Doodlers Anonymous has a challenge for you: draw your most essential item, the thing you’d take with you if you could only bring along one thing. Submit your drawing and you’ll be entered to win a Synapse 19 backpack.
Our essentials:
Doodlers Anonymous: The Essential Draw
The 2013 Life Reengineered Minimalist Packing Guide
“Words cannot describe the love I have for the Tom Bihn Synapse backpack, but I will give it a shot. I affectionately refer to this 19 liter marvel of backpack engineering as “Marry Poppins” because of its astounding ability to hold an almost endless amount of items in a limited space. Everything you see on this list fits snugly into this bag. It’s incredibly comfortable – nice wide straps with a shoulder clip hold the bag firmly in place, and it has a waist clip as well if you ever needed to run with the bag. I have an 8″ metal plate in my left clavicle from a snowboarding injury, which the doctor said some backpackers complain about, but I’ve hiked through the jungle for 5 days with this bag on and shoulder pain was not an issue.
The bag is also waterproof – it has sealed zippers that do as good a job as possible at keeping the water out. In rain, it performs admirably, keeping my camera and computer dry. However, if you fall off a kayak while wearing this bag it may let a little water in. I know from experience. If you have your camera in the upper middle pouch, it will survive. The added benefit of having a waterproof bag is that you do not have to carry around a large bag cover, which takes up a lot of volume in the average bag (and the bigger the bag, the bigger the cover).
The structure of the bag makes everything incredibly accessible – I keep all my small electronics, sunglasses, flashlight, etc in the side pockets for easy access. An added benefit of the pocket structure is that it makes it so that there is no need to carry smaller packing cubes for organizing these items. The bag also doubles as my day bag. So when I am all checked into the hostel and my computer and other items are locked up I can take this bag out to carry my camera, water, headphones, and jacket. I don’t have to have a second “day bag”.”
Brad Choate: My work tools, 2013 edition
“From year to year my work tools change. So, periodically I like to capture the state of my work environment on my computer. I’m a software developer (both web and iOS) who dabbles in design. Here’s the latest snapshot:
Computer: 11” MacBook Air (Mid 2011) ($$$). My employer has provided me with this laptop, and it’s the best I’ve had. Can easily power the 27” Apple Cinema display I use with it every day and runs everything I need, from Photoshop to Xcode, even with the bevy of OS X menubar items I keep running. 4 GB goes a long way on this Mac. It travels in a Tom Bihn Ristretto ($$$) which holds my laptop and a 10” iPad easily.”
Read on over at Brad’s blog for his full list of work tools.
In stock: RFID Blocking Passport Pouch, Side Effect (some colors), more
Thanks to our crew, the following bags are back in stock and ship within one business day:
RFID Blocking Passport Pouch, all colors
Side Effect in colors Steel Dyneema/Wasabi, Wasabi Dyneema/Wasabi, and Aubergine/Wasabi
Other colors — Black/Iberian, Black/Wasabi, Black/Steel, and Navy/Iberian — will ship soon.
Horizontal Brain Cell, Size 13″ MacBook Pro Retina
Horizontal Brain Cell, Size 6X
Citizen Canine, all colors
The Smart Alec backpack in Black/Black/Steel with the Side Effect in Steel Dyneema/Wasabi tethered to the bag via a Key Strap in Wasabi.
Andy Chen’s Everyday Carry Bag
Read on at The Gadgeteer for a detailed list of what Andy carries in his Ristretto for iPad.
ScottE22: The Western Flyer & Cadet: A Tale of Two Trips
“My first outing with my new kit was a one-nighter to SLC last week. Unsurprisingly, the WF/Cadet combo fared well. But I was very curious how the pair would hold up this week on a 3-night trip to rural Idaho that involves two flights on CRJ200 jets and one short hop on a EMB 120 (the latter being a teeny, 30-passenger prop plane in which overhead bin space is practically non-existent). This was a bit of an outlier for me as most of my travel is for 1-2 nights and on larger jets like 737s.”
Read the full post by ScottE22 in the Forums. See also: the Western Flyer and Cadet.
thedailyblur: Four presentations. Three days. Too easy.
“Four presentations. Three days. Too easy. Thanks, @tombihn!”
– @thedailyblur (Tim Miles)
Mary Ann Peters, the artist featured in our Everyday video
Several of you have asked us about the artist carrying the Swift in Cork featured in our Synapse 25, Swift, Ristretto: Everyday video. Her name is Mary Ann Peters and she’s based in Seattle; her work ranges from studio pieces to public art projects and installations (she’s currently working on a large glass art installation at the future Northgate light rail station.) Mary Ann’s work can also be seen at the James Harris Gallery.
You can view Mary Ann’s work on her website where there’s also a great video interview.
The Man’s Man: Synapse 25 review
“Over here at The Man’s Man we are sold on the packs that Tom Bihn puts out. Tom Bihn (the man) has been designing packs for more than 40 years and he feels a personal responsibility to put out a product that is unique, looks good, lasts long, and fills a niche that no one else has filled. He’s doing an excellent job at fulfilling this purpose. These packs are functional and quality made.
After using the Smart Alec pack for the last 5 months for everyday carry and day trips we were really excited to get our hands on the newest pack from the guys at Tom Bihn.”
Read the full review at The Man’s Man. See also: the Synapse 25.
Video: the Side Effect
Starring Lulu (Quality Assurance) and Scott (Shipping Lead and editor of this video) and shot on location in our Seattle factory.
Think of the Side Effect as a deluxe, tricked out, fully organizable 3D Organizer Cube. The main compartment zips with two sliders; inside the main compartment are two O-rings set dead center and two open-top organizer pockets sized for your phone, a small notebook, or a wallet. The open space in the main compartment can fit larger items: 8-oz water bottle, small camera, sunglasses, power supplies, souvenirs. And it can be carried four different ways: via the included 5/8″ Shoulder Strap, the optional Waist Strap, optional Handle Loop, or clipped inside of a larger bag via a Key Strap.
