See also:
Shop Bag
We’re open tomorrow (Seattle store + Customer Service)
Our Seattle store (4750A Ohio Ave S; 98134) will be open tomorrow 10am – 4pm, as will our Customer Service and Shipping Departments. Need help ordering a last minute gift? Have a question about an order you’ve already placed? Call us (1-800-729-9607 or 1-206-652-4123) or send us an email: we’re here and ready to help.
Available for pre-order: Smart Alec in 400d Dyneema/nylon
The Smart Alec in 400d Nordic Dyneema/nylon. Available for pre-order now and ships by early January.
$40 UPS Next Day Air Saturday Delivery until 12:30pm tomorrow
We’re offering UPS Next Day Air Saturday Delivery (normally $40-$155) for a flat rate of $40 from (now) Thursday 12/20 after 12:30pm through Friday 12/21 until 12:30pm (PST). Orders received by 12:30pm on Friday and shipped via UPS Next Day Air Saturday Delivery will be delivered on Saturday, December 22nd.
To take advantage of this special shipping rate, simply select it in the shipping method box during the checkout process. No special code is needed.
Want help figuring out which shipping method you need to choose? Email us, call us, or use our Holiday Shipping Schedule.
$20 UPS 2nd Day Air until 12:30pm tomorrow
Reminder: we’re offering $20 flat rate UPS 2nd Day Air Shipping (normally $22-$120) until 12:30pm PST tomorrow, Thursday, December 20th. Orders shipped tomorrow via UPS 2nd Day Air will be delivered on Monday, December 24th by the end of the day.
To take advantage of this special shipping rate, simply select it in the shipping method box during the checkout process. No special code is needed.
Want help figuring out which shipping method you need to choose? Email us, call us, or use our Holiday Shipping Schedule.
Tynan’s 2012 Gear: Zen Edition
“I’m still using my trusty Tom Bihn Synapse in Dyneema. I’ve never before used a backpack that reflects such a highly developed understanding of travel. The compartments are perfectly laid out and sized so that they never encroach on each other, even when stuffed.”
Read the full post @ Tynan.com
See also:
The Synapse
Tynan’s 2011 Gear Update
OBOW Reviews 400d Dyneema Tri-Star + Aeronaut
“I’ll give you an example of how I see myself using the newer bags. I’m planning a trip for sometime in 2013 to an area near the Arctic Circle. It will be cold. I want to, of course, take only one bag but the airline I’m flying—the only airline to fly where I’m going—has a limit on both size and weight of carry-on bags. I was able to figure out a way to do this with my older Aeronaut. But with the newer, lighter one, I can now pack an extra microfiber sweater and still stay under the weight limit. I might even be able to take the newer Tri-Star. I like having a choice.”
Read the full review — with many great photos — over at One Bag, One World.
See also:
Introducing 400d Dyneema®/nylon
20% Lighter Travel Bags
Tri-Star
Aeronaut
Holiday Shipping Specials
If you’re like us, you still might have some holiday shopping to do. We want to help make it as easy as possible to place an order with us for guaranteed delivery by or on December 24th (UPS will be delivering Ground and Air packages by the end of the day on Christmas Eve), so we’re offering the following Holiday Shipping Specials. Want help figuring out which shipping method you need to choose? Email us, call us, or use our Holiday Shipping Schedule.
$20 Flat Rate UPS 2nd Day Air
Tuesday 12/18 after 2:30pm – Thursday 12/20 until 12:30pm (PST)
We’re offering UPS 2nd Day Air (normally $22-$120) for $20. (Order by Wednesday at 12:30pm for Dec. 21st delivery and by Thursday at 12:30pm for Dec. 24th delivery.)
$40 Flat Rate UPS Next Day Air Saturday Delivery
Thursday 12/20 after 12:30pm – Friday 12/21 until 12:30pm (PST)
We’re offering UPS Next Day Air Saturday Delivery (normally $40-$155) for a flat rate of $40.
$30 Flat Rate UPS Next Day Air
Friday 12/21 after 12:30pm – Saturday 12/22 at 1:00pm (PST)
UPS is picking up packages on Saturday, so we’re shipping that day too. We’re offering UPS Next Day Air for $30. Orders shipped on Saturday via UPS Next Day Air will be delivered on Monday, December 24th.
To take advantage of these special shipping rates, simply select them in the shipping method box during the checkout process. No special code is needed.
And remember: Gift Certificates are available with immediate electronic delivery 24/7, 365 days a year.
Tom’s favorite gifts to give
Raindrops on roses? Whiskers on kittens? I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend some alternatives, just in case you’re tapped out of ideas for gifts:
If you’ve family or friends in the American west (to the left of the the meridian 100° west of Greenwich, more or less), you might take a look at the High Country News. Interesting and insightful reporting, available both in print and electronically. Even if you only dream of living out west, it’s worth the read.
We hike. We hike rather a lot, and in all weather conditions. After fooling around with several other brands of traction devices for walking on ice/compacted snow, I’ve become smitten with Kahtoola Microspikes. They offer amazing grip on winter trails; they are durable, portable and easy to take on and off. Microspikes can turn what would have been a treacherous stretch of trail into a cake walk. (Yum, cake…)
And when we’re not out in the weather (or you know, busy making bags), we’re home enjoying the winter weather from the inside. Nothing makes a cold day outside more cozy inside than some hot cocoa. I know chocolate has become a bit like red wine — everyone has their favorite and is their own expert. That said, I will always prefer a very old yet not always well known chocolate maker from San Francisco — E. Guittard — for both hot cocoa and chips for cookies.
People often ask me at this time of year which bag I most often give as a gift. My answer? It’s still the The Aeronaut. Pretty much everyone I know travels at some point. They fly to Europe, Hawaii, take road trips to the Southwest, get a sitter and escape for a weekend to the coast, take their first real vacation in five years, visit family on the East Coast, or go on that round-the-world trip they’ve always dreamed of. The Aeronaut is as close I get to being able to come along with them.
As a musician and member of The Ecclestons, my friend Greg Madill tours all over the world. When I was first designing the Aeronaut, Greg and his wife Lorena were set to go on a trip to Italy. I gave Greg one of the first prototypes of the Aeronaut to test.
My friends Robert and Maggie went to Paris for their honeymoon, so his-and-hers Aeronauts made perfect sense as a wedding gift. Robert reports:
“My wife and I were given a pair of Aeronauts as a wedding gift, and we took them on our honeymoon. I try never to check bags, so the size is great. The handles on three sides of the Aeronaut make the bag super manageable, from the trunk of the car to the seat on the airplane. The shoulder straps deploy fast enough for that moment when you realize you need to run to the gate, then disappear just as quickly. We love these bags, and we’ve used them every time we’ve travelled. Six years later they show no signs of wear.”

The Aeronaut in Aubergine/Wasabi.
Shop Bags make great gifts, too: pretty much everyone shops at the grocery store or the farmer’s market. And if anyone I gave an Aeronaut to didn’t get the full set of Packing Cubes and other accessories (3D Clear Organizer Cube, Packing Cube Backpack, Packing Cube Shoulder Bag) they might this time around.

Shop Bag, Small, in Wasabi.











