One of the reason’s Mini ITX builds have been slowly becoming more popular is their portability. Packing up your rig and carrying it into a LAN is much easier when you have a nice handle to hang onto. We recently took a look at the Silverstone FT03, although I found it to be a perfect case for LAN use, I also felt it was hard to carry. Because of that Silverstone sent over their Sugo Pack for us to check out with the FT03. With extra carrying space and a way to carry your small form factor case around the Sugo Pack could be a great way to get your gear to the next LAN, let’s find out if it’s as great as it looks.
Product Name: Silverstone Sugo Pack
Review Sample Provided by: Silverstone
Written by: Wes
Pictures by: Wes
Specifications
|
Model No. |
SST-PA01 |
|
Color |
Black and Blue |
|
Material |
Polyester with PVC, 210D nylon with PU |
|
Pading material |
10mm EPE |
|
Load limit |
40 kg (88 lbs.) |
|
Maximum case capacity |
290mm (W) x 230mm (H) x 480mm (D) |
|
Overall Dimension |
300mm (W) x 260mm (H) x 570mm (D) |
|
Net Weight |
1.8 kg (3.97 lbs.) |
Packaging
I wasn’t expecting much for packaging when the Sugo Pack came in, I mean, it's just a carrying bag. Normally laptop bags and similar come in a plastic bag at best. Silverstone stepped up and did a little more for the Sugo though. They packed the carry case in a black and blue box that matches other Silverstone products. The front does have a picture of the case on it and on the side of the box we even found a specification list. The Specification listing is nice because you want to make sure that your rig is going to fit inside. Inside the Sugo Pack was folded up nice and tight and wrapped in a plastic bag.
Features
One of the first features of the Sugo Pack that you will notice is the thick metal badge right on the front of the bag. This is its only Silverstone branding on the bag. They didn’t skimp on the badge ether, if this a sign of the quality we can expect from the bag, I’m sure we will be impressed.
The bottom of the bag has six “feet” on it. These feet don’t really grip on a normal table, but they will keep the bag from sliding around on carpet in your car for example. They also help protect the bottom of the bag from damage as well.
The main compartment unzips and folds out to give you easy access to your case. Inside there are two Velcro straps that hold everything in place as well. This is especially important if you case is a little smaller than the Sugo Pack’s largest capacity. In the front section that folds out there is a mesh pouch to store a few small items as needed. This is a good place to keep a few things like flash drives secure. The mesh design makes it easy to see what is inside as well.
Up on the top of the bag, along with the two carrying handles there are also two fold up flaps with Velcro
The front of the Sugo Bag also sports a nice sized pouch that is perfect for dropping in a mouse or two along with any tools you might want to keep on you at a LAN.
On both ends of the Sugo Pack there are storage pouches as well. These are perfect for your headset and all of your cabling and you will still have more than enough room left for anything else you might need to bring along with you.
Performance
I was curious how the Sugo Pack would actually fit the FT03. The bag lists a range of cases that it fits meaning that it’s going to be loose on some cases and a little tight on others. The FT03 Fortress slipped right in the main compartment like the Sugo Pack was made for it. With our case packed away all I needed to do was pack up our supplies, power cables, network cables, headphones, mouse, and keyboard. Even with everything packed away there was still a little room for smaller items should I need the room. My Cooler Master Quickfire Rapid was so small that when strapped down you could hardly see it, a longer keyboard would stick out.
With everything other than our monitor packed up our entire rig was ready to go at any moment. I would normally suggest a monitor bag as well like the Thermaltake Battle Bag that we previously took a look at, but frankly the Sugo Pack has enough room for everything other than your monitor itself. You could get away with using this and just carrying your monitor under your arm or using a monitor strap to carry it around. All said and done, I was able to free up my hands and take all of my gear into a LAN all in one trip. This is especially important when you have LAN’s where parking isn’t near the event.
Overall and FV
When it comes to a carrying bag for your PC case, there aren’t many options. Most of the options are actually carrying straps and bags for your peripherals and/or monitor. So really the Sugo Pack is unique and a good option for anyone with a small form factor Silverstone case. Really, the Sugo pack will support a lot of the other Mini ITX cases on the market, but you will have to take a close look at the dimensions beforehand.
If you do go with the Sugo Pack, you are going to be happy with the bags overall quality. I was blown away at how heavy duty the materials are, especially the zippers. Even with a full computer packed inside, you still have room for all of your gear and a little more if you should need it. My only complaint there is that there isn’t a way to carry your monitor with this as well, but that really isn’t feasible anyhow. At $42 on amazon right now, the Sugo Pack is a little costly when you add that to the costs that you may have put into a LAN rig in the first place. With that in mind though, the first time you load up your entire rig and carry it into an event you are going to be glad you ponied up the dough. Not only are you paying for a high quality product that could potentially work with future LAN rigs as well, but you are also investing a little money to save a lot of effort in the future. If you are considering a LAN rig in the future, you really should consider picking up the Sugo Pack to go along with it. Your back will thank you.
