Hyzerbomb Flak-X or Upper Park Design Rebel

[MoWeems]

I'm currently rocking Dynamic Discs Ranger. The bag is great minus a few features. Mostly annoyances. So I'm curious if the upgrade is worth the price.

My small annoyances with the ranger is:

1) Lack of rain fly
2) Side loader for main compartment
3) Tends to fall over somewhat easily
4) Putters are on the outside of the bag
5) Nowhere to put my mini clip board that is convenient

Again, like I said, just me being nit picky and no serious complaints about the bag.

I like the two bags as mentioned above because they both solve my small annoyances, or at least I think they will. There's a few reviews and videos both bags, but it is hard to tell which bag would suite me better. I've seen the UPD Rebel a couple times during tournaments and asked the owner about it, but I've never seen the Flak-x. But, the Flak-x looks to have a little more storage capabilities for extra crap(ie. snacks, towels, etc).

Any input on either or both bags to decide if dropping the dough is worth it would be great.

Thanks for reading this somewhat long post.

 

[Pbmercil]

I sold my flak 4 two weeks ago and am happy I did. Granted, Its a different model so its not a direct comparison, but some of the quality issues I had will be steering me away from the flak line for the foreseeable future.

Your putters will still be outside the main compartment on a flak.

The rainfly isn't really that useful. Its a solid sheet of nylon with no back, so water can still seep thru the back of the bag. And it's a pain to access the various comparments on your bag (including the ones with discs) when its on. Any rainfly that doesn't have access points in it a la grip and octothorpe are pointless IMHO.

A full flak (including filling all those great storage comparments!) weights an ungodly ton. Less storage has become a feature for me, because it means I'll have less weight im lugging around.

I feel the flaks make up for their bulk and weight by overpadding the straps and back. Sure, the strap and back padding is crazy thick. But if it was a more ergonomic carry you wouldn't need that much padding. Bonus negative points if you sweat a lot, cuz all that padding will soak it in.

The water bottle holders being outside the side storage pockets is a flaw. They pull and stress the side pocket stitching, sag down and look terrible, and put your water weight way outside your body which is bad ergonomics.

The flaks do have the perfect bonus pocket to store your score clipboard tho!

 

[MoWeems]

Bummer, I was a little excited about trying out the flak-x. But what you described was a exactly what I've been hunting for. A true criticism of the bag.

Thanks for the input!

 

[Rod Angel]

I own a Flak 3 and a Flak 4. Put maybe 200 rounds on my 3 and just over 100 on my 4. Handled the Flak X. The X is not like the 4. Pb's comments got me to thinking...always a bad sign.
The 4 is well padded. It is. I think it carries well.
A fully packed out 4 is heavy. But my comparison for that is a fully packed Fade Gear tourney bag. Not really apples to apples. (The 3 and 4 are the only backpacks I've owned.)
I've used the rainfly on the 3 and the 4 (many tourney rounds) and not noticed any issues. I think it could be done better. But nothing that stands out. Very effective in my opinion. Edit. I will say the rainfly and the center (3rd) putter pocket do not play well together.
The water bottle comment. I carry water bottles all the time. Nothing really huge. Just bottles of water. Can't say I've noticed anything about their placement or their appearance.
I started looking for a cart this year. But. As I put my time in on the 4, I'm just not moving on that with a great deal of want-to.
Last. I've told others this. If I were to give up my 4 for another back pack. My short list is 2. Flak X and the Ergo 2. Handled both. And I think they would both carry better than my 4.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

I have both older models of the flak and rebel (v3)s

Rebel UPD is one of the most comfortable bags ive put on of ANY kind not just disc golf which holds a LOT of stuff even if it doesnt seem like it. Disc strorage is a little unique but ive grown to like the style a lot and only use my flak3 on a pullcart. It holds a little more stuff overall (i think that design is bigger vs x its the old 4 where x is a new model if i uderstand correctly) but is heavy on the back and harder to get discs out of when on the ground.

Both companies stand behind their products and make solid gear. Ive put on all the bags really from salient to grip and tried out others fully loaded etc. UPD rebel seems like it is the best made bag to actually carry on your back. Might not have the most DG functional utility but i think thats the advantage. Its not made to be a DG cart on your back.

 

[MoWeems]

I decided on the UPD Rebel. The quality of the bag is what made the choice. Not to say that Hyzerbomb doesn't make a great product, but I've seen zero complaints about any UPD bags. Where I've heard a couple questionable calls on the Hyzerbomb bags. Granted, they were taken care of by the company. But I can relate it to my shoe purchase: I bought Solomon instead of Keen so I only have to replace every 1.5ish years instead of every 6 months.

Also, they have a killer rainfly. I could find little to no information on the rainfly for the flak-x. And any complaint about the UPD rainfly can be fixed by a couple extra velcro patches.