I got a Smart Alec!!!!!

[ArnieJB]

Fat Crip - I enjoyed your unboxing video on YouTube even though I ordered some different TB products. It was my first order and your video gave me an idea on what to expect upon arrival for packaging. BTW, I visited Edinburgh, visited the palace and saw the Scottish Crown Jewels back in the summer of 1993 during a bus tour of England that dipped into Southern Scotland. It was a college graduation gift from my parents. I veered away from the haggis. ;)

[BrianI]

Arnie - that's funny ... I was there two years prior during my study abroad. I also remember the lousy black rucksack I used to backpack through Europe for 4 months: heavy canvas, single huge interior, poor quality zipper pouch top, front pocket, two side pockets - ill fitting with metal buckles and canvas straps and the same for shoulder and waist straps. I had that thing *loaded*, but it was anything but organized.

Sure wish I had a TB bag then.

Heck, now I know I need to pick a TB travel bag to ensure that never, ever happens to me again.

[ArnieJB]

Brian....my eyes have been opened so much to the way I could have been traveling all this time. My travel backpack up until recently was a $20 semi-tactical looking black POS that I picked up in a department store back when I can't remember. I never realized or appreciated the organization options available.

[Fat Crip]

Back on 31/10/1982 I bought a Karrimor Hot Ice rucksack. Back in those days they made their bags in house in Harrogate in Yorkshire, England and gave them a lifetime guarantee. I kept the receipt just in case I needed to claim, but it has yet to fail! The only reason that I no longer use it is that it was a straight rucksack with just one pocket in the hood. Sadly Karrimor now make their bags in the Far East and they are not what they were. That's why I sought out TB. The other thing I notice about the receipt is that I bought it from the Practical Camper in Sandwich Kent for just £38.35 less a 12.5% discount for being a Scout bringing that down to £33.56 ($50)! I hope my TB bags serve me so well, so far, so good - two years in!

[lotuseater]

Your pics are much appreciated, athanasios. I had to wait an extra couple of days to view them as I was stuck on a not-even-close-to-3G signal over New Year's. This thread just wouldn't load. Dial-up would have been faster - if I could have found a landline.

Wasabi looks like the perfect complement to the charcoal grey of steel dyneema. I have solar dyneema on my Aeronaut, and wondered why it was never offered on black exterior bags. It's very cheery, but perhaps not as liveable.

As soon as my nordic / steel SA arrives I'll post pics for comparison purposes.

[athanasios]

My Smart Alec was feeling lonely, so I took a "family reunion" picture before our next trip. ;)

[dorayme]

So
Much
Steel
Dyneema
All
At
Once.

Can you take the same picture all over again with one zipper per bag undone to show off the lining colors?

[bunchgrass]

For Christmas I got a cardinal/steel SA and today I got the Nordic dyneema pouch for it. Love it!!

[athanasios]

Can you take the same picture all over again with one zipper per bag undone to show off the lining colors?

Happy to do so when I return. :-)

[julawils]

Athanasios, THANK YOU for posting your pictures. I didn't know which color Smart Alec to get...and considered my options for HOURS. I want it to be professional enough for work travel/meetings but didn't want Black since everything else I own is black. I immediately ordered exactly what you did once I saw the pictures you posted. I cannot wait to receive it and now I think I need a Synapse too.

These forums are sucking me in and I love it!

[Ginkgo]

I really really really like my Smart Alec. My North Face backpack was acting up and I needed a new EDC backpack pronto. I was debating between the Synapse and the Smart Alec, and ultimately went with the Smart Alec because of all the recent design changes and modular bags that could be added, and I have days when I carry a ton of groceries like a beast of burden so I need the bag space. I am so hard on my bags. It's practically a challenge -- which will break down first, me or my Smart Alec?

Now I'm trying to figure out how best to organize the inside of my Smart Alec. It's a new fun hobby!

[julawils]

I took my Smart Alec as my only bag (plus large handheld purse) for a 2-day trip and I loved how comfortable the shoulder straps were... I really do think these bags are a-mazing! Tom really nailed how to make the perfect bag for commuting and traveling.

[bltkmt]

Now I'm trying to figure out how best to organize the inside of my Smart Alec. It's a new fun hobby!

This is my challenge now and I hope to hear about/see ideas from some of you on how to best use the side pockets and add some organization to the main compartment. I just received my nordic dyneema Smart Alec yesterday and love it, but am a bit confused on how to best use it. But it is BEAUTIFUL!

Edit: I am thinking that one of the Maxpedition EDC organizers might work best for me in one of the side pouches, to hold flashlight, multitool, lighter, etc. I would love to use something TB, but none of the existing pouches really have the organization of the Maxped. Would love to hear thoughts from the group.

[Ginkgo]

bltkmt, I probably don't have much in the way of advice for you, since I don't use an EDC organizer, and I use my water bottle side pouch just for my water bottle (or two! I've carried two water bottles at once in there), and I have a couple of pens, little notebook, umbrella, little kit of herbal medicine, and planner in the other side pocket. Have you looked into the Upper Modular Pocket? It looks like it has the organization you're looking for. Loaded Pocketz did a review of it, and his modular pocket contains most of the tools that you mentioned. It would clip to the top of the Smart Alec.

I'm still trying to figure out how to organize the main compartment too, but for now its big black hole capacity has actually served me well. For now I have papers in a legal-sized reldweld folder with a flap (standard office supply quality), that fits against the back. I usually bring 2-3 round tins of food with me to work, so I stack them in a column in a plastic bag, then plonk the column into the SA. I currently have a hardcover book in there too. Sometimes I carry a puppet. If the bag has other stuff in it, the arm rods have to stick out at the top, but I just zip around them, and the top-loading nature of the bag makes me feel safe that the puppet isn't going to unzip itself and tumble out.

[bltkmt]

Sometimes I carry a puppet. If the bag has other stuff in it, the arm rods have to stick out at the top, but I just zip around them, and the top-loading nature of the bag makes me feel safe that the puppet isn't going to unzip itself and tumble out.

Thanks for the response - I have considered the UMP but am not sure I need even more space yet.

No offense intended, but your cargo made me giggle. Pics would be fun.