Suspended off the bottom of the bag, the Techonaut's laptop compartment offers just-right padding without adding bulk or weight. Don't plan to carry a laptop? Know that most of the padding and construction of the compartment would be there regardless to offer comfort to your back and structure for the bag itself.

The Techonaut 30 will fit laptops up to the size of the 16" MacBook Pro or Microsoft Surface Book 2 15". The Techonaut 45 will fit just about any laptop out there.

The name says it all: instead of the back panel being a solid rectangular piece of foam, it’s cut in a spine-like shape so that it provides all of the usual comfort with less of the weight and improves airflow. We use a soft and durable mesh finished to our specifications on the part of the back panel that’ll be in contact with your clothes to reduce the chance of abrasion. No, this new back panel won’t ensure you don’t experience any sweat whatsoever if you run through the airport or hike uphill in the summer; that’s just an aspect of wearing a backpack and, well, being human.

The Techonaut takes the amazing wide-opening main compartment that made the Aeronaut one of the most beloved travel bags ever a step further: it opens even wider, even bigger, and it's reoriented to be Hero's Journey style. You can live out of this bag (and easily find what you're looking for) without ever having to unpack it.

One end pocket instead of two increases the amount of stuff you can pack in the bag without increasing the size or weight of the bag. 

Conformity is overrated — except, perhaps, when it comes to shoulder straps. The edgelessness of this strap allows it to more softly conform to your shoulder; we find that this increases comfort. Yet the straps aren’t too soft: the 1/2” thick foam means the strap is robust enough to carry a heavy load.

If you plan to carry the Techonaut as a shoulder bag or in-hand like a duffel — or wear it through the airpot as a backpack and, at the terminal, tuck away the straps so it'll slide even more easily under the seat on the plane or in the overhead compartment — you'll appreciate that the backpack straps of the Techonaut can easily tuck away behind the back panel when not in use. 

The Edgeless duffel handle of the Techonaut is designed to provide comfort and cush when carrying the Techonaut in duffel mode: it utilizes the same EV50 1/2” / 12mm EVAZOTE® OEKO-TEX® foam as our Edgeless Shoulder Straps.

Since we figure most folks will primarily carry the Techonaut as a backpack or perhaps as a shoulder bag with the optional Absolute Shoulder Strap — and carry the bag as a duffel for shorter durations —  we wanted its duffel handle to be as (if not more) comfortable yet somehow more minimal and lower-profile than the Aeronaut grab handle. We believe we’ve achieved our goal on both accounts: you’ll, of course, tell us what you think.

Note that, because of the design of the original Aeronaut handle, it was effectively anchored at four corners in such a way that it did not “lift” much from the bag itself; the Techonaut handle, to achieve its goals of comfort and minimalism, is anchored at two points, and may slightly lift away from the bag if your Techonaut is packed very full. That doesn’t impact the utility of the handle or experience of carrying the bag (and of course the handle itself is robustly secured with multiple bartacks) but we thought we’d mention it because it behaves a little different than the original Aeronaut handle. 

Some of us use rolling luggage: maybe because we need to pack more formal attire for a work trip, photography gear, or just because we find it more comfortable. Good thing the Techonaut's back panel has a pass-through that allows you to slide it over the handle of your rolling luggage.

There are, of course, different sizes of rolling luggage with different handle lengths and widths. That said, the Techonaut 30 and Techonaut 45 should fit over most rolling luggage handles.

Whereas the Aeronaut had two end pockets, the Techonaut has one. Here's why: removing one of the end pockets saved some weight and increased the overall capacity of the bag. Think of it this way: instead of the fabric and build that went into that second end pocket, you've got more space in the bag for more stuff. It also means the main compartment is that much bigger and opens up even wider. 

Need to fit a really big item in the main compartment, or just don't want the division of the end pocket? You'll see that there's a zipper inside the main compartment that creates the division between it and the end pocket: simply unzip it and you've got one very big packing area. 

Nik included three quick-access exterior pockets on the Techonaut. 

The pocket on the right side of the bag is sized to fit a Passport, phone, wallet, and keys.

The pocket on the left side of the bag is the biggest; it can fit some water bottles or stuff like an umbrella or jacket.

And the pocket on the top of the bag can also fit stuff like a (smaller) water bottle, umbrella, or jacket.

