Whether you’re headed to the office, going out on a hike, or traveling to places both near and far, the last thing you want is for the gear and clothes in your pack getting wet because you got caught out in the rain. Hauling your essentials in a waterproof bag is even more important when you factor in the value of your expensive electronics like your laptop, tablet, and camera. But you don’t need to go big and bulky or sacrifice features for waterproof convenience thanks to the EDC enthusiasts over at Black Ember. They’ve been making quality everyday carry friendly packs for years now with their own distinctive technical look, and they’ve put everything they’ve learned into their new SHADOW minimal waterproof pack. The end result is a slim and sleek water-proof pack built for all your essential tech and ready for any adventure.
A lot of bags bill themselves as suitable for slim EDC, but when you actually put them on your back you find they’re bigger and more ungainly than you thought at first glance. That’s not the case with the Black Ember SHADOW, which was designed at the outset to let you carry 22 or 26 liters of gear in a sleek and streamlined package enough for both urban travel and outdoors carry alike. And it’s able to do this while being seriously waterproof, water-jet tested at IPX6 rating to resist liquid ingress at up to 1200 psi. This incredible feat is made possible thanks to the deployment of Microhex HTX 3-layer crossweave technical fabric and YKK Aquaguard zippers. All seams on the back are bond-stitched together for the best of both worlds: durable bonds and seams sealed against the elements, all so you can carry your gear with confidence even if you find yourself in a pouring monsoon.
But all that capacity and protection won’t matter if actually loading and unloading the pack was inconvenient. A front quick-access pocket provides handy organization for keys and other small essentials, and Black Ember’s gives the SHADOW a full clamshell lay-flat zippered opening to make packing simple and efficient. Unzip the interlocking Hypalon zipper pulls and you have full access to the internals and organization spaces of the bag, so that you don’t have to rummage around to get something small at the bottom of the bag.
Take a look and you’ll see that there’s a suspended 15″ laptop and tablet sleeve, and on the facing side there’s a dedicated tech kit built into the bag that lets you organize cables and small tech gadgets in one location. This tech kit hangs over a couple of mesh pockets for expandable storage and a water bottle. Once you have the bag loaded up, you’ll appreciate the ventilated mesh padding on the back panel, and on closer inspection you’ll see the strap stow sections that let you streamline the look of the bag and make it more sleek for professional carry in an office. Going down the center of the bag you’ll notice the luggage-passthrough feature of the bag, letting you put it on top of a larger roll bag for carry on use. Grab handles on each sides and and adjustable straps on the bottom for a jacket or other rolled accessory round out its versatile carry options.
Black Ember has a long history of delivering quality everyday carry gear, and the SHADOW series is finally here in your choice of 22L or 26L sizes. If having top tier tech and accessory organization and impenetrable water resistance are big factors for choosing your next EDC bag, check out the SHADOW at the link below.
