The Tasmanian Tiger Essential Pack MK II – Our Review

Tasmanian Tiger…

…not a brand with quite the same name recognition as the likes of GORUCK, 5.11 Tactical, or Mystery Ranch, but if you’ve been on the lookout for rucks and other outdoor gear lately, you’ve probably come across them on at least a few occasions.

Even if you haven’t and you’re skeptical about reading up on yet another (overpriced?) bag manufacturer, you have to admit the whole “German company named after an obscure Australian state” bit is at least slightly amusing.

Anyways, with so many larger, legit rucking backpacks in our current arsenal, we wanted to kill two birds with one stone: give a smaller, daypack from a company (Tasmanian Tiger) we hadn’t reviewed a bag for yet a try.

What better way to do it than to give the 9-liter, TT Essential Pack MKII (henceforth referred to simply as the “Essential Pack”) a try?

As people who are more into “rucking” than in “carrying a small backpack around with us”, we can’t imagine that this will be the rucking bag of choice for most people. However, it does offer some unique characteristics that might really appeal to certain kinds of someones…

Rucking

Apologizing for the pun ahead of time, the Essential Pack is kind of a…”mixed bag” (ha!) when it comes to its rucking capabilities. In this section, we’re looking exclusively at what it’s like to do some “pure” rucking with the bag (its “dynamic” rucking…shortcomings are a bit more pronounced).

Right off the bat, this bag is a bit of a breath of fresh air for ruckers who fall into one of two (or possibly even both) categories:

• Smaller-statured ruckers who oftentimes feel “swalloed” by larger bags
• Ruckers who prefer a more compact bag with little-to-no superfluous or otherwise excess material

I’m on the verge of being “smaller-statured” (I’m ~5’7″, 160) so I can handle a larger bag, but anything over…say…the 26-liter iterations of the GR1 (or even the GR2) start to verge on “special purpose” territory for me. With the Essential Pack, I almost feel as though I’m hauling around the compact GORUCK Plate Carrier more than an actual ruck.

(BTW, This is actually a good thing in my eyes!)

The sternum strap is actually in the perfect place for my size and the shoulder straps, while not being overly/extra padded (like most of the GORUCK backpack and bag offerings are), they are comfortable enough for moving with a moderate weight over time…

Speaking of “moving with a moderate weight”, this isn’t really the bag you want to ruck with larger (and by “larger”, I mean, over ~20-to-(maybe)-30 pounds) quantities of weight.

For one, there is little-to-no internal padding that negates the feeling of weight simply being pressed against the back and lower body. The internal pocket does keep an appropriately-sized plate decently secure (GORUCK “standard” plates as well as Rogue’s Echo Weight Vest Plates fit here), but there isn’t a frame sheet to buffer it at all against the back.

Another issue is that this whole arrangement just doesn’t feel “secure”. I don’t have any real worry that the bottom is going to fall out, but sometimes…there is a little bit of irrational fear/dread that the bottom could give out under the weight…

Best not to tempt fate!

You’re probably going to run into trouble trying to attach something like a hip belt (or other non-MOLLE-compatible accessories) to the Essential Pack, but being a smaller bag (with, presumably, smaller loads hauled) you probably won’t ever need one with this.

Overall, smaller people carrying lighter plates will probably appreciate this bag more than anyone else (this is one of my ~5’2″ wife’s favorite rucks), but I’d suggest a softer and/or more pliable weight (like a GORUCK sand plate) as opposed to a traditional ruck plate for added comfort.

Rucking: 85

“Dynamic” Rucking

The good news with the Essential Pack is that it works pretty well as a companion piece of equipment for “bodyweight” exercises.

The…not so good news is…you can’t really do any other kind of “dynamic rucking” with/in the bag.

Reverting back to the “good” part, the Essential Pack’s utility as a bodyweight exercise bag is largely derived from its compact nature (if you couldn’t already guess that). When you’re doing something like pull-ups, push-ups, or squats in the bag (Murph, anyone…?), there is very little bag movement and it easily stays high and tight up on the back.

