The Lowdown
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack has become the bag I reach for most often when I head out the door for work or day trips. It has all the simple utility & maneuverability of a messenger bag with two straps for optimized carry. I highly recommend this one if you need a simple, durable daily driver for your essentials.
Overall
Pros
- Simple design
- Excellent usability
- Comfortable for all-day carry
Cons
- Could use some extra organization in the front pocket
- Laptop protection might not suit everyone’s needs
Chrome Industries has a rich history of building tough, functional bags that all started with their legendary bike messengers back in 1995. With their signature Gryphon logo and seatbelt-style buckles, they’re hard to miss in the wild. Today we’re looking at the Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack, a new daypack design that’s made for moving fast & traveling light while still hauling up to a 16″ MacBook Pro! Let’s dig in and find out more!
Style, Materials & Build
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack presents with a clean, functional profile that buttons up nicely for the office commute while flashing a bit of personality for casual use. My tester looks great in the black-on-black colorway, but the style elements really pop in the alternate coyote/black and steel/black variants if you want some more flair.
The side profile is lean and mean for a 22-liter pack, with extra angles that soften the boxy geometry. It feels smaller than it carries when you start loading it up. Those angled contours are also functional, allowing the bag to collapse elegantly if you’re not fully packed without looking like a floppy oversized T-shirt.
A closer look quickly reveals the bike messenger DNA that marks all of Chrome Industries’ designs. Weather-resistant recycled nylon is the primary material, with an extra-reinforced base. One of the water bottle pockets includes a tether to secure a U-lock to your bike. The back panel is ventilated, and the sternum strap closes with a miniature version of the famous Chrome seatbelt buckle. Seatbelt-style strapping is integrated throughout the bag.
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack’s build quality is deceptive. It has no frame sheet for structure, and the recycled nylon feels lighter & more supple than what I’ve seen on other Chrome products. But you’ll find the build is packed with excellent attention to detail. There’s not a seam or edge in the Recruit that isn’t tightly finished. Key stress points are overbuilt with extra stitching & reinforcement materials. YKK zips are used throughout, along with quality hardware. Every corner of the bag is built to handle wear & tear.
The material choices, while lighter than what I’ve seen in other Chrome products, are proving to be just as tough while the total weight comes in to 1.8 pounds! This makes for a bag that is light on the shoulders and easy to toss around.
Sizing, Layout & Organization
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack measures in at 18″ by 11″ by 6″ with a total capacity of 22 liters. The layout focuses on simple, roomy spaces and an organizational approach that feels a lot like a messenger bag.
On the front panel, you’ll find a massive front pocket that measures 13.25″ by 12″, accessed through a vertical side zip. I have my Leuchtturm 1917 A5 notebook in these pics for reference (5.75″ by 8.25″), and I can fit that in there with all my other quick-grab stuff like my phone, snacks, earbuds, pens, etc.
The vertical zip stops about an inch above the bottom of the pocket, so your stuff doesn’t tumble out when you open it.
One clever bit of this bag’s layout is how the front pocket material bellows out as you pack it. This allows you to stuff this pocket without compromising your main compartment space.
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack gives you two external side pockets designed to flex for larger hydration bottles. As mentioned above, the left pocket also has a stretch cord to anchor down a U-lock for a bike or other taller items. I have a 22-ounce Yeti Rambler in the pocket for a size reference, but I can also get bigger 32-ounce hydration bottles into these pockets with that extra flex. Bigger bottles will eat into your main compartment space, though.
To get to your main compartment, you’ll find a dual-zip that runs a little more than halfway down the sides of the bag. The positioning of this zip is interesting, as it is positioned at an angle that runs toward the back of the bag as you get to the bottom of the track.
The result is that it opens that space a bit more, making it easier to access the main compartment. It also offers some protection for the laptop compartment if things get wet.
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack’s internal compartment is designed kind of like a messenger bag, loading from back to front in layers. The organizer pockets are stacked in rows so that they don’t compete for space if you’re trying to reach in and grab an item.
Starting with the bottom row, you’ll find a mesh flexible pocket on the left-hand side, with that mesh providing a bit of visibility into the contents. I have my wallet stashed here.
On the right, you’ll find two pen slots and a closed pocket where I keep assorted doodads.
Behind this space is a larger flat pocket that easily swallows my notebook, with room for more. Books, e-readers, and similar items will find a home here… or you could use this to collect your charging cables. Note that this pocket does not drop all the way to the base of the bag (it’s about 7.5″ deep), so stuff doesn’t get trapped in there if you’re fully loaded up.
A D-ring attachment point hangs off the edge of this pocket. I currently have a carabiner hooked into that ring to hang my keys.
Finally, we have the internal laptop sleeve that will take up to a 16-inch MacBook Pro! This space uses quilted padding to protect your moneymaker.
