Alpha One Niner Evade 1.0X Review
The Evade 1.0X is a bag that commemorates Alpha One Niner’s (A19) tenth anniversary (hence the “X”) in business. It goes back to its early roots with the Recon Nine backpack (informally called the Evade 1.0) with a size of 21 L, but updating it with a new evolved design and with a specific lux material palette to reflect Helmie’s taste. It’s also the precursor to the new Evade 1.5’s design. What makes the Evade 1.0X special, and how did it perform in my testing? Well, read on because that’s why you’re here!
Overview
- 21 L volume, making it optimal for everyday carry
- 3.5 lbs
- Black X-50 exterior fabric, 1050D ballistic nylon on the bottom, UltraGrid lining in Dark Chili, and leather accents
- Roughly 3-compartment layout: laptop sleeve, main compartment, and admin compartment. Additional quick access pockets on the exterior including dual water bottle holders
- Elastic luggage handle pass-through
Organization
Quick Access Pockets
There are 2 external zipped quick access pockets. The top quick access pocket on the front is lined with a soft fabric. It’s a great size for dumping your small items like ear buds, sunglasses, lip balm, and a compact flashlight.
The bottom zippered pocket has a rain flap so opening and closing has more friction than I usually like. It does compete with the bottom space of the admin compartment. Although it feels flat, I’m able to comfortably keep my laptop power brick and cord in this pocket.
Admin Pocket
Front admin panel has one zippered pocket on the back, a plastic keyring, and two horizontal slip pockets. These pockets are best for relatively flat and rectangular items. The compartment extends all the way to the bottom so you can also stash items inside without using any of the interior org.
There is loop on the outside of the slip pockets that will accept one of the modular organizer panels. It’s a little bit of a tight fit to affix in place, but once it’s precisely positioned, you’re good. With the organizer, you get a lot more granular organization (pen slots, phone pocket, card holders), but the pockets are still limited to pretty flat items. In practice I mostly didn’t use the organizer panels because they offered more pockets than I needed — but it just depends on how much you carry and how you prefer to organize.
Main + Laptop Compartment
Behind the front panel there is a top opaque zippered pocket and a bottom zippered mesh pocket. However, because the main compartment zipper doesn’t extend all the way to the bottom of the bag, it creates a crease in the mesh pocket when the front panel is open, making it difficult to fully pack. This layout has remained the same in all the previous Evades, though in the Recon Nine both pockets were mesh.
Along the back wall there is a sleeve for flat items like a tablet, folders, or notebook. Above it is a single row of PALS webbing. I like this a lot because it helps utilize the volume at the very top of the bag while keeping things in place. I’ve used it to mount a small pouches or clip a flashlight. You can also use small S-biners to hang other items near the top so you don’t need to rummage for them in the main cavity.
Above the PALS webbing, the top of the wall is attached via Velcro, which allows micro adjustment to shift volume between the main compartment and rear laptop compartment. In practice I didn’t adjust this much, but it is an interesting design feature that is unique and could slightly improve weight distribution if say, you aren’t using the laptop compartment and want to load more in the main compartment.
The laptop compartment has a dedicated rear zipper and is just a sleeve that is padded on both sides. Some bags omit padding on the wall between the laptop and main compartment and I think this is a big miss, so even though it seems like an unremarkable feature, I don’t take it for granted.
Lots of organization…but
My biggest critical feedback with the organization of this bag is there isn’t really a medium-ish pocket that can fit bulky items without cannibalizing space elsewhere. Something like the pockets on the outside of the TOM BIHN Synik or the front horizontal pocket on the EVERGOODS CTB26. The closest would be the pockets behind the front flap, but those expand inward and take away volume from the main compartment.
Materials and Feel
As mentioned earlier, the Evade 1.0X was made as a premium product with heartier materials.
The exterior is a black X-50, which is 500D nylon with the laminate cross-ply reinforcement underneath. It feels like regular Cordura but has the increased tear resistance from X-Pac. It also attracts hair and dust like typical Cordura.
There are matte TPU-coated zippers on the exterior for water resistance. These are a little stiff and require some force to open/close, but the action is otherwise smooth. The bottom front pocket has a rain flap so it uses a regular RC zipper. The zipper pulls are leather tabs to add that premium touch.
The leather top handle is solid, like literally. I don’t know how long it should take to get softer but so far it’s remained very rigid. It’s easy to grab and comfortable to carry, but is kind of big to use for hanging the bag unless you use a carabiner or something like a HeroClip or 8Timber gear hook.
The interior liner is a dark red chili with a ripstop grid made by Challenge. It looks and feels a lot like the halcyon fabric TOM BIHN uses in their bags which makes sense since both are UHMWPE fabrics. It feels strong and doesn’t “stick.”
A magnetic V-buckle Fidlock on the sternum strap is overkill, but satisfying especially if you’ve never used something like it before. Because it’s metal it’s one of the heavier components on the bag, but that also adds to the premium vibe.
