UDG Ultimate Slim Backpack Review

Browse topics show

UDG’s ever popular backpacks take a diet…

The UDG ultimate range of luggage needs little introduction. With a product range now spanning some 175 products even if you don’t own one, no doubt you will have seen a UDG bag within a booth. The latest product to join the range is the Ultimate Slim backpack. Drawing on the key elements that made its bigger brothers such popular products, the Slim backpack aims to keep high versatility regardless of its smaller footprint. A bag that small enough to make the Ultimate backpack look chunky, but still capable of carrying a full size battle mixer? Let’s take a closer look to see what UDG have done to make such a feat possible.

The same but slimmer?

As you’d expect from a bag living in the same product range, the slim instantly feels familiar. Built from the same water resistant nylon and featuring the same bright orange interior, the slim feels every bit as high quality as it’s counterparts. The real difference though is when you pick up the Slim, weighing in lighter than the standard backpack its feels noticeably smaller in the hand. Sitting 4cm lower and 10cm slimmer than the standard backpack there will be no worries at all when it comes to hand luggage restrictions when travelling.

	Ultimate Slim	UDG Ultimate
Depth	23 cm (Extended)	22 cm
Height	44 cm	51 cm
Width	32 cm	40 cm
Weight	1.4kg	1.5 kg

So as expected the slim is smaller and lighter than the standard UDG ultimate backpack, but what has that done for the storage space? Well, this is where UDG have excelled. The back of the bag houses the padded 17″ laptop compartment complete with dedicated iPad pocket. We did find however that the iPad pocket only squeezed our iPad pro in once we removed the apple magnetic cover.

The main compartment features a velcro strap to tie down your expensive equipment and a piece of padded foam to help add an extra layer of protection where ever necessary. There is a small divider inside that creates another storage area and two net pockets to help keep cables or personal items tidy. The bag’s dividers actually split with velcro allowing the bag to be fully unzipped and folder 180°making loading far easier.

You may be questioning how a bag named the slim is able to carry a mixer the size of a DJM S9, well this is where UDG have excelled. Running the full length of the bag, there is an external zip that when undone allows the slim to gain an extra inch in depth! Around the front of the bag we find a slim front pocket, full of dedicated area’s for business cards, pens and personal items.

At the bottom we have the quick access headphone pocket, as with most UDG backpacks I found this pocket a little on the small size. My industry standard HD25’s only just squeezing in to a point where I felt more comfortable storing them in the main compartment and replacing them with my XLR’s and microphone.

The rear of the bag features superb padding and a handy trolley strap that is thankfully velcro’d down when not in use. The lowest piece of padding actually features a zip along the top of it, revealing a slim and rather hidden pocket. This is brilliant for travellers needing to hide valuables like passports away from pickpockets with it being impossible to access this pocket whilst wearing the backpack. Finally the slim backpack is the first to feature an external USB port on the left hand side.

The female USB A port is covered from the elements by a rubber cover and allows the user to charge their phone whilst on the go. The other side of the port is a tied up USB A cable cable that can be plugged into a battery bank of your choice and sits inside the main compartment with enough slack to reach the netted pockets.

In Conclusion

The UDG slim is a well constructed backpack that fit’s almost the same amount of storage as much bigger products into a smaller footprint. A major gripe I had when reviewing the UDG Ultimate Digi backpack was the amount of times I found my self banging into things and people when traveling. This slim backpack solves that problem and can carry almost as much gear. Admittedly if you are carrying a mixer or large device, there isn’t much spare space but you can comfortably carry all the essentials needed for performing a gig. The charging port is a brilliant idea and something I’d love to see UDG implement on all its future products. In all it’s an impressive back that punches above its weight. Similar in design Magma Riot backpack but delivered in a smaller package, this bag is ideal for those DJ’s who only want to carry the essentials in the smallest package possible.