PGYTECH OneGo backpack review

Occasionally a piece of photographic kit arrives that breaks all normal conventions and supplies exactly what you want.

The PGYTECH OneGo is just that kind of product – when it arrived, and even now, a month on, this backpack looked fantastic and packed in plenty of promise. Removed from the packaging, it was instantly apparent why it has a $200+ price tag.

ONEGO BACKPACK

The outer Poly material has a PU coating to make it wear and water-resistant; it’s like an expensive vinyl and has a smooth tactile matt black finish.

Placing the backpack on the desk and checking it over, and every stitch, seam, and divide has the same level of care and attention to design. It is stunning.

One other feature that instantly strikes you is the weight, it’s far heavier than you’d expect. This can be attributed to the tough materials used and the AirFiber back pannel that help makes this backpack comfortable even when fully loaded.

Before we go into how the bag performs, I’ll give you a brief guided tour of some of the features that have stood out during the test.

The first is the four pockets dotted around the bag to stash cards, filters and other accessories. These are all of a good size, and in addition, there’s an open pouch at the top that I used for filter holders.

On the back is a laptop slot accessible from the top. For an 18 litre bag, it’s huge, easily slotting in a 16-inch MacBook Pro without issue.

The next feature is the accessibility, through the top or through either side, with the dividers inside movable to suit your needs.

These features are all good and as expected on a bag, but the real selling point for me was the ability to layout the bag flat. Unzip the YKK zipper down each side, and the bag quite literally folds out, neatly revealing the inner.

Unclip the divides, and then you can fold down the two sides as well; it’s just a great feature.

The PGYTECH OneGo is a day pack, but one that offers the quality and features that you’d expect from high-end professional backpacks.

Bag unpacked, checked over and filled with the kit and its straight out the door. The OneGo is a bag that instantly fills you with confidence that it will perform in the way that you want.

The materials and finish are all high quality, and this feeling is reinforced by the weight of the bag.

Sure enough, weighted down with a Sony A7III, 12-24mm and 24-70mm with a set of Nisi filters and Profoto A1X for good measure, everything fits neatly inside. There’s even room at the top for a raincoat.

The dividers are incredibly sturdy and can be moved around as you need. Because of how they’re designed, it can be quite tricky to arrange them in a meaningful manner. A bit of trial and error got them to a point I was happy with, but this still needs a little adjustment.

One feature I like about the dividers is they can be clipped into and out of the side slots, this means the bag can be laid out almost completely flat.

This sounds like a feature for the hell of it, but with the front folded down, along with one side, and you have plenty of space for things to be safely set down on the bage and off the bare earth.

The other feature that instantly impresses are the big interior pockets; these are great for stashing accessories and other items to keep them safe.

The bag zipped and popped onto my back, and the honeycomb padding structure with the straps and rear padding prove comfortable.

The bag arrives with the chest strap attached, this strap is a little thin but does the job, and there’s a waist strap that can be attached if needed. This strap is again quite thin and not the most comfortable against the body when wearing a T-shirt, but again does the job when the going gets tough.

The bag is designed as a daypack, and therefore there are a few features that are surprising to see. These are the chest and waist straps, as well as the tripod pocket and accessories straps.

These features are generally found on larger day hike packs, but it’s great to see them here.

Each side of the pack features zipped kit access along with a large expandable exterior pocket. This pocket features a good amount of space, perfect for a travel tripod up to 45cm packed.

You can then use one of the accessory straps to hold the tripod in place; again, the thought about the design shows.

The layout of the two sides is almost identical, so if you place a tripod on one side, you can sill side access the camera from the other. The side access works well with good quality zips.

If you prefer, you can use the accessory straps to mount the tripod on the base of the bag, keeping the two side accesses free.

Swinging the bag off your shoulder and the zip position is well placed, enabling for easy removal and replacement of the camera.

The top of the bag features a flap covering the top section, the inner cavity can be adjusted in size depending on where you place the divider. The flap features a FIDLOCK which is essentially a catch that enables easy access by pulling down to release and equally easily closes.

Another feature that I think is unique to this bag is the multifunctional magnetic badge. When you unzip one of the side pockets, you have three battery-sized slots to hold your batteries. When one exhausts, you place it into the pocket and flip the badge from green to red as an indicator.

It’s simple but effective. The badge can also be used to tighten or loosen your tripods base plate.

All in the OneGo is a phenomenal daypack, a little on the heavy side but provides you with plenty of space and features for your camera kit. The style and design mean that beyond photography it’s also a great choice for everyday.

The OneGo is designed as a daily use bag, the one you go for essentially, and it’s that.

The material quality and design are simplistic but stylish, and while testing, the styling was met with universal appeal.

When packing my kit, the size and layout of the 18-litre interior were just enough to get everything that I needed in place. Camera, two lenses, filters and flash, with space on the exterior to mount a tripod.

I liked the OneGo because it started as a camera bag, one that you grab when you’re off for a hike and want to take a camera. But soon, it naturally develops into your everyday bag.

The 16-inch laptop slot with divider means that a MacBook and LINEDOCK will fit with ease, and you don’t have to worry about the two scrapings against each other.

The top section has plenty of space for a light raincoat, kindle and food, while the side pockets will take a chilli bottle and dog treats.

At the end of this test, I’m impressed with the bag’s design, style, and function. Pgytech has stiff competition, but this bag already sets them as a company to watch.