This Unique Bag is Fast But Stiff: Morally Toxic Wraith 15L Review - Yahoo Tech

Camera bags generally fall into two camps: the athletic, nylon bags, or the more fashionable canvas or leather options. The new Morally Toxic Wraith 15L doesn’t pledge allegiance to either camp. The bag has nylon material, but it’s a pebbled, textured look that feels more punk rock than sports jock. Yet, the bag has suede-like accents that feel more reminiscent of canvas bags. It’s a combination that’s both unique and eye-catching.

But, the Wraith does more than look good. There’s only a single zipper between you and your gear. There’s a cushy shoulder pad that stays in place. There are tons of pockets. Unfortunately, there are also a few odd design choices. It’s one of the first four bag designs from a new company. Morally Toxic derived its name from a desire to create a fair work environment and environmentally conscious products. Toxic, well, with a goal of “corrosion to conformity.” Let’s dig in.

Too Long, Didn’t Read.

The Morally Toxic Wraith 15L is a comfortable messenger bag that makes gear quick to access and comfortable to wear. But, the dividers are too stiff, the hardware squeaks, and the camera compartment zipper isn’t sealed like the laptop compartment.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Unusual design and pattern

• Comfortable padding on the strap

• Durable materials

• Built-in pockets on the dividers

• Quick access

• Lots of ways to organize

• Luggage pass through

Cons

• Limited configuration

• Plastic hardware squeaks

• Stiff dividers trap lens hoods

• Zipper gets in the way

• Strap is too long for sling wear

• Main compartment zipper isn’t weather-sealed like the laptop compartment

Gear Used

I primarily used the Morally Toxic Wraith 15L with the Panasonic S5, the 70-200mm f2.8 Pro, the 20-60mm f3.5-5.6, and the Leica 50mm f2 Summilux. To see what kind of gear would fit, I also configured the bag with a Nikon D850 and Sigma 105mm f2.8 Macro, and the Nikon Z7 with the Z 50mm f1.2. I also stashed my iPad in the laptop pocket.

Innovations

The Morally Toxic Wraith 15L doesn’t look like a camera bag — it’s not an athletic style or canvas bag, and it’s not a business-like messenger. It has a more urban, punk-rock feel. It’s going to appeal to photographers that haven’t found a style that they like already on the market.

Morally Toxic Wraith 15L Tech Specs

Morally Toxic lists these details for the Wraith bag:

• Medium has a 15L capacity

• Constructed with tough fabrics that are treated to repel liquids

• Padded main storage for camera gear with movable dividers

• Laptop pocket with two-side opening for easy access.

• Unique “Frog” pocket for stowage of wet items, with collapsable divider, accessible
  from bag exterior to avoid contact with electronics

• Dual front organizer pockets with inward access to prevent side access

• Protective front flap with zipped access to tablet stowage

• Secret pocket for cash and passport security

• Internal dividers with integrated pockets – ideal for cables, filters and lens cloths

• Stowage strap for connecting to roller-cases

• Woven nylon adjustable shoulder strap with detachable padded shoulder strap, and
  dual strap attachment points for use messenger or sling style

• Dual carry handle on top with connecting pad

• Smart use of fabrics in its construction avoids waste

• Choice of two sizes and three colors

• 5 Year global warranty

• Laptop/tablet pocket for up to 13-inch

• Available colors: Onyx, emerald, sapphire

Ergonomics

For a mid-sized bag, the Morally Toxic Wraith has a great number of different pockets. The front of the pocket has a large zippered pocket that actually fits an iPad. Below that is a flap that closes with snaps. Here, there’s a hidden pocket inside the flap that’s big enough for a phone, wallet, and passport. Below that are two pockets that open with a clamshell zipper. The zippers are intentionally on the inside of the bag in a measure to protect against pickpockets. One of these pockets has two wide, snug inner pockets and a key ring. The other has narrower pockets and three pen sleeves.

The back has another zippered pocket that’s big enough for me to fit my entire hand in. The laptop compartment also sits at the back. One side of the zipper unzips all the way to the bottom of the bag, which makes getting the device out easier. The laptop pocket, however, doesn’t have the same pickpocket prevention as the front pocket. The outside of the bag has a strap to attach the bag to luggage handles.

One side of the bag has a nice stretchy pocket for a water bottle. The opposite has what Morally Toxic calls a Frog pocket. It’s a pocket made for keeping wet things away from electronics. While the idea is great, the execution is just so-so. The Frog pocket cuts into the main compartment of the bag, taking away some room there. Inside, there’s about enough room for a soda can — so it’s not going to be enough to stash a bulky raincoat. I could see it being used to stash a poncho or something similar. But, for the amount of space that it takes up, the uses are more limited.

The main compartment of the bag is surprisingly large for a mid-sized messenger. I could fit the D850 with a lens attached. The 70-200mm had to be detached from the S5 to fit, but the big telephoto still fit in the bag.

The ways to configure the inside of the bag, however, are limited. The camera bodies fit best turned to the side. If you place the cameras parallel with the bag, there’s a lot of room for them to wiggle around. The frog pocket also cuts out a corner of the bag. The pocket is packable, so theoretically you can squish the pocket and use the space for gear. But, to do that, I wanted another longer divider that reached the top. The bag only includes one that reaches the top of the bag. The other divider cordons off that Frog pocket. The two remaining dividers are short and made to sit on top of the frog pocket or by folding the one long divider to create a shelf.

