Starting as an experiment to make a longer E&E for longer torso’ed adults, the Echo gradually morphed into a full featured compact EDC bag. In its original Molle covered form, this bag was adapted to make our Stryker Duplex bag. After the popularity of those designs, the Echo was revisited to earn its name and combine some of the best features of some of our smaller bags and also fix the areas where they fell short.

The Quandary was a great little bag, ideal for quick trips and could expand into a much larger bag. The roll top closure and limited access wasn’t for everyone though.  From this bag, the expanding gusset, smaller size and lessons on accessibility were adopted.

The Doorgunner is our smallest internally framed pack capable of an Omni belt and is a little tank. It disappears behind you and can haul a surprising amount once set up correctly. Its smaller size means you need to be selective about what you bring and have a torso size that works with it. With the belt and stays, you can pack out a fairly serious load. Some found it to be overbuilt and top heavy without a belt. From this pack, the back pocket, Sherman compatibility and lessons on structure for small bags and their intended uses where taken.

All of these research points lead to a smaller bag that had a few internal structure options, with more access that could expand based on the task at hand.  The Echo has three zippered pockets, one on the upper front (w key hook), an internal mesh pocket and the removable chamber pocket.  The back panel has a bladder pocket with dual hose exits on either side of the top handle leading to elastic hose retainers on each strap. Dual Nalgene pockets on either side will stretch to hold Jetboils or tripods.  The front stash pocket is made from the same 4 way stretch material as the side pockets.  A bungie on the front will keep your rain layer or tarp away from your gear. Bottom web tracks and tabs above the bottle pockets will link up with a Sherman or Grab-it. If you’ve packed to the brim and still need more space, grab the zipper pull under one of the hydration port exits and unzip the expansion gusset to gain extra space. The included web belt will help stabilize when needed and detaches when it’s not.