A brief study of VX21 X-pac under moderate use
I've been waiting for one of my bags to reach an age and level of use where it would make a good study
This waist bag was created in June of 2018 so is just over 3 years old, i gave it to my little brother to be used as an everyday bag
It has seen constant use and is often completely stuffed with items to the point off barely being able to close. its been taken on beach days, days out, camping trips and other casual outings. its often used alongside overnight bags to carry extra items on a trip.
I would describe its use as heavy compared to other waist bags as my brother is a very active person and has not used any other bags.
The bag often holds heavy and sharp, dense items like lighters, knives, stones etc.
Its often resting against concrete or rough surfaces
you can see the the laminated layers of fabric have begun separating over time, with x-pac i have noticed this is something that can happen quite quickly (in as little as a year) especially when exposed to rain and sun on a regular basis.
this leaves a wrinkly appearance which some find attractive and others quite ugly, there don't seem to be many performance issues as a result, I worry that this affects the abrasive resistance of the fabric though
in places the exterior fabric has thinned down to the point where the texture is no longer visible, however i could only find one place on the bag where the fabric had worn to the point of being torn, this was in one of the corners where the bag most commonly rubs against hard surfaces.
i have not included interior photo's, however i can say that there has been very little thinning on the inside, even in the corners.
The smooth surface inside seems to stand up well to most objects, only rough surfaces are able to cause damage to the coating / webbing layers
If this item had more heavy usage, for example tactical use, or outdoor industry use, then by now I feel the fabrics durability would have failed completely
Many people that make or buy bags constructed from vx21 and similar fabrics value the weight savings and will only use the bag for one or two seasons. For this purpose there can be no doubt that the fabric is vastly superior to others. However this is not a cost effective strategy, its not really inline with the vision I have for gear I want to create.
when your item is only as big as a fanny pack, saving weight is not an essential goal, and can be complete in other ways, for example using lighter buckles and webbing, not-over engineering the item, or on the user end, simply not including un-essential items
In conclusion the fabric has held up much better than I would have expected, given that vx21 is made to be light, the fabric face has only 210 denier resistance, this is versus the 500d face of lighter weight Cordura that is often used for items where weight is a concern.
considering its 3 years of use it has aged well, its worth noting that the appearance of the fabric makes it look much more worn and much less durable than it is, as many people like to use this fabric for Techwear and fashion purposes, this is a very Seriouse concern
for general use applications I feel the fabric is very acceptable, however for tactical gear, storage of heavy objects or tools i would not consider this fabric appropriate.
I will continue to use this for zipper pouches as I have been impressed by long term performance
However as the cost is double that of Cordura, I would consider 500d Cordura in the future to be better usage for my bags. Ultimately the cost is half and the lifespan of the item to be used as an outdoor, item will be much higher.
There are versions of x-pac with a much more durable face (420d) which I'm sure will perform incredible, however the cost will be even higher as vx21 is already double the cost of many available fabrics
