Ivar Alta

Was looking for a pack to be an everyday carry for whatever the day called for. Some days that would be a binder, books and possibly lunch. Other days a change of clothing and some water would be what I needed. So looked and looked for a backpack that could wear well and accomplish all this.

Came across this Ivar pack and like the concept. It makes sense to me. Watched their video on YouTube, tried to find reviews but not much out there on these. So chose the largest pack in their line-up, 2800 cubic inches pack. Unfortunately, my first impressions were not what I'd hoped for.

The pack felt "cheaply" made. The zippers were thin and not very smooth. The teeth kept getting caught up. The outside fabric was thin and felt flimsy and though I didn't test it, don't believe it would hold up against a heavy rain. The inside had the dividers but they were not stiff so any real weight on them would make them sage. Plus there were threads hanging from the pack that weren't cut or finished, appeared that the sewer just rushed through the task and missed a final stage in the 'finishing'. Also didn't carry for the placement of where the laptop would sit within the bag. The base of the pack has no cushioning and thus your laptop if not in some type of protective sleeve would be very vulnerable to damage if you weren't careful.

The concept didn't translate well from paper to the actual use, in my opinion. This is a $100 backpack and that's put this pack at rather high price point for a non-technical day backpack. There are many, many, many packs out there for far less money aimed at the same type of user. Some of the competition is using Ballistic Nylon or Cordura Nylon, both of which are very strong fabrics. Ivar is using a lighter weight nylon fabric.

I think the designer of this pack has a great idea and concept but build quality is not up to the price point. The bag does have water bottle pockets on the outside, and a dedicated organizer pocket. The shoulder harness was frankly just average. Not bad, but definitely not great. Other brands in this price point offer more technology in this area. I think this is a key area because when you load these packs up and carry them for hours, the harness is what make the bag livable or not. The Ivar pack comes with 1 year of warranty, again other brands give you far more in this area, some even give Lifetime warranty.

So in the end I returned the pack immediately after receiving it. The reseller was great in handling the return. So still looking for that elusive daily carry pack that's not a beast, doesn't look like a book bag and is comfortable and flexible enough to deal with different uses and loads, be it on a NYC subway or out in the Utah mountains. Don't like writing a negative review but had high hopes for this pack. If I would have seen this pack in person prior to the purchase, I would have passed on it. Too much money for what it is and how it is made. The idea is a good one, needs better materials and build quality.

Bought this for my wife who has scoliosis. Being in NYC you're on your feet a lot and always on pavement. Because of her scoliosis she can't really carry a purse or shoulder bag so a backpack works best. She had a regular old Jansport backpack that finally fell apart so it was time to shop for a new one.

I was skeptical of this bag since very few ergonomic products seem to work. This however works great. Because of the weight distribution of the bag's contents it sits higher on the back and the weight is spread over the shoulders and thorasic spine. Whereas most packs will sit like a sack and put a lot of pressure on the lumbar spine.

This bag is about the size of normal school backpack so don't expect to go backpacking across Europe with it, but for every day tromping around the city it can't be beat. Plus it's a good looking pack...

Buy Ivar Alta Now

I really liked the idea of the shelves to keep binders and books and various items from slumping in the bottom of the pack and hurting your back. I bought this backpack for my son to use for high school. Each of his six classes has a 3-ring binder. So it needed to be a fairly roomy backpack. A couple of his binder's have rubberized edges (from Staples) and I had difficulty fitting even just one of these 2.5" binders into the backpack. It just wasn't wide enough. The other problem is that the backpack is not designed to sit upright on it's own. So it will always need to lean against something or be laid flat. This is very annoying. Great idea but doesn't translate well into a functional product.

Just wanted to add that when I returned this item (unused, with tags on it, in original packaging) I only received a partial refund. They deducted a total of $31 including the return shipping fee. I believe this is Amazon's return policy of only giving an 80% refund if the product is not defective.

So the product is not defective, just deceptive about it's storage capability.

Just wanted to warn anyone thinking about trying out this backpack since it is fairly expensive. Buyer beware.

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