![]() To me, this is less of a travel sling and more of a work sling that you can take for travel if you wanted (but it doesn't pack well for onebag purposes).įor all these negatives, I just want to stress: I went through a lot of research and trial-and-error to end up picking the ATS as my EDC and for daily use, I'm more than happy with that decision. That's not a unique issue to this kind/size of sling bag but it's just something worth considering. Lastly, as I and other reviewers have noted though, the rigidity of the construction (which helps give the bag its sleek shape) can make it difficult to stuff things in the main compartment like a light jacket or a water bottle. Maybe other users really didn't like the zippered mesh pocket but for me, it's one of the organizational features I use most. In other words, it's an open pocket.that already has something blocking its access/use. Instead, it's a deeper open pocket but it has its utility hampered by the fact the quick access pocket sits in it too. The ATS 2 does not have that pocket anymore. To me, this was the perfect place to secure my cords or any other small items I'd normally use with my laptop. ![]() I noticed on the ATS 2 that one big difference from the V1 is that the V1 has a zippered mesh pocket that runs the top length of the main compartment (opposite the laptop section). While I certainly wouldn't call this a deal-breaker, it does feel like a design oversight: you shouldn't have one component in the bag acting destructively on another component. The simple solution would be just to use the strap (and thus cover the securing tab) but I think the better way to go would have been to move the rough side of the velcro system to the strap and have the securing tab be smooth (and therefore, unlikely to fray the nylon seams on the other side of the bag). That, in turn, has cause nylon fibers to fray out and the velcro tab catches on those fibers, thus causing even more fray. This is a construction issue that I hope Aer fixed in the ATS 2: if you don't use the laptop strap internally - and I usually do not - then the "rough" velcro securing tab rubs against the nylon stitching on the other side of the bag. It's not worthless but given the amount of real estate they give it, it's not well utilized in my opinion. ![]() It's like an overqualified, secondary quick access pocket. It'll fit small, flat things without much problem but overall, it's hard to find much use for it beyond a small notebook and some pens. The outer pocket (not the quick access one, the longer one) is of limited use, mostly because there's not much give there. Overall, I'd give it a solid 8.5/10 (would have been higher if not for some of the smaller issues that have cropped up): I like the ATS as my EDC bag quite a bit: it's just the right size for my needs (laptop, maybe a book or two, cords, etc.), it's easy to pick up and wear, it's not oversized, etc. Late pass but I have the first-gen ATS as my primary EDC bag and the V2 isn't dramatically different so I think the same pros/cons hold either way.
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