The dividers were also a bit stiff. That works well for the backpack where lenses are stored horizontally. But, with a stiff divider and lenses stored up and down, the reversed lens hood tended to get stuck.

I love that two of the dividers have a pocket in them to stash more gear, however. These pockets are made of the same soft suede-like material that’s on the back of the bag. The velcro on the pockets is pretty sturdy too.

The zipper for the main compartment runs down the center of the bag. I prefer messengers that have a clamshell opening here. The middle zipper leaves two big flaps on the side that make it a little more difficult to grab gear out. With the layout fitting cameras sideways best, it’s a little annoying grabbing the grip that’s tucked under a snug zipper flap.

The Wraith has both a grab handle and a shoulder strap. The shoulder strap can be worn cross-body or over the shoulder. With two adjustment points on both sides, you could potentially adjust it to fit right on either shoulder. Two additional attachment points convert the bag to a sling. But, I found the strap too long to wear as a sling or to adjust one side longer or shorter than the other. I had to wear both adjustment points pulled snug right up to the shoulder pad. At the shortest possible setting, the bag sits over my butt, not the small of my back. The shortest setting also leaves the adjustment hardware on my chest when wearing it cross shoulder. This won’t be an issue for taller photographers. (I’m 5’2”.)

The Morally Toxic Wraith has several exciting features, but the main compartment dampened the excitement for me a bit. There’s a ton of outer pockets for organizing, but the main compartment is more limited and the stiff dividers tend to trap lens hoods. The strap is also a little too long for me personally. The bag is comfortable, however, and seems to offer good protection for gear.

Build Quality

The cool pebbled pattern on the bag’s exterior is actually made from a map of England’s Stagsden, where the company is based. The company says that the material is treated to resist moisture and stains. I sprinkled water on the outside of the front flap and it didn’t penetrate through the other side. The back of the bag uses a suede-like material that’s soft and tones down the texture a bit. The reverse of this is a plasticky pocket, so water doesn’t seep in through the suede-like back.

I can’t say the same for the zippers, however. The laptop compartment and the large front zipper have that rubber-like sealing on them that does a good job of keeping out light rain. But, the main compartment zipper? The one where all the camera gear sits? It doesn’t have this rubber-like seal, it has a fabric one. This makes no sense. The camera compartment should have that same protected zipper. Splashes didn’t get in, but water sitting on the top of the bag soaks right into the main compartment. Either use zippers that protect all the electronics, or use regular zippers and don’t advertise water resistance.

The strap is of nice quality. I love that the shoulder pad has a zipper closure, not velcro, and it fits snug. It doesn’t move around. The hardware, however, is plastic. When the bag is sitting at just the right angle, the hardware squeaks. It sounds like I stuffed one of my dog’s half-dead squeaker toys in the bottom of the bag. It’s fixed by adjusting the position of the bag, thankfully.

Ease of Use

As a messenger bag, the Wraith is quick to access. A lot of messengers have a flap and a zipper to get open to access gear. The Wraith has just a zipper. There’s less bag to go through to grab gear. I wish the zipper opened a little further to make digging in easier, but the size of the opening isn’t terrible. If you have a hood reversed, the snug dividers will slow you down just a bit. You have to reach around the flap to grab the camera grip too.

The laptop/tablet compartment is also quick to access. I love that the zipper goes all the way down one side. That makes it easier to pull out quickly rather than digging to get your fingers around and pulling it up. I only had an iPad on hand to test this with, so I can’t speak for how snug a 13-inch laptop will fit.

Morally Toxic Wraith 15L Review Conclusions

Likes

• It doesn’t look like a camera bag.

• I really like how the shoulder pad is designed.

• The materials are durable and look great.

• This bag has plenty of pockets.

• There’s just one zipper to the main compartment — no flap — so access is quick.

• There’s a nice luggage pass through for travel.

• The dividers have nice pockets in them.

• The laptop is easy to access.

Dislikes

• The wet pocket limits the ways to configure the bag — and I wish there was one more tall divider included.

• The plastic hardware squeaks occasionally.

• Because the dividers are stiff, you have to make them fit snug, so lens hoods tend to catch.

• The strap is too long — shorter photographers won’t be able to customize it.

• Why is the laptop zipper weather-resistant, but the camera one is not?

The Morally Toxic Wraith 15L doesn’t look like every other camera bag on the market. But this punk-rock-looking bag is more than just good looks. It keeps the main benefit of using a messenger bag — speed — intact by using only a single zipper to access gear. There’s no extra flap to mess with. The shoulder pad is super comfortable. There are tons of pockets, along with a wet pocket and a luggage pass-through.

However, as quick and unique as the Wraith is, I would need to see a Mark II for it to make it into my top ten. The dividers are stiff — if I adjust them snug enough that lenses don’t bounce around, then the lens hood tends to get caught. I also wish the zipper opening was a bit wider. The strap is also too long for a photographer on the short side to be able to adjust the strap or convert it into a sling. The main compartment doesn’t have the same lovely rubber-like seal on the zipper as the laptop sleeve.

While the too-stiff dividers and too-long strap don’t put the Wraith in my top ten, I can see photographers that love the look of the bag still enjoying it and working around its flaws. The more I used it, the more I liked the bag. But, there are just a few odd design choices. It’s not a bad bag for a brand new company, and I’m excited to see what Morally Toxic comes up with next. I’m giving the Morally Toxic Wraith three out of five stars.

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This Unique Bag is Fast But Stiff: Morally Toxic Wraith 15L Review - Yahoo Tech
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