Video Review: LL Bean Ridge Runner 25 L $100

Video review:

The good stuff:

The LL Bean Ridge Runner is a 25 L crossover daypack that can only be purchased through LL Bean.  That's okay, though, as LL Bean is one of the most reputable companies on earth.  They have the most liberal return policy that has been copied by others but rarely matched.


The pack has a lot of extras I did not expect to find.  The suspension system is outstanding with a wide, winged hip belt, comfortable and not overly padded shoulder straps, and a stiff back with channels for air flow.  It is rare to have a suspension system with these kind of details on a non-technical pack.  I really appreciate it.

The divided organizational panel is correctly placed outside of the main compartment and is secured with a waterproof zipper.  Once again a nice touch given that you will likely put your cell phone in this compartment.  There are also large mesh side pockets - a feature I wish for but don't often get - that can easily hold a full sized Nalgene bottle.  The Ridge Runner has an additional front slash pocket secured with another waterproof zipper.

The main compartment is secured with a zipper that wraps 270 degrees around the pack giving it the ability to function as a top loader and panel loader.  It is a clever design that works.  Inside, on the back wall (one closest to your back when wearing the pack), is a combination laptop and hydration bladder sleeve made of neoprene.  A 15 inch laptop fits in here snugly and, despite the fact that there is no security buckle to hold in your laptop, when I held the pack upside down (unzipped), the laptop was held in the sleeve.

In addition to the laptop sleeve, there is a tablet pocket that can be accessed from the top or the side.  The top uses a zipper while the side entry uses Velcro.  On the opposite wall of the main compartment there is a gusseted sleeve with an elastic top edge that seems ideal for tossing in power blocks, a sandwich, or a paperback.  It certainly seems handy. Lastly there is yet one more zippered mesh pocket on this same wall above the gusseted sleeve  There are a lot of pockets on this pack!

The bad stuff:

Despite having a 270 degree zipper, there is a dreaded compression strap that crosses the zipper on one side of the pack.  You need to navigate around it to open up the pack fully.  This is really a shame.  If you ever wanted to use the side access of option of the tablet pocket, I can't imagine that you would ever want to clip this particular compression strap as it would be something you would need to undo every time you used you tablet (and if you are like me, this happens frequently).  That said, the opening is just large enough to access your stuff in the bottom of the bag when you open the zipper to the compression strap limits.  Overall, I think compression straps are more of a headache than they are useful.

The neoprene laptop sleeve is great at keeping the laptop in, but it is also a pain when it comes to removing the laptop.  Expect to go through a few wiggles and gyration of the bag to extract your laptop from this pocket's tenacious grip.  Furthermore, the openings for the tablet pocket are a bit small and require you to really work hard to insert or take out a tablet with a reasonably compact case.

The slash pocket on the front, as I said above, is a great idea.  Unfortunately, its implementation is poor.  The pocket has a mesh "window" on one side that shows what you have in the pocket.  This is fine if it is a granola bar, but much less fine if it is plane tickets or a wallet.  I am not sure why it is important for me to see what is in that pocket.  What's more, the pocket is secured with a waterproof pocket.  Huh?  Waterproof on one side and mesh on the other?  It's like poking a hole in your inflatable raft so you can store change inside of it.  Very odd mix.  Also, the divided organizer panel is way too shallow.  It will not hold a pen without zipper interference!

Lastly, while the suspension system looks great, it doesn't feel that great.  Obviously this is going to be very dependent on your anatomy, but the grooves hit me in the wrong places on my back.  The lower edge of my shoulder blades just happen to line up with the top of a pair of the high density foam "ridges." I would imagine that over several miles, this might drive me crazy.  I think that LL Bean may have over engineered this back a bit.

Summary:

There is no doubt that LL Bean put a lot of effort in to the design of this pack.  Unfortunately, effort is only part of the battle.  In the end, execution is most important and in this regard, the Ridge Runner comes up short on too many fronts.  In many ways I think that the pack was over-designed with too many bells and whistles.  A simpler design with a greater attention to the details of that remained might have been a better strategy.

Grade:  B (Lots to like but lots that annoys, too)

Photos:

The Ridge Runner from the front.  You can see that there is lots to explore here.

The shallow yet well-placed divided organizer panel.

The side.  Note the main zipper carries down the entire length of the pack through a compression strap (yuck!).

Here is the other side of the pack.  Note that the main zipper ends just above the compression strap on this side.

The impressive suspension system!

The front slash pocket (with mesh window).  The zipper is a waterproof design.

The laptop and tablet pockets inside of the main compartment.

The tablet pocket can be used as a top loader or a side loader.

The gusseted pocket and mesh zippered pocket on the wall of the outer wall of the main compartment.