Time travel back to my second year in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, prior to my life with a Datsusara Light Battlepack.

It’s 2008 and I’ve just started training.  My coach started selling official gym bags.  Prior to this, I was using an old karate duffel bag, so to have a new bag, with our gym logo on it, and made by Ringside no less, I was pumped.  Or as the guys from Scramble would say, “pumpitude levels were off the charts.”

The bag was large with lots of compartments.  I could fit a TON of gear in there including all of my mma / boxing gloves and pads, as well as all of my BJJ stuff.

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New Bag Needed

Fast forward back to today.

Over the past 3 years, the strap has snapped, the inside pockets ripped, and the plastic lining inside the bag has shredded and started to leave black shreds all over my equipment and gis.  I even found pieces in my mouthguard on a regular basis.  I might as well use a black trash bag for all that this bag is doing for me.

Obviously, I need a new bag. 

As an entrepreneur, I love reading Tim Ferris’ 4 Hour Work Week Blog.  I remember reading an interview with a really cool guy named Chris Odell.  I remember also think “Hey, that’s clever,” but I never pulled the trigger.

Decision

I started chatting with Chris on Facebook and as he was VERY responsive in regard to my needs as a BJJ player and athlete, I decided to go with Datsusara for my next gym bag.  Ringside was no help at all when my last bag fell apart, but not only do I feel that won’t happen with my Datsusara bag, but if it does, I am sure Chris will take care of it.

On Chris’s advice, I decided to go with a light battlepack.  The full battlepack would be a bit more than I needed because I don’t carry boxing gloves or mma gear along with my gi any more.  If you need to carry both sets at the same time, I suggest you go with the full battlepack.

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Datsusara Battlepack Review

First of all, this bag is way bigger than it looks.  If you look at the picture below, you can see everything that I carry in it on a regular basis.

As you can see, I can carry a full gold weave gi, belt, shorts and rashguard, cup, flip camera, business cards, and a spare shirt and pair of pants.  This is definitely not your average backpack.

It also has a tremendous amount of compartments and other stuff.  It’s also much easier to carry as a backpack as compared to my ringside bag.  Duffel bags are unruly to carry, especially at tournaments, so the backpack is exactly what I need.  I use it for travelling on airplanes, hiking, to the beach, or carrying my laptop and other gear to my graduate school classes.

In addition, the quality that I was looking for most was durability.  Made of high quality hemp, the Datsusara Light Battlepack is going to outlast any other cheap plastic gym bag like my Ringside bag.  Hemp is naturally anti-microbial, breathable, durable, and environmentally friendly.

I decided to try and fit two of my gis in it at once (and this is only the Light Battlepack, mind you, not even the full version).

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Datsusara Light Battlepack Specs

• Made of durable 100% hemp (Why Hemp)
• Main compartment (17x12x5″, 43x30x13cm)
• Side pockets for bottles, towels, etc. (13x5x3″, 33x13x8cm)
• Front pocket with dividers (12″x12″x1″, 30x30x3cm)
• Upper zip pocket (5.5x8x1″, 14x20x3cm)
• Inside pocket for laptop (laptop area approx. 15×10.5″, 38x27cm)
• Back plate (removable) retains the pack's form and provides support
• Media player compartment with headphone port
• MOLLE compatible webbing on front and sides
• YKK® (main) and SMS® (internal) self healing zippers
• Back pads
• Water resistant outer coating
• Removable logo with velcro patch, now you can customize your bag

Conclusion

This bag is truly fantastic and will likely be the last bag that I ever purchase.  Should you ever be in the market for a new gear bag, I highly recommend that you look into the Datsusara Light Battlepack.  If you need more space, go with the Datsusara Battlepack.  As a matter of preference, if you like the duffel bag format better, make sure you check out their Pro gear bag.  If you’re way cooler than me, be sure to check out the Joe Rogan Utility Belt (some day you’ll be that cool Brendan, some day…)