Video Review
In Use
The Magma Digi-Control Backpack XL is in durable black nylon with chunky zips that are pretty well weatherproofed. The red interior is nylon too, and it has two main compartments, which we’ll get to in a second. The front of the bag has an extra, shallow zipped compartment which would be for small items, loose change, maybe a wallet or sunglasses, while the back (next to your back when you’re wearing it) has a massive shallow compartment that you can slip large, flat items into.
So to the main zipped areas. The first one has a completely removable divide that has two Velcro-strapped pockets and a mesh pocket attached to it. This compartment also has a nylon Velcro loop for cable tidying. The zip doesn’t open the pocket all the way, but does go quite deep. This compartment is going to work well for leads, headphones, small items like adaptors or even a Kontrol F1 or similar at a push.
The main compartment behind this one is where the Kontrol S4 or similar sized controller goes. The compartment doesn’t open up completely like with some bags, but it does open deep enough for you to reasonably easily get the controller in and out. There’s a second, padded and Velcro-topped compartment within this one that is intended for a laptop, although I successfully carried a laptop stand in here, pushing the laptop into the slip compartment on the back of the bag as described earlier.
It’s one of those bags that when you’ve packed it and your gear has “settled”, there’s actually a bit of room on the top of the main compartment, where you could tuck headphones as an alternative to putting them in the main compartment. In carrying, it is comfortable enough thanks to the reasonably padded straps and the padding across the shoulders. Another provided option is a shoulder strap that clips securely on via two oversized clip connectors.
Conclusion
f you’re looking for a Traktor Kontrol S4-sized backpack, get this one on your list. While it’ll also fit similar sized controllers, it’s perfect for the S4. It’s just big enough to carry all the essentials of an S4 DJ set-up, but not so big that if feels ridiculous when you’re wearing it. As a day to day bag for transporting (or indeed storing) your S4-based digital DJ set-up, it’s pretty ideal.
I think I would like to have seen the main compartment zip allow it to be opened up all the way as some bags do, simply because it means there’s less chance of catching your controller’s knobs or faders on the way in or out, but apart from that small point, and its rather steep price, it gets a thumbs up.
