Matador Freerain24 2.0 Review

The Freerain24 2.0 is the second iteration of the first Freerain, and it’s Matador’s highly weather-resistant packable daypack. In fact, it’s actually waterproof—and we don’t use that word lightly!

PSA: This is just one product out of Matador’s Advanced Series. They’ve also got the Freefly16, Transit30 2.0, Flatpak Soap Bar Case, and the Flatpak Toiletry Bottle. If you’re interested in adding some compressible gear to your travel loadout, we’d highly recommend checking out the full series.

Here’s what you need to know:

This pack is made with a siliconized 30D CORDURA® ripstop nylon that is puncture-resistant. So it’s lightweight, strong, and weather-resistant.

This thing is incredibly weather-resistant and more or less waterproof. We have tested it by submerging it in a bathtub, and it passed. If water-resistance is a big deal for you, this is your best bet out of the advanced series.

Although the main compartment is totally waterproof, the front zipped pocket is not. We also thought this pocket was a little tricky to use—it’s extremely wide with barely any depth. Really just good for flat items.

They’ve added a removable sternum strap, which was not on the first iteration. We like it, although it’s not entirely necessary.

You can secure the rolltop opening two ways. 1) You can roll it up and buckle the two ends to each other, like a dry bag. 2) You can roll it and then buckle the two ends to the additional buckles on each side of the bag. Not waterproof, but more convenient and compact.

The 1.0 version had load-lifters, but they’ve been stripped on this one. Considering the size of this pack, we think this was, overall, a good decision from Matador. It shaves some weight and means less dangling straps.

Like the Freefly16, this pack now uses the rolltop closure on the compression pouch. Meh. We liked the drawstring better, although this system works fine.