  The other side has a stop/start button and the reverse/fast forward button. 

The set latched onto my iPhone and laptop pretty easily.  One quibble I have with the set is that once I mated it with my laptop after using it for a while with my phone, it didn’t want to go back to working with the iPhone again.  I eventually had to shut down the laptop entirely, then go through several rounds of the link-up procedure to get it to work. 

Battery life on the set is pretty good.  It’s advertised as having 10 hours of talk time with 15 days of idle time.  My experience is that I can listen to music and make phone calls for between 6 and 8 hours before the annoying “Charge me” beep starts to go off.  Recharging is done through a wall wart transformer that connects to a small port on the inside of the right wing of the set.  Recharging is advertised as taking 2.5 hours, which is pretty much my experience.  One downside on this is that while recharging, the headset turns itself off, so using it while recharging doesn’t happen. 

LG lists the range on the Tone as being 33 feet, and while I’ve never done a measured straightline test, that sounds about right for unobstructed connection.  I can easily leave the phone on the table in the living room and go pretty much anywhere on the same floor and still have a good connection.  I did have some issues with range when I kept my phone in an OtterBox case, but when I changed to another case, the issue went away. 

The Tone seems to be pretty rugged.  I’ve used it while working outside and while exercising, and it holds up to dirt and sweat pretty well.  I haven’t gotten them totally drenched in water, but they are advertised as being water resistant, not water proof.  The problem of the rubber earbuds falling off with the Apple headphones hasn’t cropped up, probably because I’m not pulling them loose by tripping of a wire and ripping them out of my ears on a regular basis.

Overall, I’d say that the HBS-700 is a good value. It’s comfortable, has good sound quality and range, pretty good battery life, and doesn’t fall apart through normal use.

Disclaimer:  I received nothing for doing this review.  I purchased the product with my own money.

OH GOD MAKE IT STOP!  THE PAIN!  THE BAD ACTING!  THE OVERPLAYED CLICHES!  GET THAT BLOODY LA-LA-LA SONG OUT OF MY HEAD!  KILL IT!  KILL IT WITH FIRE!