Unfortunately, unlike other compact bags (or equipment like the GORUCK Plate Carrier) that have additional comfort-enhancing features like lumbar support “pads”, as we mentioned in the previous section, with the Essential Pack, the plate is on or slightly banging against your back with every rep, step (if you’re running in it), etc. This cuts into the (already low) utility the bag offers.

Regarding things like ruck swings, most people are going to be hard pressed getting both of their hands wrapped around that top handle (I guess one-armed swings might be appropriate), although the smaller size of the bag makes the actual swinging motion easier to manage than it is with most other bags.

When it comes to presses, thrusters, etc…well…unless you’re really narrow and prefer a very narrow grip for this type of activity, you’re going to find these movements to be pretty difficult to manage. I mean, the bag is less than 1-and-a-half feet in length making it equal parts awkward and comical to attempt these movements (don’t try them with an audience!)

The Essential Pack is “water resistant”, but I’m not confident that it would be all that much fun to use after being completely submerged (HINT: Don’t try to use this bag for your GORUCK Tough or Heavy event!) The top handle is okay for a vertical-bag suitcase carry, but don’t expect to really be able to load up the resistance with this ruck.

I can’t imagine that too many people with their eye on the Essential Pack have “use your ruck as your gym” aspirations in mind. That being said, in case you are one of these select few…stop.

Dynamic Rucking: 70

Load Capacity

When you go in on a 9-liter ruck, you pretty much know (or you really should know) what you’re getting yourself into. The Essential Pack is not a ruck to be used for extensive long-distance travel (hell, most people would probably opt for a different bag to bring on a weekend or even an overnight trip) as its carrying capacity is by no means impressive.

Again, if you’re intentionally looking for a smaller bag, this shouldn’t be a problem. However, if you’re really interested in the bag itself, but need something at least slightly larger, keep in mind that there is a larger, 15-liter variety that has very similar attributes (to include the same materials) that might be a better option (although don’t kid yourself into thinking that that is a large bag, either!)

Ultimately, if a large load capacity is one of your top priorities, you’re going to have to look elsewhere.

Load Capacity: 60

Everyday Carry/Travel

If you came to this review looking for a legitimate, 9-liter ruck (which, if I’m being honest, I don’t assume you did), this section may not be all that important to you.

If you came to this review looking for a compact, EDC bag that you might occasionally ruck with, this section is probably the “main event” for you.

Ultimately, your appreciation for the Essential Pack’s EDC capabilities will come down to how (although the term “if” is probably more appropriate here) you organize your gear. This is because the bag has only one, “large” compartment.

No smaller, zippered pockets. No “hidden” compartments.

Nine big liters of storage space (with a small, but not insignificant divider at the bottom as well as larger internal sleeve).

Personally, I’m more interested in effective storage capacity. In this sense, I really don’t appreciate large bags with numerous compartments, essentially making it impossible to store any single big(ger) item into it. Ironically, the Essential Pack is able to fit more medium-sized items than many, multi-compartment bags twice its size!

With that being said, if you prefer…ya know…actually organizing your gear, it’s a little bit tougher to do when it’s all crammed into the same, albeit relatively large, compartment.

As you can imagine, there isn’t dedicated space for a laptop and I doubt you’ll feel all that comfortable placing yours in the rather flimsy sleeve (that doesn’t have any kind of frame sheet or other type of padding). One wrong move/drop and you’ve essentially got your machine smashing directly into the ground.

Regarding travel, the Essential Pack works as a (cramped) weekend bag, but the lack of dedicated laptop storage might make it less attractive for this task (although your packed clothing could serve as makeshift padding).

Overall, for a 9-liter bag, I think the Essential Pack punches above its weight. I’m also personally partial to the “one big compartment” arrangement. However, if laptop security is a priority and you comply want more space or more compartments (like you’d find in a larger bag), it falls short for both EDC and travel purposes

Everyday Carry/Travel: 75

Materials

One thing you can say about the Essential Pack is that it’s a well-constructed little bag and in a world of 1000D and 500D Cordura bags, it finds a way to stand out.

