Introduction
Deceptive in its capacity, Fight Or Perish’s incredibly discrete and compact EDC Pack is exactly what I’d been missing for everyday carry; seen here with one of their Laser Cut Call Sign Patches.
Capacity
The EDC pack literally takes everything I need when travelling light: phone, keys, wallet, work ID and meds . To be fair I’m carrying my wallet less and less nowadays when my mobile does pretty much everything I need, from contactless to travel pass.
Indeed, without the wallet this pouch will take a much larger mobile like an iPhone 11 Pro Max, which I was able to test out.
Form Factor and Features
At only 2cm deep, the pack is incredibly low profile. It’s approximately 17cm wide and 12.5cm tall.
Its face exhibits end to end loop velcro, evidently colour matched in MC Black.
A nice touch on the reverse is the inclusion of padded spacer mesh for comfort and breathability; plus, a branded label.
I’m also pleased to note that there’s no ‘secret slip pocket’ on the back. These invariably include a zip which proceeds to chew the wearer’s T-shirt over time.
The waist strap (or transverse torso strap, if you’re going all County Lines) is quality webbing, secured with an ITW Nexus clip – the made in USA brand leader.
Excess strap is tidied by a low profile, colour matched, Waterbury branded tri-glide – again by ITW.
Now, something rarely seen but always welcome with this kind of pack strap is elastication. Fight Or Perish’s EDC Pack features an ingenious 2-way stretch segment, connecting ITW clip to pack body. This means you don’t have to adjust the strap when layering lightly.
The mouth of the pouch features a chunky zip – relatively oversized for this application but in a good way (it’s not fiddly and it’s not going to foul like a smaller-toothed zip).
Similarly chunky, the zip pull has been replaced with paracord and heat shrink.
However, the special sauce here is the way the zip extends around the corners of the pack. This makes organising or retrieving contents much easier for those of us with large hands, as the opening gapes way wider than a zip which terminates at the corners.
With regards to internal organisation, the divider/compartment I use for my phone (situated to the left in the pic above) is secured with an elastic strap, which fastens with velcro.
This seems most suitable for electronic items as it’s the most drop-proof position in the pack. That’s because the compartment’s floor is raised slightly above the base of the pack – much like a well designed PC compartment in a back pack.
Quality
Don’t be afraid to turn stuff inside out, because this is where manufacturers hide their dirty deeds. That said, Fight Or Perish’s EDC Pack is really well made, exhibiting neat stitching and beefy taping.
Conclusion
I’ve got to be honest – I’m no designer myself, but I absolutely love looking at well designed kit and trying to articulate its genius in writing. So, I make no apologies for getting really excited about this product. Seemingly simple though it is, it’s taken a lot of thought to design and execute.
In fact there’s only one thing I’d like to see with this pouch: the addition of loop velcro on the inside face opposite the internal divider. This would allow more organisation options, without robbing the pack of too much space.
How it carries
For me, how something carries is at least as important as all the other design factors – if not more so. I’m not a huge fan of spacer mesh on pack straps, but on the reverse of the EDC Pack it’s appropriate and works incredibly well. It adds a small amount of depth, but not so much that the pack looks or feels carbuncular. On the contrary – it’s slim and highly conformal.
Provenance
One of the two guys behind Fight Or Perish was kind enough to speak to me about the EDC Pack. It’s made by a company that I’m a huge fan of, which I see as the UK’s best tactical nylon brand. That particular company doesn’t manufacture for just anyone, so my assumption is that Fight Or Perish is very well connected.
Once I knew that, hands on with the pack was really no surprise. It’s incredibly well made, and far less dorky than the usual bum bag/fanny pack form factor.
True – the MC Black colourway helps with presentation. It’s satisfying to EDC an accessory with a nod to the tactical, without looking like you’re LARPing.
The EDC Pack is available direct from Fight Or Perish
The Reptile House 