Spiral Glow In The Dark Black Speckles OG – Review

August 7, 2015 Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Like it? Help us by sharing it!

Hello! It’s been a while since I had time to guest spot here at Camping with Style – it’s lovely to be back! Shell has very kindly asked me to review a backpack and so without further ado, I’d better tell you what I thought about it.

What I Tested

Spiral OG Glow in the dark backpack
18 litres capacity
Lots of different colours and designs available
£24.99
Hidden zip pouch
Inner laptop / book divider
www.spiraluk.com

The Lowdown

It’s awesome. Buy one. If you don’t like the Glow in the Dark version, just head over to Spiral’s website and feast your eyes on the amazing vivid variants from red roses to galaxy prints, monochrome hieroglyphs to tie dye paradise. Or, you know, just pick up a Classic Charcoal to stay cool and classy.

Now I’ll get on to all the reasons why you should do this (because otherwise it’s not a real review, is it?)

It’s pretty big

The Spiral OG backpacks have 18 litres capacity. They measure 29cm x 14cm x 44cm. Inside there is a small zip pocket at the top, near the media port, and there’s a padded divider (referred to as an inner laptop/book divider).

What does this mean in real packing camping terms?

In this bag I managed to fit all of the following;

One pair of size seven hiking boots
A pair of denim jeans
A pair of cotton shorts
A t-shirt
Base layer long sleeved top
Base layer long leggings
Walking socks
A large microfibre towel
My toiletries bag
Plus a full change of underthings (not photographed to spare blushes)
And there was still enough room in the main compartment to have crammed in a book
And I didn’t put anything in the front zippered compartment apart from wallet, keys, phone, map.

In other words, I could get everything in that I’d expect to need for a quick night away – full change of clothing and footwear, plus essentials.

I also took it to pick up everything needed for a burger feast on a barbeque. I comfortably filled it up with milk, 2 bottles of wine, packet of salad, three packs of fresh burgers, a massive slice of watermelon, a packet of strawberries and 2 packets of halloumi. I didn’t cram the bread in, I confess. This totalled 7 kg of groceries and the straps didn’t bite into my shoulders during a 500 yard walk from the shop.

So. It’s that big. Did I mention they’re big?!

Great quality

I can often tell by touch whether a polyester backpack is going to last a while or whether it’s going to start fraying at the seams after a season of heavy use. This one feels solid. The seams were all well stitched without any give and the polyester fabric feels thick and durable.

The zips and zip pulls feel to be of good quality. The inside divider in the main compartment is well padded and actually separates the compartment very well; it’s not just a tiny pocket thing at the back thrown in for aesthetic value. The straps are wide and very thickly padded. The only constructive criticism I have is that that it would have been nicer to have the straps graduate outwards at the shoulder, to spread that weight a bit more across the shoulder.

There was no label with my bag to let me know about the amazing qualities of my bag when faced with the wet stuff that falls from the sky on a regular basis. It arrived during the summer and much to my irritation, I’ve failed to be able to test it in the rain so far. So I did the next best thing. I took it into the yard and sprayed it liberally with water. And all my stuff was still dry, even after letting the bag sit wet for half an hour.

Does it actually glow in the dark?

Yes. Mine did, anyway. Enough to be able to find it.

Our Verdict

This is a well made, aesthetically pleasing backpack with lots of room, ideal for back to school, short day hikes and regular daily use. See the full range of Spiral OG Backpacks here.

Thank you to Spiral UK who supplied the backpack for us to test.

Save

About
Latest Posts

Follow Shell

Shell Robshaw-Bryan

Editor & Owner at Camping with Style

Shell loves all things travel and outdoors and is a nature-loving, comfy-camping kinda girl. Shell started the Camping with Style blog after a serious snowboarding accident which left her with a broken back. Despite this she used the outdoors and healing power of nature to aid her recovery and she continues to spend time outdoors whenever she can.

From open water swimming, snowboarding and kayaking to hill walks and meditation, Shell shares her travels and microadventures here on the blog and in various publications she's written for, Shell has a particular interest in promoting wellbeing and the many benefits of nature therapy.

Follow Shell

Latest posts by Shell Robshaw-Bryan (see all)