When Fitmark first teased the Shield, they described the product as their greatest innovation to date. At the Olympia Expo last year in September we finally laid eyes on the meal management system and could only agree with the brand. Just when you thought the meal bag game was getting more and more of the same thing, Fitmark put together something truly different. It does have its similarities to the brand’s first meal carriers the Box and the Box LG, however in true Fitmark fashion they added a lot more style. Being big fans of the brand and how they continue to innovate we decided to put together a Fitmark Shield review, telling you exactly why it’s worth every dollar.
For a while 6 Pack Fitness was the biggest name when it came to meal management systems with their classic designs the Innovator 300 and 500. Fitmark eventually laid down the challenge with the Box and Box LG, although it wasn’t until the Shield arrived that they went from challenger to threat. As useful and simple as the Box and Box LG were, they lacked the style factor that 6 Pack had right from the start. The Shield is basically a much more advanced Box, packing a whole lot of extra features that Fitmark needed to include to finally get ahead.
Starting with the outside, Fitmark’s Shield immediately stands out as a sophisticated yet simple bag. Every area of it is covered by a pocket or feature that is a little more than you expect. The front is where the bag gets its name, as it has a shield like hard shape popping out. In the middle is a zip opening up to a pocket perfect for all the necessities like your wallet, phone and keys. On the sides Fitmark show you their signature creativity with thin pockets that can expand out to hold a water bottle or shaker. The side pocket feature may be small, but it quickly turns what looks like a compact meal carrier into a surprisingly large complex all-in-one.
Moving on to the back, which is a place you usually don’t see much of anything. Fitmark make use of the empty space borrowing the luggage strap and book slot idea first used in the Box and Box LG. Finally we get to the inside of the Shield, the place Fitmark have spiced things up the most. Compared to 6 Pack’s flagship meal bag, Fitmark’s Shield doesn’t have a strict set of trays or any kind of frame. Instead it has a removable divider separating the main compartment, giving you enough room to store up to four (six for the Shield LG) meals using the brand’s provided containers. It is also thanks to the free space that you can actually use other containers in the Shield, including 6 Packs if you don’t mind a little bit of a squeeze. As for where your ice packs go they can sit on top of your containers, in the netting behind or even in the main compartment’s roof net pocket.
The highlight of Fitmark’s Shield has to be its size. Of course all the features are great, and as small as some of them are they all up. However it is the compact design of the bag that makes everything about it so much better. You can see our pictures and even more on the brand’s website, but it is another thing entirely having it in front of you and realizing how small the Shield is. We’re not saying the actual size of the bag is small, just that compared to what it fits and all that it offers you wouldn’t expect it to be as compact and stylishly spacious as it is.
Fitmark Shield review final words
While Fitmark’s Shield is feature rich, and just reading the review it may only sound like it has a handful of things the others don’t. What truly separates the Shield from its competitors is the overall quality of the bag. We’ve used others out there and taken them from start to finish, although it wasn’t until we got our first Fitmark that we discovered what strong long lasting design was. If something like the 6 Pack Innovator was all we had experienced we wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong.
The quality of Fitmark’s Shield is something you feel on the opening of the first zipper. The ease of opening and closing each pocket is made even better with the fabric density difference you can actually feel. It’s that quality combined with the other minor positives and the 12 different colorways that make Fitmark’s Shield a bag worth showing off. While form and function are two things designers always battle with, a battle that has seen function win for most meal management systems. The Shield gives you what you need with creativity and style, and is quite possibly the first bag to really bring good looking form into the dedicated meal bag game.
