Fantastic high-quality and honest review as always, I got the Mini MLC after watching your videos a few months ago and have been super happy. This is by far the best one bag travel channel on RU-vid, keep it up!
I got the MLC after one of your videos. I use it as my everyday bag and I also used as a one bag travel in a recent 1 month trip to India. Just a delight to use
Soooo happy you wrote this comment. I bought the MLC 26l (it will arrive in 2 days) and got a bit of buyers remorse... Because I need it the most for everyday use. I travel light maybe 1 time a month. And i saw some people saying that the MLC wasn't that great for everyday use 😮
The true beauty of the dragonfly in my eyes, and why I’d strongly prefer it, is that it can tackle such a wide variety of trips and it is very lightweight. More and more, I am finding excessive materials and branding driving up costs when what really matters is the en-route experience. This means reliable materials, low weight, weatherproofing and sensible access/storage. Lastly, versatility. Yes the dragonfly looks outdoorsy. But hiking with it would be massive convenient with the ability to externally store gear (especially wet gear that needs to dry.) I get why it’s so popular. Finding these attributes in a single bag, after hours and hours of time spent searching, is just really difficult. The dragonfly is the direction one bagging should be headed. A master of many situations.
I’ve been using my Mini MLC more frequently and my appreciation for the design and balance of features continues to grow. They really did a nice job with the Mini MLC. My only major complaint is the gigantic obnoxious logo.
Agree about the logo! Northface has the same problem. If I bought a bag from either company, I’d want to sew a blackout patch over the logo. And we are not alone: you’ll see logo complaints in the comments for any of their bag reviews. You’d think they’d get the hint and produce a travel bag model or colorway without a logo. Hats off to ULA.
Great vid. Used your vids to help me get my ULA dragonfly last year. Absolutely love it. Only did a 1.5 bag domestic trip and it was freeing. Love the big deep water pockets. Hoping to run the same set up for a Japan trip later this year. Gonna be amazing feeling not checking in luggage and running personal item only lol.
Nice review! Kudos on letting folks know the actual volume of the Dragonfly interior. But a few things about the pack. First, when did you buy yours? It has features that are now discontinued, at least compared to the pack I got in September of 2023, which has the hip belt loops. (Love the ULA hip belt!) The straps on the bottom, I believe, are a thing of the past. Also--unbelievably--they no longer include the little grommet water-release holes on the side pockets. That was a HORRIBLE decision, as when water gets into those giant pockets, it moves out very, very slowly, greatly increasing the chance that the water will get into the main compartment through the bottom seams. It also looks like your pack has liner on the sides of the main compartment, which ULA no longer does for its Ultra bags. (They also don't have that cool little bit of different fabric at the top of the shoulder straps.) As for the laptop compartment, it easily fit my 16" MacBook Pro with a large protective shell, so I believe it's larger than the Patagonia, though I've never tried the latter--but if it's a true 15" compartment, the Dragonfly's is bigger. Additionally, having one single zipper opening--on a vertical wall rather than directly on the top, let alone all along the sides--does a MUCH better job of protecting your laptop from moisture. To have so much zipper with no water resistance around the laptop on the Patagonia seems like a bad choice, even if there's more internal organization. (But I guess not everyone cares about water/weather resistance.) Finally, I'm curious whether your Dragonfly actually has Ultra fabric behind the front mesh panel. Mine didn't. (I sold it, so I can't use the present tense.) That's the pack's dirty little secret, as it's actually just basic 420D nylon there and only mesh in front of it, which means a significant decrease in water resistance, especially because water can collect behind the mesh and then pass through the nylon and the seam to enter the main compartment. I have no idea why ULA made the choice to use nylon rather than Ultra there. Maybe just to cut down on the higher cost of the Ultra? But yeah, that doesn't seem fair for the Ultra packs, which now retail for $269, I believe. Anyway, I loved the comfort and packability of the Dragonfly, but it didn't have the water resistance I needed, and the aesthetics aren't my favorite, though I do think the white one is much nicer than the black. It's certainly a pack made purely for functionality (i.e., light weight), and it does that pretty well aside from the issues I noted.
