Backpack with rapid-deploy front ballistic carrier

A backpack comprising:

• a first compartment;
• a second compartment having a front wall at a front side, a back wall at a back side, and an open top;
• right and left shoulder harnesses;
• and
• a deployable ballistic carrier having a) a body, b) a handle, and c) right and left shoulder straps attached to one of the walls of the second compartment inside the second compartment;
• wherein the deployable ballistic carrier is configured to be removably secured in the second compartment by a retention system such that the handle is exposed through the open top;
• wherein the retention system comprises:
• a ripcord having a proximal end and a distal end, and a pull tab at the proximal end;
• a channel along a length of one of the right and left shoulder harnesses having an entry point at a lower portion and an exit point at an upper portion, configured to allow the distal end of the cord to enter at the entry point, pass therethrough, and exit at the exit point, and to allow an additional length of the cord to then pass therethrough until the pull tab abuts up against the entry point and remains outside of the channel;
• an opening in the front wall of the second compartment adjacent the exit point of the channel and configured to allow the distal end of the cord to pass therethrough after passing through the exit point of the channel;
• a plurality of sealing eyelets positioned adjacent the open top of the second compartment configured to receive the distal end of the cord in alternating series after passing through the opening in the front wall of the second compartment, comprising a first sealing eyelet positioned at the front side of the second compartment, and a second sealing eyelet positioned at the back side of the second compartment;
• and
• an anchor eyelet positioned in the second compartment at a side of the backpack opposite the channel, and configured to receive and removably anchor the distal end of the cord after passing through the sealing eyelets in alternating series;
• and
• wherein the retention system is configured such that when the distal end of the cord is threaded along a path from the entry point of the channel, through the channel, through the exit point of the channel, through the opening in the front wall, through the plurality of sealing eyelets in alternating series, and into the anchor eyelet, the cord removably secures the deployable ballistic carrier in the second compartment by partially obstructing the open top, the pull tab rests adjacent the entry point of the channel on the corresponding shoulder harness, and the pull tab is configured such that pulling the pull tab causes the distal end of the cord to disengage from the anchor eyelet and traverse back through the sealing eyelets such that the open top becomes unobstructed.