Here's a review of two pieces of gear I used extensively on a winter training exercise last week. I had used the Jumbo in NOLA as my EDC and it worked out great. It carried well, and everything was always within reach. I just got the Proteus as an impulse buy, mostly to add minor supplementary items, and didn't expect much from it.

As it turns out, the Jumbo sucked for this type of situation, and the Proteus was far superior. I'm definitely going to have to rethink the gear to scenario from now on. The big difference was that in NOLA, I'm was pretty stationary, so the Jumbo worked great being right at my side. This past week, we were all over the place, moving constantly, and the Jumbo was always in the way. I suppose that if I'd been able to use the loop on it to attach to my belt it would have been different, but there was no way to do that with the multi-layer clothing. The Proteus, on the other hand, rode perfectly right under my parka, out of the way, but accessable. The gear pics aren't exactly where and what I carried, but I tried to recreate by memory.

Here's me at the start of one of our climbs:
http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/bottom.jpg

Here's me at the top of the climb:
http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/top.jpg

Jumbo:
http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/jumbo.jpg

Jumbo contents: Nalgene, lightstick, Micropur, MRE, trioxane, paracord, batteries, cook cup/stove, extra glasses, personal [censored], fire starter stuff, sanitizer.
http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/jumbostuff.jpg

Proteus:
http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/proteus.jpg

Proteus stuff: MRE, Benchmade fixed blade, Surefire A2, paracord, emergency blanket, binoculars, ass wipe, Gerber multitool, whistle, compass, spares carrier for A2, gerber recon, NATO matches, stethoscope, shears/hemos. "Last Chance" setup in CountyComm pouch.
http://webpages.charter.net/dougd/proteusstuff.jpg