This one is from 2022 I think. I saw they made some updates but I didn't realize there were so many! Thanks for summarizing them, very helpful. Good point on the front panel, no it doesn't. Just a few inches on the top above the zipper. The rest of the panel is the mesh, behind that is the interior liner fabric. If they ditched the liner fabric, the 2023 update probably just has the Robic. They claim it's treated, but I haven't tried it. Sounds like I'm going to have to get one of the new packs to compare!
@@OneBagTravels I read some pretty detailed, believable reviews on Reddit about water soaking in through that front panel. I did my own "water test," and that indeed is where most of it got in, so the bottom of the pack was the wettest. Probably more water flow than a rain shower, but definitely less than the typical "shower or hose challenge." Haven't posted because I don't want to upset ULA--or to let folks think that other zipper-and-seam packs would do much better.
Great comparison, Id love to try the dragonfly but hard to get and expensive shipping here (Australia). The MLC looks nice but that giant logo on the front is very unfortunate
Patagonia's logos are unfortunate, but at least the colorways they offer on the Mini MLC 30 aren't as outrageous as some of their packs. I wish ULA did better with international shipping but right now it seems like they can barely keep up with regional demand.
That's a great update by them, I'm curious to try the new size. They had a previous ULA Atlas that was a similar style but larger, I guess this is them bringing the Atlas back but slightly smaller (Atlas was 40L). The link is still on their website but they no longer sell it. www.ula-equipment.com/product/atlas/
I know ULA have the larger Camino and taller Atlas, but I'd like a wider Dragonfly "35L". More volume while still easily meeting carry-on limits, and even some personal item limits
I agree, I'd like this exact same bag but a little larger, but more geared to personal item size dimensions and not tall and skinny like a traditional backpacking bag. I haven't seen them make the Atlas in awhile, not sure if it's discontinued.
@@Lenduya Finally!! Although I'm disappointed they made it taller, now 52cm. I'd preferred the same height, but even wider, like 32cm. But I'm still please, as its now more suitable for onebag travel. May consider it when I upgrade
Been eyeing the dragon fly for a bit (though I think the 36 might suit my needs a bit better. Would love to see a video on the ULA Camino, which also caught my eye for more adventure focused carry-on travel. There's also almost no reviews on RU-vid for that pack yet so would be interested in hearing your thoughts
i bought the mini mlc i will get in on Monday im so pumped changing from thenorthface recon only thing is missing fo| me is a 2 Side Bottle and extra front Compartmend but i already bought pouches and bottle carabiners hope it works out.. love the style everything, i just hope the pouches fixxes everything thats missing for me
It's a fairly soft bag so you could probably get a little more in there than I did, 35 I think is a stretch. The front pockets have their own volume, so if you pack the main compartment with the divider closed, you could put more into those pockets. However when I filled it with packing peanuts I kept the divider open, not sure how much the laptop counts, with the bag 100% full, a laptop would probably just press the bag out fatter.
@ 3:43 you said the zippers on the Dragonfly aren't YKK, but aren't they Aquaguard YKK #8 and #5? It should have YKK embossed at least somewhere on each pull tab's body
They use YKK but different style depending on the model. They use aquaguard with the Ultra fabric, but I have the robic fabric in front of me and it uses regular #8 non-aquaguard YKK zipper on main compartment. The one in this video is LS07 Liteskin, I don't have it in front of me to check but maybe they used a different zipper for this model. I'll double check when I get a chance.
That's a good one too. I did a review last year - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9_Xk7zksHJw.html Could make a good comparison video as well.
I just want the ULTRA to be available again. I reached out to them a few weeks ago and they said it’s going to be months until they sell them again due to supply constraints 😢
The Ultra White Lightening looks nice. The used to carry the Dragonfly in a bunch of colors and fabrics, but it's so popular right now it basically sells out the day they offer a new batch. From what I've seen they've been concentrating on just getting bags made so they're only offering one color in the Robic nylon. I imagine they will begin to expand production once demand dies off.
I'd go with one of these two bags over the Sojourn. I think they're both simplier and easy to pack than the Sojourn. Dragonfly for shorter trips and Mini MLC for longer trips or if I need to carry a little more. I don't mind putting some things in the outside pockets but I don't like relying on them for too much gear.