The backpack’s 700D Cordura provides a nice balance between the tougher, but more abrasive 1000D and the less abrasive, but not quite as resilient 500D. Personally, I find the bag to perfectly robust, but is noticeably softer than the majority of my GORUCK bags.

Like many other rucking backpacks these days, the Essential Pack is essentially (ha!) constructed of the same material, throughout. The internal sleeve is xxx, but other than that, it’s pretty much all 700D Cordura, all the time.

Now, there is something called the “Padded Back-System Basic” as well as the “two completely circumferential compression straps”, but I don’t notice anything that feels any kind of “premium” (and I don’t find the straps to be necessarily comfortable or overly padded).

Small, but significant items like the zippers don’t seem particularly “premium”, but I don’t get the impression that these are gonna break or bust…rendering the bag essentially worthless.

Overall, the Essential Pack’s materials are about on par with what one could expect from its price point. There isn’t much about its materials that are “special”, although its 700D Cordura has succeeded in reminding me of how soft, yet durable this specific fabric can be.

Materials: 85

Price

As you would probably expect, being a smaller bag, the Essential Pack is less expensive than many other ruck options on the market. To put things in perspective, unless you’re going for a fanny pack (or, in the words of the company, a “belt bag”) you’re going to have a really hard time finding a bag retailing for such a low price on the GORUCK webpage.

With that being said, while the Essential Pack’s absolute price is low relative to many others, when it is only stacked up against bags in its “weight class” (~8-11-liter capacity bags), it is pretty average.

It isn’t too difficult to find one on Amazon for a little under $90. This price point shouldn’t turn anyone off from the bag, but it probably doesn’t really excite anyone either.

Interestingly enough, the 15-liter version of this bag retails for a bit less than its little brother so if you don’t mind getting the same bag, just in a larger size…well…I think you know what to do…

Price: 80

Customer Reviews

In most cases when I’m checking out gear reviews, I’ll try to find reviews from a number of different websites and sources. Ideally there is a mix of main site reviews (where product reviews are made directly on the company’s website) and reviews from third-party retailers, but sometimes it’s difficult to find reviews from a large number of places.

Because Tasmanian Tiger more or less outsources their product distribution, it would be necessary to explore a large number of smaller, third-party stores (in many cases, like, actual brick-and-mortar stores) to get review information…or I could just go off of the large number of reviews on Amazon.

Love it or hate it, I went with the latter option.

The good news is, the Essential Pack gets pretty good reviews, collectively sporting a 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon.

More good news is that the Essential Pack only received a single review that wasn’t a perfect 5-star review (a two-star review).

The bad news? There are only 12 total reviews for the bag on Amazon.

Good reviews are good reviews, but we would generally like to see a larger sample size than…ya know…12. Do with this what you will!

Customer Reviews: 94

Customer Service

As much as I would like to assign a low score here, in fairness to how I’ve scored this category in the past, Tasmanian Tiger (and its parent company Tatonka) “merely” gets an N/A here.

Why is this? Because there are few instances (and if you’re not residing in Germanic lands, likely zero instances) where you would ever actually deal with the company itself.

The more experience I have with European-based manufacturers, the more common this seems to be. By “this” I mean that the many of these manufacturers (to include Tasmanian Tiger/Tatonka) seem to be incredibly hands off with much of their distribution and even, to a degree, with their marketing efforts. Points of contact seem to almost exclusively be with third-party dealers and it is next to impossible to find contact information on the company’s page.

There is an online form to fill out and return if you’re interested in having a piece of equipment/baggage repaired, but it is only available for those in Germany, Austria, or Luxembourg.

“In general, this is possible. To do so, you must register in our online store first and then fill in a repair order. You can find more information in our online store (form in German language only). Please note: This service is currently only offered for deliveries from/to Germany and Austria.”

No contact information on the form either.

Ultimately, while I can’t fault the company for poor customer service that I haven’t received, I can be annoyed by companies that hide behind third-party dealers to field customer questions and complaints.

