Pilot

$188

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With 30% more volume than the Co-Pilot, the Pilot is a medium, personal item carry-on travel briefcase designed to fit your work essentials.

Color & Material

Aubergine Ballistic/Mountain 210 Cerylon

Exterior Color:
Aubergine

Interior Color:
Mountain

Exterior Material:
Ballistic

Interior Material:
210 Cerylon

Upgrade to an Absolute Shoulder Strap? - $25.00

Carry-on Friendly

Made in Seattle

Laptop Compartment

Lifetime Guarantee

Pilot

Description

The Pilot is a personal item-sized travel bag and laptop briefcase that handles business trips, weekend escapes, and everyday carry with ease.

Dimensions
15.4" (w) x 11.4" (h) x 5.1" (d) / 390 (w) x 290 (h) x 130 (d) mm

Weight
630d high tenacity ballistic nylon: 1 lbs 4.3 oz / 575 grams
630d high tenacity ballistic nylon, with Standard Strap: 1 lbs 8.1 oz / 870 grams
420d Spectron: 16.4 oz / 465 grams
420d Spectron, with Standard Strap: 1 lb 4.3 oz / 575 grams

Volume
13 liters / 800 cu. in. (ASTM Standard Measure)

Total O-Rings
5 (2 in the main compartment, 1 in the left zippered pocket, 1 in the water bottle pocket, 1 in the right zippered pocket)

Standard Shoulder Strap
1.5" / 38 mm nylon webbing strap, includes .25" / 6mm texturized rubber pad and heavy-duty plastic snaphooks.

8" Snaphook/Snaphook Key Strap
As with most of our bags, we've included a key strap. 8" long from tip-to-tip, a snaphook on either end. Good for attaching your keys to.

A Set of Black Zipper Pulls
A set of pulls to extend or replace your metal pulls.

Exterior

bluesign® certified 630d High-Tenacity 2x2 Ballistic nylon

Interior

bluesign® and OEKO-TEX® certified 200 denier Japanese Halcyon/nylon ultralight ripstop

— or —

bluesign® certified 210 denier Cerylon 6,6 Ripstop nylon

Zippers

#8 and #10 YKK Racquet-Coil water-repellent zippers

Handle

PORON® foam padded handle

Components

Tough Duraflex®, Nexus, and Woojin buckles and related components

Reviews

4.9

Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars

Based on 298 reviews

Total 5 star reviews: 277 Total 4 star reviews: 21 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0

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298 reviews

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RM
Rafael Martinez de C.
Verified Buyer
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Comfortable, Thoughtful Design, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, Good Storage Size
3 years ago
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Comfortable, Thoughtful Design, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, Good Storage Size
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Pilot flight bag
As a corporate pilot for more than 14 years I’ve been used a lot of flight bags during this time, and believe this one is the one ! Quality, great storage, practicity , comfort and many positive adjectives I can describe to this bag.
I can list all the stuff fits on it but will be to long.
It’s perfect for all the storage and all the stuff and gadgets that I need.
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A
Amy
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Made in USA, Compact
3 years ago
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Made in USA, Compact
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
The perfect minimalist overnight bag
I bought this to use as a super-minimalist bag for a quick weekend plane trip, where my Synik 30 would have been too big. Going through airport security has never been easier! While everyone else fiddled with overstuffed backpacks and rolling luggage in the security line, I breezed through at lightning speed with just this little bag. I sprang for the absolute shoulder strap, and it was well worth it – it really does lighten the load. I am a 5’3” woman and I never felt like the Pilot was too big or bulky.
For my weekend trip, I packed a shirt, pajamas, socks, and underwear in the main compartment, along with my Bose headphones and two 3D Organizer pouches in the inner pockets for liquids and makeup. One front pocket carried miscellaneous essentials and the other carried my phone, wallet, keys, and books for the plane. The water bottle pocket is a game changer. The entire bag fits under the plane seat, keeping everything at hand during the flight and also saving time not having to pull your bag down from the overhead compartment upon landing.
I didn’t travel with any technology – no laptop or tablet – and it probably would have been too much to pack all of the above with any sort of tech. But for me, it was a fun challenge to see how lightly I could pack! As a business briefcase, a personal item, or packed out for an entire weekend, the Pilot is built to last and has more organization than you can shake a stick at.
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JB
Joshua B.
Verified Buyer
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, High Quality Finishings
3 years ago
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, High Quality Finishings
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
Great bag—just not quite what I need
I’m a big fan of this bag. The organization and capacity of it are brilliant—best I have seen. So are the materials, workmanship, and customer service. For me, however, it needs a protective laptop sleeve and more structure so that it holds its shape when carried by the grab handle or set down. Fully loaded, it sags in places and leans or falls to one side. The luggage handle pass-through gapes open. This was true of both the halcyon and ballistic fabric, but less so on the latter. I would strongly recommend this bag if you are not concerned by these issues.
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ES
Eric S.
Verified Buyer
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, Sewn in USA, Good Storage Size, Versatile
1 year ago
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, Sewn in USA, Good Storage Size, Versatile
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
A nearly perfect laptop/EDC bag
After using this bag for several weeks, I am already convinced that it is the perfect bag for me. As background, my previous EDC bag was a Filson Original Briefcase that I bought in 2019. I used it for 5 years and finally sold it earlier in 2024 due to some "needs" (wants haha) that are perfectly addressed by the Pilot:
1) Needs to "stand up" on its own, instead of being leaned against something
2) Dedicated thermos storage
3) Zipped pockets for storage of smaller items
4) Lighter colored fabric to find stuff in darker environments
5) Light weight but rugged
6) Rolling luggage handle pass through (I travel frequently for work)
The Pilot delivers on all of these in spades. Time will tell how rugged this is but Tom Bihn's customer service, similar to Filson's, is top notch. The ONE thing that I would suggest to Tom Bihn is to add a snap to the rolling luggage pass through so that when it isn't in use, the back flap of fabric can be snapped to the main body of the bag. This would clean up the overall look and improve the bag, in my humble opinion.
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WH
William H.
Verified Buyer
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, High Quality Finishings, Compact, Durable
1 year ago
Bought For Myself
Product Standouts High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, High Quality Finishings, Compact, Durable
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Awesome compact bag with a lot of space
After months of use, this compact awesome bag with a lot of space has been my companion at work and at my chemotherapy infusion sessions at the hospital. When you look at the bag, you think that it is small; but when you look at the interior, you soon realize that looks are deceiving-it can hold many things. The construction is solid. As a college professor, I have purchased many of bags of high end brands that were much more expensive. And after just a few months of use, these high end bags began to tear or the stitching began to come undone in several places. None of these high end bags stand up to the quality of Tom Bihn. In fact, I like this bag so much that I purchased another one in gray. I just wanted to spoil myself with another one in a different color. I highly recommend this bag. The quality is amazing and the price is great. What also makes this bag great is that it is made in the USA and has a lifetime warranty on manufacture defects. Many of the high end bags that I have owned in the past were three times more expensive, with a limited warranty, and manufactured in another country. Tom Bihn bags give me the confidence that I am receiving a quality product at a great price while supporting a great business here at home.
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Quality Designs Since 1972

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