Most people don’t know this but if you call Maxpedition up (at 1-310-768-0098) you can buy replacement parts for their backpacks. One of the replacement parts you can buy is a replacement sternum strap. The GORUCK bags don’t come with sternum straps and there are a number of people who would like them to so the consensus has been to buy one from another company.
Quality
The quality of the sternum straps is great. They’re made of solid nylon webbing and seem like they’ll stand up to the test of time. One issue I have with them is the way that they’re made. The sternum strap is nylon webbing held in place in the shoulder straps by one strap adjuster on each side. This can get a little finicky at times and unless you properly secure it then it is guaranteed to come undone in your event. I was dumb enough to not secure it properly for my first second GORUCK Light but for the third I had it properly secured and it was great.
Price
It’s hard to beat the price of these sternum straps… at $8 per strap plus $3 for shipping you can get one for just $11. Shipping is very quick and if you order on Monday there’s a good chance you’ll get it before the end of the week. Maxpedition was easy to work with on the order so there are really no complaints there. You do have to buy them over the phone though so if you’re uncomfortable giving your credit card information to a person then this probably isn’t for you.
Overall
Overall this is a good deal for a sternum strap. It’s much cheaper than the Mystery Ranch alternative and it stays on reasonably well. For ease of use the Mystery Ranch strap is much better but if you can secure the Maxpedition one properly then they should both hold up about the same.
During GORUCK Light 108 I did not have it secured properly (see above pic for how not to use this) and I had to re-tighten it numerous times.
Events
I have used the Maxpedition Sternum Strap in the following events:
GORUCK Light 108
As I mentioned in the review I found myself needing to re-tighten the sternum strap numerous times over the course of the event. Although it was definitely better than nothing (most of the time) I found myself wanting my Mystery Ranch sternum strap. I feel like it would have been much more problematic if this was not a Light event and was instead a Challenge or Heavy.
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