Under Armour Hustle Sport [Review]

The Under Armour Hustle Sport Backpack is a budget-friendly backpack that’s purpose-built for school, sports and gym sessions.

But is it worth buying? In this backpack review we will take an honest look at the pros, cons as well as explore how water resistant UA Storm Technology really is.

Video Review

The Rundown

What we like

• Roomy 26L capacity is large enough store a change of clothes and a basketball or school notebooks and binders.

• Available in lots of colors for a personalized look

• Ultra lightweight construction

• Affordable price

What we don’t like

• Laptop compartment is not padded

• Back panel is just one big piece of padded polyester with no breathability. Not great in hot weather.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Dimensions: 18.5” (H) x 12.6” (W) x 7.4” (D)

• Capacity: 26L

• Materials: 100% Polyester

• Laptop Sleeve: Up to 15”

• Tablet Sleeve: None

Where to buy

Buy on Amazon

Similar Backpacks

Who is this backpack for?

• School: The roomy 26-liter main compartment is perfect for storing large notebooks, binders and books. Affordable pricing is great for those looking school backpack on a budget.

• Sports and Gym: Lightweight construction makes this a great backpack for sports and gym sessions. The bungee gives you additional storage for stuff like shoes, a towel or jacket. 

What fits inside the Hustle Sport?

Unlike the larger UA Hustle 5.0 backpack, the Hustle Sport which features 3 major compartments, the Hustle Sport only has one - the main compartment. Inside is where you’ll find the 15” laptop sleeve as well as a couple of extra slip pockets for smaller items.

The 26-liter main compartment is the perfect for daily packing. If you plan on using the UA Hustle Sport as a school backpack, you’ll be able to fit a generous amount of large binders and notebooks in addition to a laptop. For athletes, the main compartment is also large enough to fit a full sized (size 7) basketball in addition to a change of clothes.

Although the 15” laptop sleeve has a generous false bottom to protect your device from drops, it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to overall laptop protection. The laptop sleeve on the Hustle Sport is just a thin polyester sleeve with no padding outside of the padding it shares with the back panel. It also does not include any fleece lining to protect your laptop from scratches.

Two additional slip pockets can be found inside the main compartment for smaller items. These slip pockets can fit items like a sunglasses case, small pencil case or laptop charger.

Exterior Pockets and Bungee Storage

On the outside of the UA Hustle Sport, you'll find a pretty large fleece-lined valuables pocket for items like sunglasses, a phone, and other tech. We found it to be just large enough to fit a pair of over-ear headphones.

Two additional mesh water bottle pockets can be found on each side of the backpack. These pockets are large enough to fit 32oz and 1-liter bottles perfectly fine.

Unlike other Under Armour backpacks, the Hustle Sport doesn't include additional MOLLE webbing or daisy chain loops for exterior attachments. Instead, the Hustle Sport provides you with a bungee cord for attaching bulkier items.

We found the bungee was able to fit a light jacket or workout shoes (up to a Mens US 12) but the bungee is also too small to fit a full-sized basketball.

Materials and Comfort

The Under Armour Hustle Sport is made of polyester material, which makes it incredibly lightweight. There isn't anything special with the construction; it has simple stitching throughout, and the material itself is pretty thin. The zippers on the Hustle Sport are as smooth as butter and the metal zipper pulls are nice touch.

Regarding comfort, the padded shoulder straps are the star of the show and provide excellent weight distribution and ample comfort even when the backpack gets heavy. Under Armour always does a great job with their shoulder straps and the Hustle Sport is no exception.

However, the back panel is where the Hustle Sport starts to suffer. Although padded, it's thin, and this causes oddly-shaped items to poke through when wearing the backpack, making for an uncomfortable situation. Moreover, the back panel isn’t nearly as breathable as we would expect a backpack designed for athletes to be. It's essentially one large piece of polyester with two tiny air channels - this spells trouble in hot weather.

Is the UA Hustle Waterproof? UA Storm Technology Tested

UA Storm Technology is essentially a water-repellent coating on the polyester that allows water to bead up and roll off the fabric when wet. The fleece-lined valuables pocket in the front of the bag is also equipped with a water-resistant zipper that does a good job of keeping moisture out.

Although UA Storm Technology offers some water-resistant protection, the Hustle Sport is far from waterproof. Unfortunately, the seams and main compartment zipper are not water-resistant, and this creates weak points for water to sneak in after repeated exposure. 

During our testing, we found that repeated exposure allowed water to leak into the main compartment through the top stitching of the backpack.

What does this mean for you? The UA Hustle Sport should be okay during a walk home in a light rain, but you will have significantly less protection walking home during a rainstorm or surviving heavy splash (think of being on the unfortunate pedestrian end of a car driving through a puddle on a rainy day).

Final Thoughts

Buy on Amazon

At the end of the day, the Under Armour Hustle Sport is a budget backpack for those who want a good value-to-price ratio and the Hustle Sport really is a great value when you tally up the specs.

You’ll get a water-resistant construction, a big roomy main compartment that's great for sports and school, plus a super useful bungee that expands your storage by quite a bit.

If you want a major step up in quality, we recommend you take a look at The North Face Jester or Borealis. These two bungee backpacks have much better laptop sleeves, more pockets for organization, and much more breathable back panels. However, these backpacks are not as budget-friendly as the Hustle Sport and we think this is where the Hustle Sport really shines.

---

---