Mission Workshop R6 Arkiv Review [Picture Heavy]

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Hey guys! Been creeping around on the forums for a while and I decided to sign up yesterday so I could post a couple reviews.

The R6 is a 1000D Cordura, weatherproof, modular backpack. It comes in 20L & 40L varieties. I’ve got the 20L version. All of the zippers on the bag and any accessories that you pick up for it are sealed and weatherproofed like the R6 itself.

The 6 in the name stands for the number of rails on the pack to attach additional accessories to. The rails are reinforced rails that are sewn on to the bag itself and accessories attach with brackets that slide on to the rails and are kept from sliding off by velcro tabs at the top of each rail. I haven’t experienced any problems with the accessories moving around or the velcro coming undone.

Mission Workshop manufactures the bags in the USA backs everything with a lifetime warranty but, fortunately, I haven’t had to test that warranty yet.

It has a large buckle down the front of the pack and the flap can be closed two ways. The first way I pictured below is the way I prefer to close it. I feel like it looks a bit sleeker and it also allows me to keep my Domo patch on display. 

The main buckle can be moved around a few different attachment points on the front of the pack to accommodate how many of the accessories you have attached and your particular method of closure.

The next two photos display the bag as it looks without any additional accessories attached.

You can also close it roll-top style like this. This is probably a little bit more effective in really nasty weather than the standard flap down closure option that I typically use.

The back of the pack is well padded with wide straps as well as a sternum strap. Each strap also has another rail to attach accessories to. Following the modular nature of the bag you can also purchase a wide, padded waist belt if you plan on carrying heavier loads with the bag.

Pictured in this photo is the utility/cell pocket on the right strap. I keep a microfiber cloth, a little hex tool from Gerber, a knife, and my car key if I’m wearing the pack around the city.

This is how my bag looks with all of the accessories attached. I’ve got two rolltop pouches, utility/cellphone pouch, and a folio case. I chose to skip the laptop pack because I use the zippered section inside the main pack for my 15″ Retina MBP.

It feels like a fairly well balanced bag as long as you don’t have a ton of the accessories stacked on the back as that’ll start to pull the weight away from your body. I’ve carried somewhere in the range of 20-25 pounds of gear in the bag and it felt fine.

This is what the portion of the main pack looks like. It goes straight from the top to the bottom and has a zippered section on the back that also has a sealed zipper. I opted to not get the laptop pack because it’s wide enough and more than deep enough to store my 15″ Retina MBP.

The only problem with the zippered section is that it goes straight to the bottom as well. To remedy this I keep a couple old t-shirts at the bottom of the zippered section to provide some padding for my laptop when I inevitably thunk it down once in a while. It also means I have emergency t-shirts if I have to change. 

There’s also this zippered pouch in the front. I usually have a headlamp, two 2-packs of CR123s for my Fenix PD35, a knife, pry tool, and little stuff sack backpack that packs down in to a small ball. There’s enough space for probably twice that much stuff in this pocket though.

In the pouches I normally keep a few small towels and a pair of Oakley SI Assault gloves and 100 feet of paracord in the other pouch. If I’m carrying any camera gear with my I keep my flash in one pouch and the paracord and gloves in the other.

I opted for the rolltop pouches over the zippered pouches because they can get a bit taller if the item in question calls for it qne they’re more secure against the elements than the zippered pouch would be.

Inside the folio pouch I keep a knife and a couple pens in the sleeves on the front. In the zippered sections I’ll sometimes keep notepads. I don’t have a tablet at the moment otherwise that’s what I’d be keeping in one of the zippered sections.

It also has two rails on the front to allow for another accessory to be stacked on top of it when it’s attached to the bag.

Here’s a photo of the zippers on the folio pack. This is what all of the zippers on the bag and accessories look like.

Lastly, here’s a photo of what the rails themselves look like more closely. They’re quite rigid and I’ve never worried about anything popping off the rails. The brackets on the accessories that slide on are metal and seem very sturdy as well.

I love this pack. It’s comfortable to wear, very rugged, the weatherproofing is huge plus and the fact that it’s modular makes it really easy to take only what I need and leave the rest at home or in my car.

The pack alone lacks organization but it’s built like a rucksack so that doesn’t come as a surprise to me. I also plan on picking up the tool pocket to add more organization as well as the waist belt and metal buckle to replace the plastic main buckle in the future.

I wish there were ties to manage the excess strap length but I’ll be remedying that with some bands. I also wish it had compression straps but I understand that would’ve conflicted with the design because of the rails on the side for accessories.

The biggest barrier to entry for this bag is probably price. With the accessories I have for this bag it would cost a cool $401 new but I managed to get it lightly used for $125.

If anyone has any questions I’ll do my best to answer them. I’ll also try and upload some photos of what I keep in the pack on a daily basis later on as well.

Hope you guys found the review helpful and look for the Hazard 4 Plan B review I’ll also be putting up soon too.

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