For your convenience, you’ll find two exterior grab handles on the Techonaut in addition to the Edgeless duffel carry handle. These grab handles work great for pulling the Techonaut out from under the seat of a plane or from the overhead compartment. They're also handy for steadying the bag as you insert your laptop in its compartment or even hanging the bag on a coat hook.

As with all of our major backpacks, we include adjustable and removable sternum and waist straps with leave-no-trace hardware: if you don't like or don't use your waist or sternum strap, remove them and leave (almost) nothing behind. There's also an optional 1" Padded Hip Belt and an optional Techonaut Internal Frame.

The Design Lab edition label is rectangular and slightly smaller than our original label. It has a black background with dark grey text in the foreground; the text is TOM BIHN followed by Design Lab. Next to Design Lab, there are three dots — the therefore sign.

The intention behind Design Lab is to create a stage for our spontaneity, creative inspiration, and need for exploration. It’s not so much experimental — we wouldn’t release something that didn’t meet our own standards and tests — as it is a way to celebrate the joy of design. Design Lab is our attempt at recognizing spontaneity and creativity, all balanced by thoughtfulness, thoroughness, and conscientiousness. 

Some Design Lab offerings might be offered just once or they may become permanent additions to our bag line-up. Your next question might be: will the Techonaut be offered as an in-stock bag after this pre-order? The answer is: yes. Everyone here at TOM BIHN is so crazy about this bag that it seems likely that at least some of you will be, too.

We include the following accessories to give you a good amount of options for your new bag right out of the gate.

One 8-inch Black Webbing Snaphook/Snaphook Key Strap

A Key Strap is a strip of webbing with plastic snaphooks on the end. The 8” Key Strap in Black that’s included in most of our larger bags is, for many, the gateway to a world of organization via Key Straps and Organizer Pouches. All the members of the Key Strap family are intended to make locating things in your bag easier and more instinctive. Pulling out a small item or pouch tethered to a strap is easier than rooting around aimlessly in the depths of your pack; you can also rest assured that anything hooked to a strap is much less likely to fall out or otherwise be left behind. You can find more Key Strap colors and varieties on the Key Strap page.

One Cord Zipper Pulls w/ Plastic Ends (8-Pack)

Some folks prefer metal zipper pulls. Others prefer cord pulls. So, what to do about that? We think the best solution (in most cases) is to offer metal pulls and include a starter pack of Cord Pulls with most bags. The most popular solution is to weave the Cord Pulls through the metal pulls, effectively silencing them without having to remove them. A video demonstrating various Cord Pull options and more colors/varieties of Cord Pulls can be found on the Cord Zipper Pulls page.

One Sternum Strap Assembly

An adjustable and removable sternum and waist straps with leave-no-trace hardware: if you don't like or don't use your sternum strap, remove it and leave (almost) nothing behind.

One Gatekeeper Waist Strap

A simple webbing waist strap that can offer extra stability when running to catch a bus, plane, or train. It can also add a small measure of support for a heavy load (for a truly supportive hip belt experience, please see the optional 1" Padded Hip Belt.) Also features leave-no-trace hardware.

One pair of Tie-Down Straps

Our included tie-down straps are an alternative to packing cubes: use them to compress and secure clothing in place to help keep it wrinkle-free. They're removable so if you don't want or need to use them, you can leave them behind. 

Absolute Shoulder Strap

If you plan to carry the Techonaut as a shoulder bag, this is the shoulder strap for you. Hands down, it's the most comfortable strap we've ever used.

Techonaut Internal Frame

The Skeleton back panel structure of the Techonaut adds a surprising amount of support even without an internal frame. Add a laptop in the laptop compartment and there's even more support. When the crew tested fully loaded Techonauts here at the factory, pretty much everyone found the internal frame for the Techonaut 30 unnecessary. With the Techonaut 45, it was 50/50: half of folks preferred carrying the bag with the frame, half preferred it without the internal frame. Still, we heard from many folks who wanted an internal frame option nonetheless... so here you go!

1" Padded Hip Belt 

The 1" Padded Hip Belt allows you to carry some of the weight of a loaded pack on your hips rather than just your shoulders.

Packing Cubes & Other Organization

You can view all of our packing cubes, pouches, toiletries bags and other organizational options at the link above. Want a guide to what works best with the Techonaut 30 and Techonaut 45? Check out our blog post Techonaut: Packing Cubes & Organizational Options.