Before the Synik was released, I carried a Synapse 25 for a while. While I really liked the general design of that bag, it had a few things that irked me a bit.
The biggest issue was that if you packed it full, it got a bit "egg shaped", and became a bit awkward on your back. Adding the frame remedied this issue, but you had to stick the frame inside the bag, and it felt like an afterthought. I also have never been a fan of the Tom Bihn's cache system for carrying a laptop, and the Synapse doesn't have a built in laptop compartment.
Enter the Synik. I. love. this. bag. The frame is designed right in from the start, so you don't even know it's there. It's removable if you'd like to do that, but why would you? The Synik also added a laptop compartment so I didn't have a cache taking up space in the main compartment anymore. With that said though, I'm not the biggest fan of design of the laptop compartment in the Synik. There's nothing wrong with it, I just like the design of the laptop compartment in the Paragons better.
Like the Synapse, the Synik has the awesome back panel with that little section that sits so nicely right in the small of your back. Plus the Synik has those amazing edgeless straps that my old Synpase didn't have. A word about those edgeless straps. As someone that has worn my Synik almost daily for a few years now, those straps will "form" to your bodyshape after a while, and it is the best thing ever. Its like they were custom made for…