Freitag Dragnet Review: After one year
About one year ago, I posted my initial review of my Freitag Dragnet bag. Since then, this post has been one of the most successful posts of my site. So here comes the follow-up post with some of my thoughts after one year of usage.
First of all, I am happy to report that the bag is still going strong after all this time and a nearly daily usage (I use this bag for both school and work so it gets a lot of wear and tear). Well, now you can definately tell that the bag is no longer new and got a bit of usage, but it is still without any damages and holds up extremely well. So lets get to it…
The Good
The absolutely best feature of this bag is its expanding top part. When I wanted to go swim after school, I simply put my swimming stuff on top of my school utilities and expanded the top, secured it and went off. Everything fits inside (see pictures)! I don’t need to carry around an extra bag with my surf shorts and bath towel around.
Another great thing is its durability and easy cleaning. Since the bag is made out of truck tarp, it takes quite a bit of abuse. To clean it, I simply used a brush and a lot of water. Simple. Since there are no parts that could be damaged by water (no padding or anything like that), you can literally drown the bag and hang it out into the sun to dry it. The bag itself is water-resistant and works excellent in rain or snow. Because the way the inside folds away, water has no way of getting in.
Oh, and another thing: simplicity. There is not much on the bag itself that breaks or could rip off. Inside you have a small compartment for loose papers and the main compartment for your books and devices (see pictures above). Outside, there is a small pocket to store small things such as keys, ID cards, earbuds, pens, change…
The Bad
Alright, lets get to the things that are not so great. One of these things is the shoulder strap and its method of fastening. When carrying heavy stuff (books, laptops and loads of paper) the fastening mechanism tends to slide a little, if not dramatically. This means that once a month I re-adjust the bag to a higher position on my back. But don’t get me wrong here, when carrying my usual stuff around, the fastening mechanism does its job excellently.
Because my particular bag is white, you can see where the weak spots are. Namely, these spots are near the shoulder strap, on the bottom corners and on the edges of the bag on the inside. The material holds up quite nicely and I am certain that this will stay that way in the next year or so. After that, we will have to see how the tarps hold up.
Oh yeah, and remember that shoulder pad I bought? It’s not necessary.
Conclusion
Would I recommend this bag? Oh absolutely. It is well fitted for daily usage to work as well as school where you need to carry heavy books and tons of paper. It easily fits two 15″ laptops plus your usual nuts and bolts that come along in everyday life and is perfect for lugging around your school books and binders.
- Excellent flexibility, fits almost everything
- Quality is good, only minor weak spots
- Pockets are well tought trough
- Shoulder strap mechanism not optimal, but works fine in everyday life
- A little wear can be seen on the inside