Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

review

Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack

7
£210.00

VERDICT:

7
10
Tough, comfortable and very capable – but it really needs to be given the high price
Built really tough
Great organisation
Comfortable
Easy to use and versatile
Expensive
Quite heavy
Weight: 
1,280g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack is a very rugged, water-resistant and usefully sized bit of kit with good internal storage and stylish looks. Unfortunately, it also looks very expensive against the competition.

> Buy now: Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack for £153.50 from Santafixie

Need new luggage? Try our best cycling backpacks buyer's guide for riders on every budget.

With a capacity of between 24 and 35L – depending on how tightly you roll it – this a very useful size, and its internal organisation is similarly useful. There's a padded sleeve for laptops up to 17in, plus zipped internal pockets, open internal pockets, zipped external pockets, a side-entry phone pocket, water bottle pockets...

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 3.jpg

You even get an X of adjustable straps for lashing things on (a fresh supply of pockets, perhaps) should you somehow run out of pockets.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 8.jpg

Much of this wonderful pocketry is inside the big external pocket (under the flap), along with the laptop sleeve; useful, as this way the big main compartment stays simple and open, and you don't have to dig into all your wet, smelly clothes just to retrieve your laptop. Quite what you're doing with such things on this trip, however, I don't know.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack worn.jpeg

I like the fact this is properly box-shaped – it's easier to get everything stuffed in than with regular, circular cross-section rucksacks.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 9.jpg

Sad you can't admire all those pockets properly? You can! The front panel unzips down both sides to let you view and access everything stashed behind.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 5.jpg

Outside on the front, the X-shape straps end with strong metal hooks, which means they're easy to release or even remove entirely. Similar hooks secure the main roll top and the large, expanding external pocket, and the latter has various webbing loops for securing the protective flap tightly however full you stuff it.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 10.jpg

Have I talked about pockets enough for the word pockets to start sounding weird yet? Pockets.

One drawback of the layout is that your expensive laptop is not inside the roll-top compartment, but relying instead on the flap to deflect water coming in from above. Similarly, the zipped phone pocket on the side – complete with useful cord for helping you grab the zip pull – is not totally sealed, as the zip isn't waterproof. In both cases, however, it works just fine in the real world. Assuming you've zipped the zip and snugged the flap down tight, you'd need a really serious and prolonged downpour – and a lot of spray from weird angles – for any electronics-threatening dampness to get in.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 4.jpg

The fabric beads water up so it rolls off quite quickly, though the straps and back inevitably get soggy in the end, which doesn't make them any lighter.

I even tested this under the shower for five minutes, and all that happened was my wife kind of froze halfway through the door and slowly backed out again. This job. Seriously.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 6.jpg

The bottle pockets look like they could do with drain holes, but even the unrealistic drenching in the shower didn't cause issues there.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 7.jpg

On the other side of this bag – let's call in the non-pocket side – you get a comfortable pair of broad, padded straps and a knobbly foam panel intended to encourage airflow across your back. It helps a little (and it sits well thanks to cutouts for your spine), but this is still a broad, thick-walled bag that's destined to trap heat pretty well. The panel does at least lift the bag's edges away from your back, though, reducing the area usefully.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 11.jpg

Those main straps have a smaller chest strap that very effectively keeps everything secure as you ride, but no waist straps. I didn't miss them at all, personally, but some riders seem to like them. The main straps also have reflective stripes and long strings of webbing loops for attaching yet more cargo and extras, such as lights, carabiners, shotgun shells, first aid kits, Blue Peter badges, a whistle for attracting attention in the unlikely event of a landing on water, and grenades.

Yes, some of these are guesses, but ask yourselves: which ones?

All these features, plus the heavyweight ripstop fabric and chunky, padded construction mean the Bravo 4.0 is pretty heavy – just under 1.3kg before you even put anything in it. On the plus side, it's also quite happy to carry some very heavy loads. It feels very tough, both in a 'seams won't fail if I pack my anvil' kind of way and a 'won't rip if skidding down the gravel like an unopened parachute' kind of way.

2024 Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack 1.jpg

Its unladen weight isn't excessive for this kind of bag, to be clear, but it's worth remembering it's hefty. If all-up weight might be a problem for you, something like the simpler Elops dry bag mentioned below might suit you better.

