Review Summary
Overall Rating: 9.3
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Look |
The Cardiel ORP pack is a sleek, minimalist packable backpack that is clean and low profile. The thicker fabric is less prone to wrinkles and the structured bottom panel gives the Cardiel a more traditional backpack style compared to the more formless look of other packable backpacks. |
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Function |
This roll top packable backpack perfectly fills its intended function providing an incredible 25 liters of packable space while rolling up to fit into any bag. The bag is an excellent balance between large capacity, comfortable carry, and durability while staying lightweight, compact and low profile. |
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Value |
Without sacrificing any of the quality and durability that Chrome is known for, this packable daypack rolls down into a tiny space that can fit in any suitcase or bag making it an auto inclusion for just about any trip. Beach days, excursions or even urban exploration are a snap with this backpack and thanks to the incredibly puncture and abrasion resistant external material this bag will last a lifetime of adventures. Given how often the bag will get used and thanks to its versatility, this backpack is an absolute steal. |
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| This packable backpack is light and compact, allowing you to easily pack it into almost any suitcase or travel backpack. | The Cardiel has no external pockets or water bottle holsters which means the only way to get anything out of the bag is to open the roll top. |
| There is an impressive 25 liters of packable space, more than enough for daily adventures and the rolltop allows you to adjust the size of the bag to fit your needs. | The backpack has no separate pockets and lacks any sort of organization features. |
| Diamond nylon ripstop makes this backpack durable, weather resistant and easy to clean even after rugged adventures. | The Cardiel packable daypack does not come with a carrying case that the bag can be packed into, leaving it to be rolled up when stowed away. |
Who is the Chrome Industries Cardiel Roll Top Packable Backpack Ideal For?
If you like to travel light, but want the convenience of having a daypack once you reach your destination, the Chrome Industries Cardiel ORP (Operation Readiness Pack) Backpack is probably right for you.
For travelers who enjoy beach days, urban exploring, excursions or day trips once they’ve arrived at their destination, this roll top packable backpack provides any easy way to bring your daypack with you without creating more luggage to coordinate through the airport. A travel backpack is often not the ideal daily driver once you get to your destination, but a packable daypack can allow you to bring an extra daypack backpack with you inside your travel backpack or suitcase without sacrificing space.
This bag is certainly at its best when urban exploring, hitting the beach or heading out on quick excursions. It boasts an impressive 25 liters of packable space that can fit just about anything you could need for a day out exploring. The diamond nylon ripstop material makes the backpack more durable and structured than other packable daypack options while maintaining an lightweight and compact profile.
Like most packable backpacks, the Cardiel is not optimal for strenuous activities. If you’re looking for a pack to take on a thru hike or to help you summit the mountain you may want to consider a backpack that has more comfort features and more structure in the pack.
Shop the Chrome Cardiel Rolltop Packable Daypack
Full Review of the Chrome Cardiel ORP Packable Daypack
Chrome Industries
Inspired by the energy of the city and dedicated to building durable and useful gear for their customers since 1995, Chrome Industries is known for their high quality design and durably constructed packs. Chrome stands behind their quality with a 365 TO LIFE warranty program that provides a lifetime guarantee on all bags purchased from an authorized Chrome reseller (That’s us!). This warranty covers all manufacturing and material defects and does not cover wear and tear through regular use or damage caused by accident or improper use.
External
The Chrome Industries Cardiel ORP (Operation Readiness Pack) is a roll top packable backpack with an impressive 25 liters of packable space in an extremely light 15 oz form. The Cardiel daypack backpack is roughly 18" H x 11" W x 6" D making it a sizable packable backpack, great for fitting lots of gear for daily adventures. This thin and ultra lightweight material allows the pack to compress down and roll up into a slim tube, ideal for stowing away into another bag.
The impressively light weight of this backpack is possible thanks to diamond nylon ripstop which is also extremely nonporous, and abrasion resistant, making the bag weather resistant and easy to clean.
The exterior of the bag is very minimalist with no external pockets or pouches. This means no quick access to your phone or wallet, and no water bottle holsters.
The large bucket style backpack does feature a rigid rubberized bottom panel which provides structure and padding for bumps and bruises along the way.
