“Due to the variety of different events on my schedule, my gear needed to be really versatile, good to wear schlepping around museums and galleries, neat enough for furniture showrooms & trade shows visits and smart enough for fancy “design” events in the evening, including cocktail parties, dinners and even a visit to a nightclub (which I was WAY too old and introverted to endure for long!)

Plus, the temperature ranged from 9C/50F to 26C/79F so the gear needed to cope with conditions from chilly Germany to warm Milan…and cold, windy Lake Como!

With some careful planning, selection (tip: lots of black, a very versatile colour) and weighing of my gear (I’ve become a light weight travel geek!), I managed to come up with a packing list which coped with all the scenarios above…and still only weigh 7kg (15.4 pounds) total!”

Read the full post by GuyB in the Forums.

See also:
The Aeronaut

“As an experiment/challenge, I am on a 4 day wintery work trip with only my synapse. In the bag are two sweaters, one sweater vest, two dress shirts, one night shirt, one t-shirt, three pairs of socks and two undies. Also packed toiletries, two notebooks, snacks, glass bowl, utensils, phone charger and wallet. the amazing thing about the synapse is how it can be stuffed to the gills without squashing anything. The pocket placement is so perfectly engineered to maintain a cute shape and balanced weight distribution. I haven’t lacked anything. Next experiment: 18 days abroad.”

Posted by conversa in the TOM BIHN Forums.

Below is an excerpt from nsh’s forum thread Honduras Practice Packing List. Click here to see the full packing list and more photos.

Honduras Practice Packing List
Trip Duration: 2-3 weeks in January
Purpose of the trip: wife to the primary researcher
and short birthday beach side trip
Luggage: Synapse (brand new!!) and field journal

Excerpt:
“The field journal was an incredibly useful tool in assisting me during my work travels. Here is why:

1) I administer interviews in Arabic and write from right to left instead of left to right. The field notebook makes it easy to write in either direction.

2) The straps on the bag create enough tension when worn around the neck and leaned against the abdomen that it creates a table when you stand up. I am rarely able to sit down and administer interviews so having a sturdy surface to write responses was a lifesaver for me.

3) As a small-framed woman, carrying a heavy backpack on my shoulders for several hours in the hot sun while administering interviews can be very taxing. For many years I hauled my GPS phone, writing tools, and cards in a backpack and carried around a clipboard. I was fumbling with all my items while trying to write down interview responses. The field journal notebook changed all this for the better. My shoulders are no longer sore at the end of the work day because the bag is light. The zippered exterior pockets held my passport and a small wallet (from Tom Bihn) and the interior pockets held my pens and phone. I used a small clip to attach my water bottle to the strap so that I could operate hands free when walking around the camps.”

Read the full review by nsh in the TOM BIHN Forums.

See also:
Field Journal Notebook

Photo of the FJN by Jason Penrod.

C. works for an NGO in Iraqi Kurdistan. Here’s her review of the Synapse:

“I firmly believe that the trick to stress-reduced packing and traveling is being in possession of a good bag. (I also firmly believe that packing and traveling are, probably by default, stressful experiences, rendering any methods of stress-reduction welcome.) Several years ago, I bought a 60-litre pack to use while traveling around the US, and while I loved it immediately, I’ve found that it’s really not suited for my life as an activist in Iraqi Kurdistan. It’s too big to be considered a carry-on, and it’s too bulky and strappy to make it efficient for the short trips we take here. If I was hiking around, then it’d be great – probably all I’d need. But because I’m mostly living in houses, and traveling to not-very rustic locations, I only use that pack when I travel to, and from, Kurdistan.

Before I left home, I went on a hunch and purchased this backpack [the Synapse] from pack-maker Tom Bihn. I already owned a Tom Bihn bag, and had used it hard for over two years. Seriously – that bag has held everything from a dozen end-of-semester textbooks to a bouquet of flowers for my sweetheart, and it still looks good as new. I’m a brand-loyal sort of person, especially when that brand is from a US-based small business, so naturally I went looking to Tom Bihn again for my next bag.

Readers, I thought I loved my big pack. But I gotta tell you, I fell hard for that little Tom Bihn backpack, and I take it nearly everywhere with me. Like three-day excursions to Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital, for example. I can fit everything I need for a short trip inside this backpack — and, it works as a carry-on. If I was a light enough packer to only bring that bag with me on longer adventures, I would do it.

Wanna see how much I fit in my bag, after last week’s trip?

And while I wish, in hindsight, that I’d laid all this out over a white sheet or something, instead of this very busy mattress fabric, hopefully you get the idea. All that, in that very little bag. Really, it makes me feel a bit like Mary Poppins.

I’ve got PJs, toiletries, iPods, an e-reader, notepads, my laptop, a snack, a 27oz water bottle, a harmonica, Giraffey, pens and pencils, my wallet, my mobile, and also the camera that took this photo. And a lot of other stuff, too.

I suppose this is really just a shout-out to a wonderful bag. If any of you are looking for a new backpack, or messenger bag, or even piece of luggage, I enthusiastically recommend checking this company out. Their stuff isn’t the cheapest you’ll find, but I can attest to the quality of its construction, and its durability.

Yup. Just my little small-business plug.”

“I just wanted to say hi and that I’m so glad to see you’re still making awesome bags. I bought my Brain Bag w/a laptop insert in 1998 from the Santa Cruz store, just before you closed it and moved. Well the bag took me through four years at UCSC, and we’ve since traveled the world. I’m about to take it to Australia, and realized that it has lasted longer than almost anything I own, and at the same time has been used more than almost anything I own. Color me amazed. The new bags look fantastic — keep up the great work!”

– Joe

This isn’t Joe’s Brain Bag, and though it’s not quite as old as his is, it might give you a sense of how well our bags hold up over time.
On the left: a 2002 Brain Bag in Sapphire.
Right: a 2011 Brain Bag in Black.
Photo by retrophisch.