MotoReview: Harley-Davidson “Tough Terrain” Backpack
Quick details
- Price: $140
- Size: 19" x 12" x 8.5"
- Manufacturer: Athalon Sportsgear, Denver, CO USA
Cool and most notable features: attached hideaway helmet carrier; numerous pockets; lightweight; sturdy nylon material; sternum and torso straps; padded back with airflow channel; hidden compartment in rear; lockable main compartment (TSA approved); looks great; comfortable to wear; easy to handle; huge main compartment; nice finishing details.
First Impressions
Let’s jump right into this, shall we? First of all, I’m a function over form type of guy, so whatever it is, it has to be functional first. I want it to look good, but if it doesn’t work worth a damn, then it doesn’t matter how good it looks. This pack delivers on both.Function: It has a nice, durable shell made of honeycomb nylon, making it rip stop and water resistant, it has comfortable, padded, straps, a padded back with an airflow channel, a thick, padded top handle, a sternum strap and a torso strap, more pockets than you can fill, and a lockable main compartment that is TSA compliant.
Form: It has the best color combination- black and gray; it has a cool interior liner that looks like a topographical map; the bag is sturdy; has heavy duty zippers and zipper pulls that are adorned with engraved bar and shield logos. It also has a good overall feel- it feels like a well made pack. It also has some nice details, such as: a sewn-on Bar & Shield logo; and some small, reflective strips to offer a bit of visibility without the reflective overkill that many manufacturers like to add to their gear. The zippers are nylon with metal pulls and they seal the pack very nicely. Initially, I was a little concerned about how well they would hold up against overpacking the pack, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how tough they are and how well they hold up. The seams are all well-stitched and sturdy and all of the most common tear and damage points of a typical backpack, have all been reinforced and redesigned. Areas like the top of the bag where the straps attach. Most packs just have the straps sewn to the top of the bag, but this one has the straps made as one large piece that is sewn in across the top. This allows the weight of the pack to be evenly distributed across the top of the bag, making it more comfortable to wear, while eliminating the stress points of the straps.
A year of use
I’ve had this pack for a little over a year now and, while I don’t use it every day, when I do use it, I really use it. I have packed this thing to its capacity several times- often using it like a small suitcase; I’ve carried books and binders when I was in training classes; I’ve taken it on several flights and, on one of my last trips, I used it as my only suitcase on a trip back to the motorcycle motherland, Milwaukee, USA.
Going through TSA screenings, wearing it in narrow airplane isles, and stuffing it under the seat in front of me, were all easily done, thanks to the slim design and the way it expands (to the back, instead of the sides). The pockets and compartments are perfect for storing all of your essentials- chewing gum, earbuds, phone, keys, glasses, water bottles… you name it, there’s probably a pocket or a compartment to hold it. In using it as a suitcase, I’ve easily packed several days worth of clothes in it, along with my iPad and, of course, personal hygiene essentials. Now, remember… I don’t often wear suits, so this isn’t for that, but for my normal daily wear of jeans, t-shirts and the occasional button-down shirt… this pack worked great.
Even when fully loaded, this pack is still very comfortable to wear. The straps are padded, the back is padded and it has a padded carry handle on top for when you need to hold on to it after taking it off. The back padding has a channel that runs along the center for airflow so that you don’t wind up with that awkward back sweat in the warmer months. If it feels a little wonky, simply buckle the chest and torso straps with the quick-release buckles, pull the strap to cinch it up and keep on truckin’. 
The material is a rip-stop nylon with a honeycomb pattern and the pack has a nice mix of textures and materials that compliment each other nicely. Like I said previously, this pack feels good.