Up top, the roll top closure allows the bag to expand and compress to fit the space needed and features a new and improved opening lip that provides a structured point to roll the bag around when sealing it shut. This more rigid lip is still flexible though allowing the backpack to bend down to the attaching buckles at the bottom of the backpack on each side. These buckles are standard Chrome Industries snap-on buckles that feel sturdy and easy to clip and unclip with one hand.
On the sides you’ll find an additional Chrome branding patch, this time featuring the ORP specific badging.
On the back of the backpack, you’ll find padded and adjustable shoulder straps. These are a big improvement over the previous packable daypack straps as the strap padding is significantly larger and is made with a breathable mesh design.
A sternum strap with a lightweight snap buckle is included on each shoulder strap, while each strap is adjustable using a tension locking buckle that clamps the strap. These buckles are solid metal adding a bit of weight to the bag, but doing a fantastic job holding the strap with slipping and provide for incredibly easy adjustment.
This shoulder strap setup is comfortable to carry all day long even without a padded back panel and is an impressive improvement over the previous packable daypack.
The diamond ripstop nylon exterior material combined with the rubberized padded bottom makes this bag durable and far more protective for your gear. The stronger material also makes it less likely items will protrude into your back which is common with typically thin packable daypacks.
True to its Chrome Industries roots, the Cardiel packable daypack has a style that’s more natural in the city, but it doesn’t seem out of place elsewhere. This backpack has the distinct high gloss black look of most Chrome gear, but it’s still an easy choice for beach days, day trips and excursions.
Inside the Cardiel Packable Daypack
Inside the Chrome Cardiel ORP Backpack you will find a massive 25 liters of packable space that shares the same diamond ripstop nylon material and color, and is sealed with a roll top closure. The backpack features a single open bucket style packing area, split only by a hydration/laptop sleeve.
This sleeve does not feature any padding though so we’re not jumping to throw our laptops in the backpack unless we’re using a separate padded laptop sleeve already. The Cardiel sleeve is great for dividing up the pack though if you have items that you want to keep separate like a wet bathing suit.
The interior of the pack is extremely minimalist and lacks any organization features to help keep your items separated when packed. This pack does work beautifully though, in combination with a few packing cubes and an electronics organizer to keep things separated.
Testing & Ownership
This bag is amazing at its intended use. The Cardiel is a packable daypack which means you should not expect it to replace your travel backpack, hiking pack or laptop backpack. It simply doesn’t have the organization, structure or carrying features to replace those bags. But this bag shines as a complement to those packs when you’re touring a new city, when you’ve hopped in an uber to explore a cenote, or when you’re biking down to the beach, and your other bags are too big, bulky or specialized to be a good fit. Plus with 25 liters of packable space in a form that can be rolled down and fit into just about any bag, the Cardiel ORP is incredibly convenient to stow and bring on just about any adventure.
The one downside is the lack of any exterior pockets and no water bottle pockets.
This bag is stowed right next to our travel backpack and suitcase so that any time we’re packing one of those we automatically grab the Cardiel and stash it into the bag. It takes up so little space and weight in our luggage that the cost of bringing the Cardiel along on any trip is minimal, and at our destination we always find ourselves in a situation where this pack is the perfect solution.
The pack is incredibly versatile. The rolltop closure allows it to expand and compact to the appropriate size, and the exterior material is tough and nonporous. The diamond ripstop nylon is impressively abrasion and puncture resistant and shows no sign of use despite months of testing. Sand, mud, dirt and grime are no problem and just wipe right away.
Final Verdict
If you’re looking for a large capacity and versatile daypack that can easily fit into any backpack or luggage the Chrome Industries Cardiel ORP Packable Daypack is one of the best packable daypacks available. Urban exploring, beach trips and day excursions or no problem for this lightweight and comfortable daypack. To read a full comparison of the Chrome Cardiel Packable Daypack vs. the original Chrome Packable Daypack check out our article on 5 Reasons The Cardiel Packable Daypack is Better Than The Original Packable Daypack.
If you’re looking for a waterproof packable daypack check out the Peregrine Koa. If you love the minimalist style of the Chrome Packable Backpack but want something more compact, the Caribee Foldaway Packable Daypack Backpack is a great alternative.