The 45L was just too big. If that wasn't obvious.

For the record I'm 5'7'' 165lbs dude. I'm also a competitive powerlifter.

I filled my 45L backpack with a large and small packing cube and took it as my main bag on a 4 day international trip. Lugging it through the airport it became clear that it was way too heavy. I found myself jealous of my girlfriend's roller. Especially when standing around waiting to board the plane, I was in agony. I took it off when we were standing in one place, but then because of how heavy it was, schooching forward in line got awkward when I had to pick it up off the ground.

What's more, I didn't even use it fully expanded! Even the 35L mode with those packing cubes and everything else was too much. The bag itself weighs around 5lbs iirc, I think that combined with how dense and heavy the large packing cube full of clothes gets is what made the weight so unwieldy.

I wasn't a fan of the snaps either. Supposedly you can streamline the bag down from 35L but I found that if it was any more than 3/4ths full the snaps would just undo themselves.

I figure if 35L is too much capacity, the 45L backpack is a waste. I haven't taken the 30L on a trip yet, but I just packed for one and so far I'm liking it. My biggest concern was losing the front quick access zipper spot for my sunglasses, but the 30L's larger top access pocket has a smaller one inside that is perfect for my shades.

We'll see if I actually use it in the 33L capacity, but switching between 28L and 33L makes way more sense to me than switching between 35L and 45L.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1933672

Got this Victorinox Vx Sport EVO Backpack from my beautiful wife as birthday present recently! I was looking at these a few years now and I am super happy with it. It comes 11 years of warranty and feels well made and durable (as known from Victorinox). Went with me already on a few adventures and I can tell you it works well for Notebooks, Picknicks, even as diaper backpack or just random stuff. Fits all my needs. I also like the little details like a small compartment for one of their Swiss Army Knifes (unfortunately too small for my Cybertool L, but perfect for my folding Victorinox Lunch Knife).

A lot of money for a bag, but not necessarily overpriced; ILE bags are handmade in Berkeley and extremely good quality, and hand painting a whole bolt of fabric and then cutting it down and assembling it into a 3 dimensional object is a lot.

I wonder what the durability is like, assuming people are going to actually carry it (more likely it will be a show piece)

Oakland-based artist Shogun Shido is an innovative creator who hails from New Orleans and uses art to explore the depths of introspection and observation. Shido’s expressive, free-flowing line work is immediately recognizable. From canvases to murals, clothing, sculptures, wine bottles and more, his ever-expanding body of work bridges all mediums. We met Shido through a mutual friend last year and quickly connected over our shared passion for creative expression.

This collaboration features Shido’s custom painted 1000D Cordura, which started out as one continuous length of fabric before being cut down into panels for our signature Default. The panels were cut and placed at random while maintaining the orientation of the original painting, with drips and splatters cascading down the bags.

More on the production

Anyone have thoughts on Tom Bihn’s new bag? It’s a 20L duffel. I like the form factor and how easily it fits underneath the seat.

They’re doing a pre-order this time around for the new release, as opposed to selling in batches. The pre-orders are slated to ship in September.

Interesting, don't think I'd seen this particular bag before. The organization looks like it would be pretty nice to work with.

I’ve had this bag for over a year and it’s my favorite for outdoorsy activities or day excursions. I don’t carry a lot with me (my edc is a wallet phone) so when I do need items in a bag this works great

• fits my waterbottle inside
• not made of fancy material but feels durable. This is a plus since I use it as my paddle boarding bag where it gets drenched, or take it to the dog park with the pups where it gets filled with gross wet tennis balls or poopbags
• can fit a 2L camelbak inside! Might try to get a pic of this later but I tied a small string to the top of the bag with a loop that hangs down to hold up the camelbak. Great for when you are doing a light hike and don’t need to carry a lot
• strap elastic. Not sure if these have a name but they have loops of elastic sewn into the end of the strap webbing so you can coil up and hold the excess webbing once adjusted

Bag review (for a little more traffic)

Been using GR1 21L xpac (in Navy) EDC for about four weeks. Liking it for light weight, contrasting interior, and classic GR1 shape. Here are some highlights:

Really liking the bag so far. Here are some highlights:

• Build quality seems great - no loose threads, stitching and seams are spot on.
• Much lighter than eRead more about review stating GR1 in XPAC is the bag I've been waiting forither my 500D or 1000D GoRuck bags. This 21L bag is lighter than the 500d bullet w/ laptop compartment.
• Coyote interior is really nice - high visibility. I like it much more than the black hole interior of the older bags.
• XPAC vx21 seems plenty durable, but time will tell. I was worried that it would feel too thin, but it doesn't.
• Really love the top quick access pocket. I don't think I'll thread a pocket through the interior Molle like I often do. Don't need it.
• Aquaguard zippers are really tight. They are loosening up with use.
• Navy color is great - good contrast to the sea of black bags I have.
• XPAC on the back and interior of the straps seems fine so far. Not too slippery at all and I don't feel I need a sternum strap (which is good, because there isn't anywhere to attach one).

