Matador Seg45 Features

Bags like this are always fun to get into the features because this one has many.

Let’s cover off on the elephant first with those segments. The bag has six different segments and they vary in terms of the liters of each. There are labels in case you are literally obsessed with numbers and want to better plan your inputs.

For straps, there are a couple options. The Seg45 does come with a solid duffel strap, which is removable. I prefer backpack carry however and I used the stowable backpack straps (these have a sternum strap, too) as my weapon of carry choice. It’s a good feature that you can hide these away, however. Lastly on the straps, there is in fact a nylon strap-style hip belt. To me this is more of a stabilizer rather than a true weight bearing belt, but it’s still there if you need a little extra.

There is a quick grab pocket on top of the bag that uses Matador’s stretchy material, too.

Finishing off the outside of the bag there are grab handles on most sides made to help you pull it out of the overhead bin, car, trunk, jeep, etc. These are made of a single nylon strap in all cases.

Inside the bag there is not much to be found but one feature of note: there are two plastic hooks that you attach fabric loops to that are located on two of the segments. The intention here is that you can keep the segments out of the way a little bit if you’re using this as a traditional clamshell.

There is a simple laptop compartment on the back of the bag.

From a materials feature standpoint they are using YKK Sealing zips throughout the segments. These are different from the stiff, more-PU Aquaguard versions we’re all used to. I think in the evolution of the world of bag features, this is no small step. The zipper pulls have the usual shrink wrap treatment used in other bags of theirs and also have some reflective tech. Finally, the bag comes with Matador’s well used water repellant tech that all their bags have - it’s really good stuff and noted in the tech specs above. Note, this bag is not waterPROOF.

These zippers on the segments all have a nylon loop at the “closed” end that allows you to pull them through in a quasi self locking move. It’s not a full lock, but it works as designed and deters those looking for an easy mark. Don’t be a mark. Tupac wisdom.

Lastly, Matador used different color zipper pulls for the main compartment so you can quickly identify those from the many other compartment zippers.

The Bad

The first thing I’d note here (as I know a lot of people care about it) is that it doesn’t really hold its shape if you’re carrying heavier things on the top Seg. This can obviously be changed a bit if you switch around how you pack. But the bag is not a stiff sided bag, and it won’t stay in perfect shape in real world use. Not really something I personally care about, but it’s a common thought online so I’m noting that here.

Second, the hip belt is really not much more than a stabilizer belt. It’s not a true hip belt. That might prevent some people from picking this up if they have a lot of gear and have to carry it some distance. Pack some weight into it and try it out. On 45L bags, sometimes you want a real hip belt. Now this is also worth noting that the Seg45 isn’t meant to be a trekking bag. So this makes sense. Matador does make the GlobeRider 45 which has one of the best harness systems I’ve tried recently. Just have to understand your style and what you need.

Next, they’ve updated the grab handles to be less substantial in-hand. This is arguably not really something that affects function, but I LOVED the previous versions. They felt a little padded and had rounded corners - wicked comfy. So, I’d like to see that brought back. The newer handles feel a little cheaper, even if that’s unfair from a functional standpoint.

Like the original, I do think the laptop compartment leaves a bit to be desired but it’s not horrible by any means. It’s similar to the older Patagonia MLC 45 - just sufficient enough but doesn’t feel like the best. They actually fixed this on the Seg28.

Lastly, and I think it’s kind of obvious, in the Arctic White that I have I need to be prepared for it to get dirty. It’s just in its nature. You can’t keep a white bag clean. Especially an adventure bag. Would I still get this color option given that? Yes. Yes I would.

The Matador Seg45 vs. The Seg42

In a review like this, I think it’s important to compare to the previous version in case you are looking to upgrade. If you’ve decided to get the bag outright and a new bag is in your budget, then I’d skip this part and just target the current version. It’s positive in almost all ways.

Functional differences. These are the updates that contribute to the actual use. For one, it’s 3L bigger. You see that directly in one of the Segs (15L instead of 12L) and this is positive. The size is a little bigger overall in terms of its footprint. The backpack straps have been improved a little with some new mesh and more supportive foam as the padding, I liked this. The strap stowage is no longer a zip closure. The hooks for the backpack straps are spring loaded G-hooks vs. standard metal G-hooks that are stationary. There’s a zippered water bottle pocket on the new one. They’ve eliminated the pocket on the bottom of the bag and just have the top one. As noted above, they’ve changed the makeup of the grab handles. Security loops for the zippers. The sealed zippers have also been upgraded a little to a less PU coating and more of a sealed fabric (they are less stiff). The zippers were also updated to YKK (I think this was done on a previous iteration of the original, but the one I have is an early version and it originally did not have YKKs).

Non-Functional Updates. These for the most part are just details, and don’t really affect the usage. They’ve added some colored ripstop on the back for an aesthetic pop and it looks great. The new colorway is also a big update and it’s amazing. They’ve replaced a lot of the hypalon with nylon pulls and loops. They’ve updated some of the branding a little. Same spots, just tweaked. 

I might have missed a little one or two, but these should cover most of the main differences.