The bottom of the bag, which will typically get worn through from being abraded by the ground against the weight of the contents, has been reinforced with a heavier, coated nylon. But, this bag also has a little something special at the bottom- a zippered compartment that holds an integrated helmet holder. While I haven’t used this feature a lot, it is extremely handy to have if you don’t want to leave your helmet behind. It unfolds easily and has long straps and quick release buckles for ease and convenience of use, and it will accommodate just about any type and size of helmet. I’ve used it with my HJC modular and it worked very well to secure my helmet to my pack. Weather and Durability
Full disclosure- I haven’t drenched this pack in the pouring rain, but I have worn it in a couple of moderate rain storms for 15-20 minutes at a time and it has resisted the water intrusion, pretty well. Nothing inside got wet, but I can’t say that it wouldn’t, given a more concentrated exposure. I will say, however, that I wouldn’t be afraid of wearing this pack on a road trip and riding through a rain storm with it… I just wouldn’t have any electronics at the top near the zippers. Speaking of electronics- I try to bring my iPad with me on trips, so that I can do some writing when the moments are right for it. When you’re traveling, you don’t necessarily want to open up, and start digging around in, your bag to get to your laptop or tablet. After all, you don’t want your private garments becoming public garments. This pack keeps your bag contents private, by having a large, flat, “hidden” zippered compartment in the back, between the shoulder straps and the main compartment. It opens from the side and, when its closed, if you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t notice it. It’s a great place to slide your tablet, a notebook, and maybe even a slim laptop, into for quick access.
I haven’t tried to tear this pack up, but I certainly haven’t babied it, either. I believe in actually using gear because that’s the best way to see how good it actually is. With that said, it is holding up to the abuse, quite well. After a year of, sometimes hard, use this pack doesn’t show any signs of wear. The seams are all intact, the zippers all pull smoothly and close tightly, and the outside surface and inner linings of the bag still look, for lack of a better description, new.
Pros
This bag is, almost, all pros. Seriously. I can’t find much to complain about for the kind of use I have put this pack through. It’s about as ideal of a bag as I could ask for. It’s strong, well made and is proving to be more and more durable with each use. If your’e looking for a cheap pack, this isn’t it, but if you’re looking for a nice, quality, motorcycle-oriented backpack, then you can’t go wrong with this one.
Cons
The only real “complaint” on this pack would be the “Harley Tax”, aka, the price. It seems that everything that Harley-Davidson makes, or anything that is branded with the H-D logo, that is worth having is no less than a hundred bucks. Having that in mind, I don’t mind spending a little extra if I know that what I’m getting is of good quality. At $140 USD, the pack is a little pricey, but considering that you can’t get it anywhere else (Athalon makes it, exclusively for the MoCo), the H-D pricing isn’t so bad. Let’s face it, any really high quality bag is going to cost you anyway, so what’s a few extra bucks toward keeping an American company running a little longer? Especially if those few extra bucks will get you a long lasting piece of gear that will likely survive just about anything you throw at it.
Final thoughts
I’m not a particularly difficult person to please when it comes to gear, parts, equipment, clothes, boots, and so on. Just give me what I’m paying for. Whether it’s a good pair of boots, a nice set of handlebars, a good jacket or an overall great motorcycle, I just want the quality, performance and durability that I’m expecting to get for the price I’ve paid. I work hard for my money, and I’m sure you do too, so it’s not too much to ask that we are getting a fair trade for our hard-earned wages. If you’ve read, or watched, any of my reviews, you’ve no doubt noticed a trend toward the positive. That’s because I try to make good, well thought out decisions before I drop cash on something. That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes buy a dud or expect something to be better than expected, but overall I do try to do some research before I spend money. This pack was no exception- I read the reviews on the H-D site and tried to weed through those that were given in exchange for a free backpack, and those that were written after unreasonable expectations weren't met.
Overall, if you’re looking for a high quality backpack that will do, almost, anything you need it to do and look good doing it, then you need to head on over to the Harley-Davidson website and pick one of these awesome packs up, before they sell out and, in true H-D fashion, are gone forever.
Pack light, travel often and until next time, MotoReaders…
…ride safe and make good choices!
