Today we will take another look at the Crossfire DG3 backpack. As we said before this pack just plays in the top league of backpacks, so the DG3 has many technical highlights we won’t to point out. If you are looking for the basic functions of the DG3 you might want to take a look at part one of the review we did.
Today we are just gonna talk of all the parts this pack consists of. First of, you get the actual bag. Made of 500den Cordura ripstop.
On the front you see all the the features, like the center zip that make this pack so damn great. But on the backside you see what crossfire calls “Lost Arrows”, those are simple double layered tuck taps with metal O-Rings that Form the connection between the bag, the frame and the harness. What makes this so great is that this method of attachment primarely relys on textile attachment so there is nothing that can break.
Also this adds some movement between the bag and the frame, which is great to further compensate any movement of the fully loaded dg3. The tuck tab method is also simple, as you only need a pincer to quickly disassemble the pack.
Also on the top, just near the drag handle, you will find a sleeve made of mil spec webbing that keeps the frame in place. This adds even more stability to the pack and again shows crossfires attention to construct all connections between frame and pack from textile solutions.
As you might see, all webbing on our MultiCam sample is made from auscam webbing. The reason for this is not that crossfire wants to save money, but because crossfire developed an own jacquard woven webbing, that perfectly works with their “Lost Arrow” solution of attachment. In the near future Crossfire will produce MultiCam webbing. But it takes a really close look to see that this webbing is actually Auscam.
On the lower end of the rear you find a big velcro square. When you use the pack in external frame mode, it will serve no purpose. But when you decide to go “internal” the velcro, combined with two large Lost Arrows, will hold the hip pad.
Below the velcro square is a flat, velcro secured pocket for the internal frame. This works just like inserting a plate into most platecarrier systems. Just slide the frame in place, secure it and close the flap.
Speaking of the hip pad, you have some decent options here. You can choose between a solid hip pad, a divided hip pad and no hip pad at all. The hip belt has fins that can be disassembled. So you can either use no fins, a low profile webbing solution or a full padded belt.
The hip belt relys on velcro when attaching to the internal frame. But when you work with the external frame, the hip pad relies on moving swivels. This is based on a simple keyhole system, backed up by (again) tuck tabs.
On the lower frame you’ll find the said keyholes, offering you three positions on how high or how low the hip belt should ride. Adjustment is done in a few seconds. No sizing like on most MR packs here.
The yoke harness has long been established as being superior to split harnesses. This is because the weight gets even better distributed all over your shoulders and not just besides your neck.
The external frame consists of a rigid, yet flexible composite material. There is a ventilation cut in there, that has the rough shape of a SAPI Plate. A brilliant move, to make the frame compatible with body armour.
The harness adjustment is done with tuck tabs. You have three height options, combined with the three height options for the hip belt you get over a dozen possibilities to fit this pack to your body.
On the top of the frame you can adjust how high and how far or tight the shoulder straps are placed. This makes the yoke even more functional. When you take the time to adjust everything you get what feels like a tailored fit.
When buying the DG3 you not only get the pack, you also get a full suite of accessoires. You get a beavertail which holds a helmet well in place. You get two bladder pouches which not only hold 3l hydration Bladders but also other stuff.
You also get a radio pouch. The radio pouch holds big radios but also works great as an organizational pouch. There are also two small GP pouches, made of mesh, so you can see what’s inside of them. All pouches get also fixed by tuck tabs. Again you get everything listed when you purchase the basic pack. Other manufacturers will take money for each pouch.
To be honest. At first this pack seems very complex. But luckily for all our 11B readers, it comes fully assembled as a external frame pack. But I can just encourage you to disassemble the pack to really tailor it to your body.
The Crossfire DG3 is available directly from Crossfire’s Website.
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