Addict Recordpak Mk4
Anyways I was nerding around the www.addict.co.uk store and noticed they did a Recordpak Mk 4 record bag. Having never seen this before, I went about researching it on their site.
"The Recordpak is used by Top World DJ's Mr Thing, Skitz, Aim, Scratch, Hospital Records, Fabio & Grooverider, Kenny Dope, First Rate and many more. 100% tried and tested and co-designed with DJ's Matt Smooth and Rob Mac of the legendary Scratch."
Wooo if it's good enough for them to use/endorse... it's gotta make me a better and/or more desirable DJ!! And if Grooverider is using it right now in a Dubai prison, it's got to be durable enough for my requirements!
I like to know what I am buying and had a look online at them and also googled for some extra images, but was unable to find any decent photos or reviews showing depth and exactly what they can hold. All I could find were the orignal Addict promotional images.
I ordered mine late on Tuesday from their website for the grand sum of £50.00 incl business post and war fund (VAT). It finally arrived on Thursday morning exactly exactly the same time I decided to take my morning dump! After wiping, flushing and shouting downstairs begging the delivery driver not to pop a "While You Were Out We Knocked Gingerly" card through my door I signed for my package and opened up the camo colour cardboard box!
First Impressions
On first impressions, it looks pretty nice, I chose fetching Olive Camo for no other reason than the 125 page thread over on NSB :) They do have another colour for sale on their site... "Stealth Black" but it was all about the camo for me. From what I can gather online, they seem to do different colours overseas as there was a snow camo one that I saw on another site.
Build Quality
The build quality of this bag looks ok, although I am not too sure on the zips durability as they're not a known brand such as YKK. The bag itself is made of a heavy duty Poly Ripstop canvas and the sides are held out with removable plastic covered cardboard (like you normally get at the bottom of a sports bag). I don't see these lasting and will most prolly replace them with some perspex or harder plastic or something.
Storage Space and Compartments
There are two main compartments on this that I have called the vinyl compartment (cause it's where you are supposed to keep yer rekkids) and the accessories compartment which is big enough to store earphones or in my case most of my wires!
The vinyl compartment has enough space for up to 70 12" records, as well as a small internal pocket for storing 7"s. This storage space is big enough for my macbook, macbook power adapter, feena midi controller, a four bar adapter, macpower hard drive and power adapter as well as my big old earphones.
The accessories compartment is big enough to house about five USB leads, two RCA leads (one long, one short), a small spindle of 25 CDRs, a firewire lead for my hard drive and a usb charging lead for my phone, all quite comfortably.
There are some nice features such as a velcro strap for strapping down the wires in the front compartment. But I found that if I put all my wires on this it was a bit too bulky to close. I could faff with the way I wind my wires, but I'm not that anal.
The accessories compartment also features a small pocket big enough for for my mouse, as well as a few little ones for my 3.5mm jack adaptors, some ear plugs and a couple of pens. These are all made from canvass material, and it would have been great if they were made from a more elastic material so I could hold my torch inplace.
These pockets are protected from the elements by a cover that clips into place with four clips. These stop bits falling out and keeps the rain off of your hardware! The additional clips on the sides appeared a little excessive at first, but it is clear that these are here to help support the weight of the bag when carrying it around by it's handle.
On one side is a pocket that has enough room for a wallet, phone or few leads, but not much else. I use this to store a long 3.5mm jack to RCA lead, 2 spare USB leads and my torch for when I can't see behind a desk!
On the other side is a webbed black pocket with an Addict black water bottle... personally I'd have been happier with another larger pocket, but hey.. some people like to have access to their liquids!
The Addict Recordpak Mk4 also comes with a combination padlock allowing you to lock the vinyl compartment to stop people nosing around your collection or getting to the good bits! I would also have liked to see a compartment where you could put a card saying who this bag belonged to. You never know when you'll come across someone honest who would return such a bag of plenty had it been found!
There is an additional pocket on the outside big enough for some paper and maybe a passport or three!
Carting it About
The bag comes with a standard back breaking padded strap as well as backpack straps so it can be slung over your back. These have a rough texture on the underneath preventing it from sliding around on your shoulders a bit like Eastpacks.
It seemed pretty comfortable without much in it, but after carting it around for gigs it does get a little tiresome! I took this out to Durban as hand luggage and had around 26Kgs of equipment in it which was a bit of a pain in the neck and shoulder after a while.
A Few Months On (You Bring Light in!)
Well what can I say, it's settled in nicely, I've really got to thank Addict for making a nice little bag worthy of carting my DJ equipment around. It's got loads of space in it, and I'd recommend it to another DJ/Performer.
I have added an additional protective bag to it though from Targus to carry my Feena FMDJ9303 midi controller in. This normally comes with the Targus CN600, but you can pick it up as a replacement part from them by calling the Targus Customer Services department.
Conclusion
Value for Money: 4/5 (£50.00 for a backpack is a little steep, but having a flip-top lid is handy)
Durability: 3/5 (The plastic covered cardboard sidewalls could have been more durable and made of plastic)
Functionality: 4/5 (This bag fits a hell of a lot of gear in it, and I think they've just about got it spot on)
I understand that Addict are down with the kids, but the wanky label explaining why the use of the camo colours and the "art reasons" behind it should be ignored, unless you're a chin stroker! But any bag that can cart all my gear about comfortably and safely has gotta be worth recommending!
