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Missed another Pro:
Maxpedition functionality at a lower price
Overall, a good review. I have both the Pantac as well as the Maxpedition versions of the same pouch (and you're right, it's the Jumbo Versipack).
It's not an exact 1:1 replica in terms of materials, functionarlity and pocket layouts, but it's good enough. I used mine for a solid month through Asia and within that one month, the 600D Cordura had already begin showing some wear. That wasn't acceptable to me, but for others, it's more than acceptable considering the price.
Having owned a Thermite Versipack for years without any issues at all and getting used to the real 1000D Cordura that Maxpedition uses, the Pantac replica felt "cheap", although it was much more comfortable. 1000D Cordura is very very stiff and it took years of use on my Thermite to finally really break it in.
A couple of things that bugged me about the Pantac replica:
The large zipper that accesses the document/CCW pouch behind the main pouch: the zipper clasp has a very large opening that would consistently allow the attached 550 paracord pull to slip out. I've lost that paracord pull several times already and replaced it as many times. Annoying as hell and I've tried hammering that gap tighter to no avail.
2nd Annoyance is a minor one: the buckle on the cell phone pocket isn't placed properly. Actually, more like the flap just isn't made long enough. Due to the length of the flap and the size of the buckle, there is no consideration taken towards the girth of any objects to be placed in there. The flap does not bend and is straight as a board from the seam out. If you have even a moderately thick item (I tried putting a 1.5cm thick HTC Touch cell phone in there), it won't close properly. Well it would, but it just looks funny because the flap & buckle stick out. It also places stress on the contents if the buckle is pressed down.
Anyways, being annoyed by these little things and knowing how good Maxpedition stuff really is, I actually felt bad for buying a replica that Maxpedition put R&D into. I gave in and bought the real thing and find I never go for the replica anymore.
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