Value

At £221 this is expensive. For instance, the Craft Cadence Cycling Backpack Roll Top Waterproof is very similar in size, design and weight, but less than half the price at £99.99. Stu rated it highly for its tougness and organisation.

Meanwhile the Elops Cycling Backpack Speed 520 is also roll top (with a waterproof side zip for easy access), cheaper still at £69.99 and Laurence liked it. It doesn't have the same level of internal organisation, though it's also considerably lighter at 880g.

Overall

This is a very tough, smartly designed bag in a very versatile size – it should earn its keep for many years and in many outdoorsy scenarios. Unless you're really smitten with the looks, though, it's hard to get past the high price, or to ignore the many similar packs that do much the same thing for considerably less.

Verdict

Tough, comfortable and very capable – but it really needs to be given the high price

road.cc test report

Make and model: Chrome Industries Bravo 4.0 Backpack

Size tested: 24L-35L

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Chrome Industries says: "We've updated the water-resistant Bravo 24L-35L to the next level. It was always a versatile rolltop, but now it's equipped with extra tech organization and external storage. You never knew a backpack could be this good."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

* Versatile rolltop with external cargo straps

* Zippered front tech organizer pocket

* Ergonomic shoulder straps with molded back panel

* Padded laptop sleeve fits up to a 17" device - pocket measures 14" x 11.5"

* Quick access, zippered phone pocket

* Water bottle pocket fits up to a 9" diameter

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Tough and well-detailed.

Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
6/10

Bags like this typically aren't light; at 1.3kg with nothing in it, this is noticeably hefty.

Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10

Broad straps and some ventilation for your back.

Rate the product for value:
 
3/10

It's considerably more expensive than many very similar bags.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Very well - it's tough, comfortable, secure and waterproof.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Did I mention it's tough, comfortable, secure and waterproof?

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

The price. It could be lighter, too.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's more expensive than all the others we've tested recently by a considerable margin.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes – but only with a huge discount

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

This is rugged, well designed and very effective. It looks good, too. Unfortunately it's also very expensive – considerably more so than some very good, and very similar options. At £80-100 less this would be an eight or a nine, but given the relatively poor value it represents it's just good overall, and a seven.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 48  Height: 183cm  Weight: 78kg

I usually ride: Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: general fitness riding, mtb,

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
BBB | 9 months ago
1 like

REPAIRABILITY aspect should become an essential integral part of all the reviews, particularily when it comes to premium products. Can this backpack be fixed? Can you get a spare strap or a buckle?

Avatar
brooksby replied to BBB | 9 months ago
2 likes
Avatar
mark1a replied to brooksby | 9 months ago
2 likes

It's remarkable what you can find at the top of the search results when you type "chrome industries spare buckle" into Google.

Avatar
brooksby replied to mark1a | 9 months ago
2 likes

yes

Avatar
BBB replied to mark1a | 9 months ago
0 likes

In case you didn't understand my comment, it was about product reviews in general not about Chrome in particular.

Avatar
mark1a replied to BBB | 9 months ago
1 like
BBB wrote:

In case you didn't understand my comment, it was about product reviews in general not about Chrome in particular.

It's just that you (a) put the comment on this review, and (b) asked "can this backpack can be fixed" and "can you get a spare strap or a buckle?"

BBB wrote:

REPAIRABILITY aspect should become an essential integral part of all the reviews, particularily when it comes to premium products. Can this backpack be fixed? Can you get a spare strap or a buckle?

 

Avatar
brooksby | 9 months ago
1 like
Quote:

I even tested this under the shower for five minutes, and all that happened was my wife kind of froze halfway through the door and slowly backed out again. This job. Seriously.

I had a weird flashback - does anyone else remember that Crumpler bags used to advertise their range of bags being worn by a nude female model?  I'm sure I'm not imagining that…  And I don't think they'd get away with that nowadays 

Avatar
Tom_77 replied to brooksby | 9 months ago
0 likes
Avatar
brooksby replied to Tom_77 | 9 months ago
0 likes

Nope, not that.  I would swear that they had a webpage or a poster which had their range of 'kooky'-named bags, all being modelled by a nude woman…  This was a long time ago, mind.

Latest Comments