The luggage pass-through strap is attached with elastic bands at the ends. I’m guessing this is to make it easier to put over a luggage handle, but it feels like a weak point in an otherwise solid build. Granted it is thicker bands of elastic, but if you plan on using the luggage pass-through a lot I could see this getting worn out. More on my critique of this feature later…
Comfort and Usability
My biggest gripe with the previous Evade 1.5 was its heavy weight (4.5 lbs empty!). For a bag carrying a minimal EDC load, that could be close to 50% of the total weight, which just doesn’t make sense when you think about it. So, I’m happy to report that the Evade 1.0X was able to shed a pound and hit 3.5 lbs. It’s still on the heavier side for a 21 L bag (with a laptop and DSLR it’s very heavy), but the reduction is noticeable and welcome nonetheless.
The straps felt quite thick/beefy when I first handled the bag and thought they might be overkill. But after wearing the bag all day while sightseeing, I never felt pressure points or soreness on my shoulders, and this is without load-lifters. So the beefiness is well worth it in my book. This harness is very similar to the Whitley, so if you liked that bag you should have a similar experience with this one.
I appreciate that the bottom of the bag is padded and flat so that it can stand on its own. The front panel does have a natural crease along the bottom zippered pocket so the bag tends to lean forward a bit, but as long as you have something dense on the floor of the bag it’ll almost always stand just fine. I like that I can set the bag down and retrieve things without needing to lean the bag against anything or worrying about the bottom sliding out. Having it be very stable makes it easy to access any of the pockets because they’re all oriented for top access.
A few gripes —
- The luggage pass-through strap orientation is vertical, which is really inconsistent with the rest of the bag. Getting it through a luggage handle is a little awkward because there’s no side handle on the bag, which means you have to hold it at the ends like a box. And once it’s on, it’s sideways so accessing the compartments is a bit unnatural. For a bag like the CTB26 it’s fine because a lot of the pockets are oriented sideways, but everything on the Evade is for top access. It feels like a miss that when the bag is on roller luggage it becomes much harder to use. Plus it looks slightly imbalanced because the shape of the bag is not rectangular.
- The bag overall is kinda bulky — I’m torn because the structure it has makes it easy to use, but the flip side of that it’s not the most “agile” pack to wear.
- The leather zipper pulls are kind of too slick/slippery to provide a good grip. The zippers are stiff so they require some force but at least all the paths are smooth and there are no difficult corners to go around.
- Lastly the V-buckle magnetic sternum strap sometimes automatically attaches when I’m not wearing the bag, which makes it a little inconvenient when I do need to wear the bag and have to first detach the two halves.
Aesthetics
The Evade 1.0X only comes in one color way, given its limited commemorative nature. It’s fully blacked out for a clean and stealthy look, albeit with a more masculine appearance. I think it would fit in well in formal business settings, though I’m not the best judge of this because I’m never in formal business settings.
The subtle X-ply pattern gives away the fact that this bag has more muscle and technical prowess than it otherwise might appear to have. Otherwise the general vibe is a dressed up bag, especially with the clean and slightly glossy leather accents and lack of exterior PALS and straps/shock cord. The bag more or less has a conventional layout, with modernity in the materials. It’s definitely not an outdoorsy-looking bag, but is built tough enough to be used as one.
There is a leather patch in the bottom corner that is removable so you can affix your own flair, but the loop field is a somewhat no -conventional size (2 x 1.5 inches) which, along with the placement at the bottom, limits what you can put on it. On the other hand, because it’s not front and center, the branding is minimized and gives the bag a less tactical look.
Summary
The Evade 1.0X is an excellent bag for everyday carry and so-so as a travel companion if you plan to use the luggage pass-through. It has plenty of organization that is easily accessible from the top if you have the bag set on the ground, and the 21 L volume is more than enough for a laptop with some tech accessories, book, snacks, and a jacket. The lack of a three dimensional medium dump pocket that doesn’t take away volume from other pockets might deter some, but it’s not a dealbreaker.
At $349, it is an expensive bag, especially in the context of A19’s previous backpacks. However, given that it is a special edition, the price is in line with the Carryology Cobra that was released a few years earlier.
Many backpacks on the higher-end have a trade-off between number of features and simplicity (e.g. the CPL 24 and GR1/Bullet don’t have water bottle pockets, the Alpha 31 or Minaal Carry-on can’t stand on its own). But the Evade is a bag that compromises very little when it comes to features, yet is made with high quality materials and craftsmanship. So you do get a lot of utility with the premium price.
If, however, you don’t need the premium material palette of the Evade 1.0X, and are OK with a bigger bag at 25 L, then you should definitely consider the latest Evade 1.5.
Thanks for reading this review! Check out everything else we’re using and testing on our Instagram.