Thank you for this excellent comparison. The MLC looks too big to use as an EDC for casual touring, but what about the Dragonfly? Does it cinch down small enough to be useable as an urban day pack (so I don’t have to pack a secondary bag)?
It doesn't really cinch down much. It has compressions straps, and they will squish the top of the bag down a little. I think it would work fine as an EDC, but it's not going to have much structure or internal organization so you'll probably need to use pouches or some other internal dividers if you have a lot of small gear.
Pouches are definitely the way I like to go for travel carry. It’s the easiest way to move gear in and out of the bag and make sure that I don’t lose small stuff, so if the Dragonfly is small enough to schlepp around tourist sites, I think I’ve found my bag!
I was considering the mini MLC as an everyday carry bag, with some light travel here and there. Would you suggest it as an edc, or the dragonfly, or perhaps an entirely different bag? The laptop and tech organization appeal the most to me in the MLC. When traveling, I would probably use a duffle bag + a backpack such as the mini mlc. I've recently been reading the mlc mini isn't great for an edc bag. I have a really old backpack that needs replacing and want to find one thatll work as my edc plus work well during travel.
Mini MLC would be a good travel pack, but a mediocre EDC bag. I don't know of any packs that do both really well, so inevitably you're going to have to pick a bag that does one better than the other. If you use pouches in the Mini MLC you could certainly use it as an EDC bag, its just a big compartment though so it's not great at organizing a lot of small things.
I'm heavily considering getting the Dragonfly Ultra to use as a personal item. I'm getting a big nervous about the dimensions though for some flights. I'm not worried about Delta or American Airlines, but United with 17 x 10 x 9 or Jet Blue's is 17 x 13 x 8 (inches) is getting me nervous. Anyone got any experience with those two airlines and the ULA Dragon?
I feel like it would fit as long as you underpack it a little bit. I just tried a bag last week in the Jet blue sizer box and it's really small. The GoRuck GR2 (18" x 12.5" x 7.25") fit barely but stuck out of the top because it was too deep. The Dragonfly is a little taller, but less wide and deep than the GR2. It will be too tall if you stuff it full, but I think if you underpack a little it should fit.
These bags are pretty comparable in terms of comfort. Both have a pretty basic shoulder straps and flatish back with medium padding. Both have hip belts (add-on for the Dragonfly, included in the Mini MLC.)
@@terrycoye3373 that makes it a bit on the heavier side seeing as how low cost airlines in SEA have a 7 kilo limit. Having the bag take 1.5 kilos out of those 7..
Yeah, I stuck it in the middle of the video somewhere. From my scale Dragonfly: 1.7 lbs (0.77 kg) ; Mini MLC 2.74 lbs (1.24 kg). All the specs are in the description as well.
Hi, Geoff. I sure am having a hard time finding a personal items bag (a good one but under $100) for British Airways- 16x12x10. I'm so afraid to go larger and yet, I wonder if weight is more important.
That's pretty small, there aren't many carry-on style packs that fit those dimensions. It's been awhile since I've flown British Airways but I don't remember them checking weight. For that size and budget I'd check out Cabin Zero, Classic and Military 28 are both within those dimensions and inexpensive. Greenroom Rainmaker would fit too, but a little more expensive and you'd probably have to pay for shipping since they're out of Singapore.
I ask because yours looks kinda shiny and smooth, like there is some sort of coating over the fabric , compared to my Ultra. Maybe it is just an illusion or how it is captured on video :)@@OneBagTravels
@@mat8650 Whoops, I was wrong. It's Liteskin LS07. I forgot I ordered this in 2022 when they had a Liteskin run, it's like a thicker version of Dyneema, shiny and waterproof, but stiffer. I don't think they make it in that fabric anymore, at least I haven't seen it lately.
The Ultra fabric is much stiffer compared to nylon ripstop, I think that gives it a weird look sometimes if it's not packed fully because it kind of looks dented. This largely goes away when it's full, but I think the nylon version wouldn't do this as much.
@OneBagTravels Yes, but still.. I like bags that are light (it doesn't have to be super light), with simple organization, slightly stiff material, and water resistant. Also, simple and easy on your eyes design, which unfortunately ULA failed (for my taste anyway). Thanks for your comparison, though. Much appreciated.
