Questions for owners of Synapse AND Co-Pilot

[WhiteStar]

Will a Co-Pilot fit inside the main compartment of a Synapse? If so how much room is left? Would an iPad in a cache fit in with it?

Would a long sleeved woman's sweater (medium size, medium weight) fit in the main compartment of a Co-Pilot?

[dorayme]

Are you asking of a loaded up co-pilot, or a partially empty one? If loaded, what kind of contents?

[WhiteStar]

A fairly loaded Co-Pilot.

My thought is that I would like to create a Knitting Kit similar to what you and dornum3 (not sure of name here...) made up, but I'd like it to be able to carry a project when I travel. So imagine a Co-Pilot with all the notions in the front pockets and a project in the main compartment. And then put that in a Synapse so that I can carry the other stuff I need and not have two bags to keep track of until I reach my destination.

If it makes any difference as far as squishability and expandability goes, both the Synapse and the Co-Pilot would be Dyneema, not Cordura.

[dorayme]

That makes sense. Depending on how stuffed your Co-Pilot is, it should work, but imho it sounds like it would be kind of fiddly. You would have to pull everything out of the top of the Synapse, find a place to set it, to access the Co-pilot, then reload when you were done. Even the Dyneema Co-Pilot will have some structure and rigidity from the cording and binding on the edges.

[moriond]

That makes sense. Depending on how stuffed your Co-Pilot is, it should work, but imho it sounds like it would be kind of fiddly. You would have to pull everything out of the top of the Synapse, find a place to set it, to access the Co-pilot, then reload when you were done. Even the Dyneema Co-Pilot will have some structure and rigidity from the cording and binding on the edges.

WhiteStar, take a look at the cross-section drawing of the Synapse that Darcy provided in the Synapse Q&A thread to see what dorayme means. The Co-Pilot is 12" x 10" x 5". The Synapse at its widest interior point is 12.8" and tapers to narrower width at the top. You can put the Co-Pilot into the bottom of the Synapse, but the top of the bag sits about an inch above where the side zippers start. If you want to carry anything else in the bag that didn't go into the interior pocket, it would have to sit on top of the Co-Pilot, and be balanced on top of it. Unless you put these items in a separate enclosed pouch that could sit on top of the Co-Pilot and its handle, and were also careful about how far you unzipped the Synapse when opening it, you might wonder about these items falling out when you opened the Synapse.

You can put the Co-Pilot inside the Synapse, if you let the top of the Co-Pilot get squeezed a bit, but the remaining space inside the main compartment of the Synapse may feel less usable. Maybe dorayme can comment more about this.

moriond

[dorayme]

moriond, you said it better than I.
WhiteStar, if you want to carry the Co-Pilot inside of a backpack, maybe the Smart Alec would be a better fit. It's larger and has a different orientation. It's also cavernous inside instead of divided like the Synapse.

Or if you want to compartmentalize inside the Synapse, what about a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag? Sorry, but I cannot see the Co-Pilot with contents, inside of the Synapse as being a great thing, though I plan to carry my Synapse with my Co-Pilot for short trips.

[123veo]

I have a synapse and a co-pilot - i'll do some stuffing tomorrow evening and take some pics to post here. Fun!

[SusanM]

Can the Co-Pilot fit inside the Synapse or the Small Swift?

This old post may help, although my Co-Pilot was not stuffed.

Susan

[Moose]

White Star, SusanM's link above is where I tried getting my Co-pilot into my Synapse. Sorry no photos, as you may know I'm challenged, in a big way, with getting photos put up. I'd be happy to measure, test anything you need though. I don't have a Swift so I can't help with that. I'm guessing dorayme can though.
Take care,
Moose

[WhiteStar]

It sound as though putting the co- pilot inside the synapse can be done, but is mostly a case of "Why bother?". Thanks for the help everyone!

[Lani]

For what it's worth, I sometimes pack my Packing Cube Shoulder Bag into my Synapse.

Main thing is to slide it in SIDEWAYS for a better fit. But like you mentioned, I think the Co-Pilot is such a great standalone bag that it's almost silly to try to nest it into a Synapse. The two compliment each other well, but I they probably don't need to get the matryoshka doll treatment.

[Moose]

White Star, I think you nailed it, it is sort of a why bother kind of thing. Lani mentions using a Packing Cube Should Bag in the Synapse. I do carry my Side Effect in my Synapse all the time. It along with a Kit and my Field Journal fit pretty well.
Take care,
Moose