Customer Service: N/A (but annoying, nonetheless)

Who is the Tasmanian Tiger Essential Pack Mk II really for?

We often talk about how “certain bags” are perfect for “a certain type of person” on this site to the extent that, thinking about it now, I’m a bit embarrassed. With that being said, the Essential Pack is definitely for…a certain type of person. Let’s take a look at who exactly that person is:

Those who want a small ruck

As we’ve alluded to (and straight up explicitly stated a number of times in this review), the Essential Pack is a small bag. With its 9-liter carrying capacity…well…you never have to worry about being “giant backpack kid” with this ruck.

As I’ve acquired more and more bags, I’ve come to realize that bigger isn’t necessarily always better, especially if you don’t have a specific purpose or rationale in mind for all of that extra space. Ultimately, if you prefer a smaller, more compact bag, this one definitely has that going for it.

Those who are okay with paying more for slightly higher-quality materials

To piggyback off the last point, one of the things people probably like about their smaller bags is the lower price points that are oftentimes associated with them. While this is certainly a nice “bonus” for going small, it can be a bit of a misnomer at times.

“Small” does not necessarily equate to “inexpensive”…especially if you want something nice.

The Essential Pack has decent-to-good materials (the 700D Cordura is a nice touch) that separate it from many other, similarly sized bags that are a bit easier on the wallet. If you prefer above-average materials and are prepared to pay a little bit more for the privilege, you got a legit option here.

Not for “actual” ruckers

Yeah, yeah…I know; there are plenty of people who ruck in all kinds of bags and with all kinds of gear. If you can make your kid’s “Dora the Explorer” bag work for your ruck outings, all the power to you.

However, people who ruck far, ruck often, and ruck consistently generally have a number of criteria in mind for what they require in an acceptable bag. The Essential Pack Mk II has a few of these…but not many. If you are serious about rucking, this really isn’t the bag for you.

How we reviewed the Tasmanian Tiger Essential Pack Mk II

The Essential Pack was actually one of the first rucks we ever got our hands on, along with some GORUCK “classics” (the Rucker Long-Range, GR1, and the Bullet) so we’ve had a lot of time to mess around with it.

This has been one of my wife’s preferred rucks (although it was always slightly behind the Bullet and really fell down the pecking order once we got her Rucker 4.0) for typical ruck march outings, but she has also turned it into her regular “change plates” bag, using it to haul her smaller (1-to-4-pound weight plates) with her to and from the gym.

I can’t say that there has been much travel with the bag, but as far as EDC is concerned…well…if something holds up well with ~15 pounds of solid steel plates inside, you better believe that it’s going to be just fine with less “invasive” cargo packed inside!

Tasmanian Tiger Alternatives

I can understand if you’re not the most high on the Essential Pack after reading this review. If this is the case, have a look at some alternative options, any of which will probably be a better selection:

Frequently Asked Questions

Last minute questions? Let’s have ’em!

The Tasmanian Tiger Essential Pack Mk II…compact…and that’s about it…

I really appreciate smaller rucks that get the job done.

Being a smaller guy and generally going out on shorter (less than ~2-hour) ruck outings, I really don’t need a huge bag that can haul a bunch of stuff to make it through my (mostly) casual jaunts.

…but I need my bag to be able to do…something to justify not just grabbing any old backpack or bag to ruck with.

The Essential Pack is certainly compact and I can appreciate that it actually fits a (GORUCK-sized) ruck plate pretty well. However, its lack of a frame sheet or significant lumbar support aren’t appreciated. The fact that you can actually get a larger version of the same bag for less money (or even something like the GORUCK Bullet for only about $50 more) is shocking.

If you want a compact bag for…whatever reason, I’d suggest purchasing a less expensive option, even if the quality isn’t quite there. If you want to actually ruck, opt for a bag that is engineered with this activity in mind….

…because, the Essential Pack doesn’t shine in any area and is perfectly average (or slightly below) in every area.