Mercer Culinary PackPlus Backpack Black

I have been in the food industry over 18 years and this is by FAR the best purchase I have ever made for my culinary career! I have been in search of the perfect bag for me, once I saw this I waited an entire year to purchase it because I wanted to compare and really look for the perfect bag for me. I have other chef friends that have similar bags to this one but different brands that I won’t name I order not to bash any company, but I will say this- this bag by far beats them all (for me and what I need it for of course), and for the money is a complete steal! Yes leather knife rolls are nice and whatnot, but for what I do and use it for (restaurant chef, caterer, private chef, traveling chef, small business owner) it works perfect. I have a military background as well and this bag has enough pockets and room to use it as a small ruck sack. It also comes with a knife case that hold up to 8-10 knives; my largest knife that I carry in it is a 10” chef knife and it fits it nicely. Anything longer would not fit. I also have a cleaver that I carry in it as well as serrated, pairing, santoku, Sakura, and a few others. It also has a mesh kit on the flap that folds over to protect the knives on both sides of kit. Very handy for peelers, cutting gloves, scissors, etc. I am happy I bought this and almost bought two just in case they ever run out. I will most likely go ahead and buy another just to be safe haha. All in all, this is hands down the best chef kit/bag on the market in my opinion. I need the room, I carry a laptop, small datebooks/planners, extra pair of socks, blender bottle, phone charger, first aid kit, tape, and a ton of other stuff (don’t judge lol, just always prepared) and it fits in there with ease. Chefs—-buy this bag and save your back and avoid having to carry a roll or kit...this thing can go anywhere!!

Mercer Culinary has made a solid product here. First off let me say that I'm always a fan of red and black color schemes - they look evil and classy all at once. Black exterior and red interior provide a great look for a great bag. Behind one well built zipper is roomy, 4-pouch-a-side compartment for larger utencils, be they spoons, slicers, larger chef knives, they'll fit comfortably. Inside the other pocket is a more miscellaneous tool oriented space with 8 pouches on one side (4 on top, 4 on bottom) and a small zipper pouch with a roughly equal size mesh, Velcro sealed pouch. My parking knives, santoku, thermometer, peeler, shears, and several other tools fit well into these smaller pockets, while the other side has room for my scraper, sharpies, notepad and personal scale. Moving to the outside, these two heavier zippers are secured by well made locking straps. There are two reasonably sized zipper pockets on the outside that could hold business cards, recipe cards or similar sized items. Finished off with a tough but nice black finish, and a simple silver Mercer logo, and you've got a good bit of bang for your buck with this purchase.My background: I've been cooking in a variety of restaurants for the past 8 years. I started off with a Wusthof classic creme handled ikon chef knife years back and have been growing my arsenal of culinary tools ever since. When I started culinary school at Saint Paul College this past fall, I had the low end Wusthof bag that most students get in their kit -i had found mine on sale at a local knife shop earlier in the summer. It was a cheap chef roll bag that served its purpose but had some drawbacks -weakly made pockets, limited tool (non knife) space, didn't close well. I've known other cooks and chefs to have had and hated those Wusthof bags, so I upgraded to this bag. Very happy with my purchase.

SO... I am not sure where some of the other reviews are coming from. But this is my experience, and know that I am a dude who loves bags, and uses many and does research before I purchase things. This bag is a game changer for me, I work as an Executive Chef, which means I cook my ass off, but also have to be able to go to meetings, tastings, and work on menus, orders, social media, etc. I have to keep a lot of stuff on hand, and most of it can not live in my truck This bag allows for ALL of that.THE KNIFE CASE: Slides out, is decent quality, especially being it will mostly live inside the protection of the backpack. Also comes with a strap if you want to use just the knife case alone. I use some big knives (4), Small knives (4), Special Knives (2) and a bunch of small tools and there is still plenty of room for more in the case.THE BAG: Plenty of pockets for all your work and personal needs, I carry normally on hand my phone (Note 3 which is huge), Macbook with charger, recipe book, notebook, water bottle, phone charger, usb drives, 5 sharpies, 4 pens, calculator, order clipboard, pocket knife, and other office needs. and still there is plenty of room.OUTER POCKET/SLING: Attaches with clips, similar to Skateboard and Snowboard bags, its a pocket, but does not fully close, it attaches at the top with 2 clips. Holds for me, 2 Aprons, chef coat, jeans, shirt, boxers, socks. If needed, I have used the 2 water bottle slings (1 on each side) to slide my Clogs, or Street shoes, however, in the laptop section, if you slide shoes to the bottom, they will fit there as well.TOP HANDLE: It works as needed, I purchased one of those gel velcro ergonomic handles to attach to this. ($4). But it works as needed. The other straps for the sling work well too, I would adjust carefully because they are plastic, DO NOT YANK on them. and you will be fine. Zippers are smooth and strong, again, i would not pull and yank on them, but if you use this and take care of it, it will last.BOTTOM & BACK: Bottom of the bag is rubber/plastic lined to keep water out, I keep my bag away from danger as it has a ton of expensive stuff in it, plus the knife case comes out, so if needed you can just keep that close. BUT it is a nice feature. The back is padded, breathable mesh, with nice padded, embroidered and strong. Chest clip is nice to have, but I am a big dude, I do not use it.OVERALL: I love it! it is well worth the price, especially considering that the knife case, and a decent quality backpack would amount to how much this bag costs. At least this one is made by Mercer, they know knives, chefs, and it just makes sense. I like it way better than the Wusthof backpack, and that costs nearly $30+ more than this bag. It is nice quality for the price, looks great, very comfortable, utilitarian, and ergonomic in the right places. If you need an all around bag for work in & out of the kitchen, commuting, etc. BUY IT NOW!Product update: over a year later. 0 issues with this bag. Barely any wear and tear on it. No damage. Love it more and more as it breaks in.

Good bag