I love this bag!

Via Carryology. It's fun to see more experimental bag designs sometimes, and these are certainly unexpected.

I wanted to find a way to attach it so it wouldn't flop around loosely. Most of the molle water bottle holder mounting points were too narrow. Eventually I found one made for a bike with a bunch of mounting points. It came with hook and loop straps but they wouldn't get tight enough and led to flopping. So I used zip ties. They worked wonderfully.

In the fall of 2022, my workplace decided it was time to enforce return-to-office and informed us we had to be in the office 3 days a week or else. The only bags I’d used to this point were hand-me-down promotional backpacks or an over-the-shoulder canvas bag - neither of which worked well for what I take to the office when I drive in.

I’d initially considered the Brevite backpack primarily because they demonstrated the water bottle holder expanding to accommodate a large hydroflask. However, I wanted a bag quickly, and they were out of stock then. I was also looking at more commonly recommended brands like Belroy, but none of their water bottle holders seemed compatible with my 40 oz stainless water bottle. Finally, I decided on the Moment MTW Backpack 17L (I’m short). It met the following qualifications:

• Separate laptop compartment that fits a 16” Mac Pro
• Large/expandable external water bottle holder
• Luggage passthrough

Since then, it’s been my primary work bag and personal carry-on bag on several flights, and I’d recommend it depending on your own needs.

The laptop compartment is one of my favorite parts of the bag; the two pockets give my wireless mouse and AirPods a permanent home, and the laptop sleeve juuust barely fits my work laptop. The main compartment has very little in the way of organization – just one mesh zip pocket – but that also means it’s flexible in what I pack in there (lunchbox for work, clothes for an overnight stay, or my Switch, a book, and snacks for a plane ride). The front zip pocket has more pockets for organization, which I don’t use much day-to-day but are suitable for organizing all the little things you might want to bring on a trip, like headphones, pill bottles, etc. I’m a keys-in-jeans-pocket sort of person, so I don’t use the pocket’s attached key holder much.

The water bottle holder does indeed stretch to fit my 40oz bottle, but it’s a pretty tight fit and pushes into the main compartment space. My partner’s 32 oz bottle fits much better without pushing into the side of the bag as much. Ultimately I’ve found it more convenient to put my water bottle in the main compartment when commuting, but having the external holder for travel is handy.

In general, with the 17L bag, there’s not a huge amount of room, and filling up one section will reduce the space available in others. I like a smaller daily-use bag, so I’m cool with that.

When I was researching the bag, people mentioned that the fabric does collect dust, and scuffs can show up noticeably on the darker fabric color. I chose the green to avoid that, and aside from a few faint scuffs, I think it’s still looking good. From a quality perspective, all the materials feel good in the hand, though there are a few loose threads on the bag’s inside pocket.

Do be aware that while Moment’s website says, “We designed the base so the bag doesn’t fall over when it’s set down,” that is definitely not true for my bag, especially with a laptop in it. The back feels like it has a rigid plastic backplate in it, and even when empty, the bag will always fall forward. I don’t find it a huge annoyance, but some folks might.

Reviews also mentioned the sternum strap mechanism is fiddly – personally, I removed it as soon as I got the bag and haven’t used it since.

These look lovely but the description makes it sound like felted cordura, which I find really funny some reason.

We made up some of our favorite bag styles in an exciting new fabric. Cordura Konbu is a special variant of 500D nylon that is heat treated to create a dense, stiff material with a unqiue texture and hand. We even got to specify our own custom color, this rich Botanic Green, with the mill in Japan.

Bags are available to view now and inventory will be updated to IN STOCK this Friday, 6/23 at 11am Chicago Time.

I suppose traveling with a uke is by definition “many bagging” if it’s in its own bag. I don’t bother with a hard case or padded gig bag, just a thin gig bag for my 20-year-old cheap no-name laminate concert sized uke.

But… a plastic uke would be nice for those times when conditions are damp or for kayaking when it is downright soggy. Looking at Kala Waterman ukes right now, especially a soprano. (I don’t have a soprano, which is excuse #1 for getting one; and it will take up less space than my concert, which is excuse #2. I’m sure I can come up with more as needed.)

What’s your traveling musical instrument?

First!, I guess.

Just got this bag that I ordered a few weeks ago from a favorite small mfgr. Randi Jo mainly makes cycling caps -- the absolute best cycling caps, IMO, but also some small bike bags, and now a waistpack/sling.

Construction on this is excellent, very beefy and also classy, with some neat design elements like the center gusset on the front pocket to give it some expandability. It has some padding in the bottom to give it structure and to make it camera-friendly. There are no dividers, though.

Default fit is for skinny folks (as is true of so many bike brands), but you can request a different size.