What Goes Into A Tom Bihn Backpack?
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Reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 275 Total 4 star reviews: 18 Total 3 star reviews: 5 Total 2 star reviews: 2 Total 1 star reviews: 1
301 reviews
- GRGreg R.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, High Quality Finishings3 years agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, High Quality FinishingsRated 5 out of 5 starsThe Daylight - Now a near perfect day pack.
Several years ago, I purchased a Daylight as a day pack for everyday use. It was so near to the Sierra Designs Serendipity day pack I owned years ago, I was excited to receive it. Unfortunately, the design of the Daylight had a fault that that became so annoying that the Daylight ended up in the closet most of the time.
The thin seatbelt style straps always slipped off my shoulders, requiring constant attention to keep them in place. In addition, they were thin with no padding causing an uncomfortable carry when the items in the pack weighed more.
When I heard that there was going to be an update to the pack, addressing these annoying issues, I signed up to be notified when the new version became available. I ordered from the first batch. The new version has updated straps! They are lightly padded and now have a sternum or chest strap. Now the Daylight is comfortable to carry, and the straps lock in place when needed and don't slip off.
For my everyday usage (personal items, and a camera) the Daylight is perfect. The workmanship, design and material can't be beat. I highly recommend the Daylight to anyone looking for a daypack of this size.
- DCDominique C.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Versatile, Compact3 years agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Versatile, CompactRated 5 out of 5 starsLess is more!
It's amazing how much I can store inside this simple daypack. It's lightweight and can be easily folded and stored flat. The 400 Halcyon in Taiga is just beautiful and unique. Its perfection lies in its no-nonsense simplicity. Though the straps aren't padded, it works just fine for the usual day load. This is the only backpack that I need, really. Love, love, love it!
- MWMichael W.Verified BuyerBought For Myself5 months agoBought For MyselfRated 5 out of 5 starsI have several
I started with the original seat belt webbing straps design. They are marvels of lightweight (half or less of conventional daypacks) minimalism, yet the fabrics are tough as nails . My first 3 were seat belt webbing versions in Cordura, Halycyon, and thin denier smooth (not canvas surfaced) high tenacity nylon. The fourth is same fabric but the current padded straps version (thinner padding than commercial bags but equally effective). You’ll want to go with the padded straps if it’s a frequent carry item. If you can find the first edition with unpadded straps, they are significantly less bulky when flat packed in a larger carryon bag; they also also roll up better as an alternative pack away approach. I find webbing straps pretty comfortable for medium loads.
The lack of rear panel padding is a bold but brilliant choice. Most shoppers looking for an easy way to checklist and reject a bag will stop right there. But you have to more carefully weigh the pros and cons. I once calculated how much maximum volume in a pack is lost to those foam pads. They look innocent because all of them are thin, but they are also tall and wide and the resulting deduction from volume is significant! Also this is a “real” 17L tested according to the licensed ATSM methodology with tiny balls - the only honest method. Since the bag lacks exterior bottle slots, which are usually stuffed and counted by other makers, this 17L can hold as much as may competing 20 liter daypacks.
The overlapping…
- BBradVerified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Compact, Good Storage Size, Versatile, High Quality Craftsmanship1 year agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Compact, Good Storage Size, Versatile, High Quality CraftsmanshipRated 5 out of 5 starsPerfect travel work bag
I’m continually impressed by TBs ability to make products that fit way more than they have any right too. I chose the black/grey as I wanted to use it for work and personal travel. In this color it fits well into an office environment. Overall the quality is high, with good materials and I couldn’t find any problems with construction. The two back panel pockets take some trial and error to see where your contents fit and feel best but they are very useful even for a tech pouch, laptop charger, my side effect, etc. This really helps keep contents from piling in the bottom of the bag, which is especially important because of how slim the bag is and having my 14” work laptop in a padded sleeve and an external monitor taking up the majority of the remaining space. The front pocket is great, I had the main compartment completely full and had no problem using the front pocket and filling it with a small book, small keyboard, water bottle, packable windbreaker, etc. it’s ridiculous how much this thing holds. New straps are very thin but wide and comfortable enough I had no issues with strap comfort. My only issue with the entire bag is the front has a lot of extra space above the zipper but no organization and no o-ring at the top, just two o-rings roughly in line with the zipper! I’d love to be able to hang a pouch of some kind and utilize that top space in the front pocket.
- MMMatthew M.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Compact, Versatile3 years agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Compact, VersatileRated 4 out of 5 starsNearly Perfect
Okay, this is a GREAT bag. It travel inside my main bag for when I arrive to a destination and need to carry daily essentials. It excels at that. I just wish the zippers were beefier. I know that’s a quibble, but the zippers on this bag are the only thing I have from Tom Bihn that doesn’t feel quality.
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