Everything else in the main compartment is open space that you’ll pack from the bottom up. Here’s an example of my daily loadout, showing the extra space & accessibility to the back panel when it’s loaded.
How Does It Carry?
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack is extremely comfortable to carry, with just enough padding in the right places for the intended light loads. The airmesh padding on the back panel is matched on the back of the shoulder straps.
The mini seatbelt buckle is one of my favorite details in the pack. One of Chrome’s trademark design elements is the leveraging seatbelt webbing and seatbelt-style buckles for closures. While this bag doesn’t need the full-size buckle like the one on my Buran messenger, they made a mini version for the sternum strap! It’s not only adorable, but it’s also very functional and easy to secure/release one-handed if you’re running around on your phone.
The sternum strap sits on seatbelt-style rails that can be adjusted based on your chest size. The width is also fully adjustable and includes an elastic loop to manage any excess if you pull it tight.
The grab handle is a simple doubled-over bit of that seatbelt-style strapping, with plenty of width for my fingers to get underneath. It’s just fine for quick grabs and short-term carry given the lighter bag.
You’ll also see that the same handle strap extends to the shoulder straps, which attach independently to the back panel. This allows for extra freedom of movement & is better for one-shoulder carry.
There’s a simple luggage pass-through strap that uses that seatbelt-style strapping at the midpoint of the back panel.
The Bag in Use
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack is the perfect bag for those who love the simple usability of a messenger bag but prefer a backpack form. This bag is made for grabbing your essentials and heading out the door without the fuss.
The bag is extremely comfortable to carry. I find the shoulder strap design very flexible, with just the right padding for lighter loads. The wide shoulder straps and generous adjustments make it easy to find a good fit for my larger shoulders. It’s also very comfortable for one-shoulder carry.
The sternum strap is also pretty great with that clever seat buckle closure and some flex in the straps that enable you to get a tight fit comfortably. The only issue I see is that I have a bigger torso and could use a few extra inches of strap travel to position it lower.
Without a frame sheet, the bag hugs your back and moves with you. I took this bag to a trade show last month that included mass transit travel as well as lots of maneuvering through crowded show floors. I really liked how the bag’s streamlined design makes it easy to move through crowds. Pardon my assistant in the picture below.
Despite the Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack’s low profile and nimble nature, it is important to note that you do have a true 22-liter capacity, so you can haul stuff when you need it! The dual external pockets not only provide easy access to your hydration bottles and whatnot, but they also keep the main space open. I had my laptop, notebook & essentials in this for that trade show, with room to load up on vendor swag, literature, handouts, etc.
To give you a sense of the Chome Industries Recruit 22L Daypack’s capacity, here is a typical loadout for a trip to the office. I’ve got my 16 MacBook Pro, a notebook, my web conference headset, pens, cables, chargers, and even a T-shirt thrown in there, with room to spare for a fully packed lunch and some extras if I need them.
Simple organization & accessibility are strong on this bag, very much like a messenger. You can set the bag down at your desk, unzip the main compartment, and easily access your stuff in that organizer area.
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack’s front pocket is big & wide open for what you need on the run, making this a great bag for a carry-on or public commuting. You can stash a notebook, earbuds (maybe low-profile headphones), your phone, and other odd bits you may need there for quick access without digging into the main compartment. I’m torn on whether extra organization in there would help. It’s a big space and everything kind of falls to the bottom, but it’s not so big that stuff gets lost.
I should note that the bag does not have a dedicated tablet area other than the spaces mentioned earlier. You may be able to squeeze one in with your laptop if it doesn’t have a case.
I find the Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack’s simple & straightforward pocketing very user-friendly, but that’s not necessarily everyone’s thing. If you’re a micro-organizer, you’ll want more pockets for stuff. I actually toss a little organizer pouch in this bag for things like glasses cleaners, medicines, and little bits that I don’t need immediate access to. I carry one charging cable, one power brick, and a docking bar on the daily that I stash in the open pockets. You may want a wire dopp or something if you regularly need a ton of cables and connectors.
I’ve found the laptop protection to be just fine for my use case, with that padded sleeve & plenty of depth to protect the corners of my MacBook, but it doesn’t offer the “bombproof” protection other bags may offer for harder use. On the plus side, that lack of extra structure makes this bag perfect for use without the laptop. I’ve used it often carrying just my 12.9″ iPad or no computer at all.
Conclusion
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack has become the bag I reach for most often when I head out the door for work or day trips. It has all the simple utility & maneuverability of a messenger bag with two straps for optimized carry. I highly recommend this one if you need a simple, durable daily driver for your essentials.
The Chrome Industries Recruit 22L Pack retails for $130; it is available directly from the manufacturer and other retailers, including Amazon.
Source: Manufacturer-supplied review sample
What I Like: Simple design; Excellent usability; Comfortable for all-day carry
What Needs Improvement: Could use some extra organization in the front pocket; Laptop protection might not suit everyone’s needs