What Goes Into A Tom Bihn Backpack?
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Description
Reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 79 Total 4 star reviews: 8 Total 3 star reviews: 2 Total 2 star reviews: 2 Total 1 star reviews: 0
91 reviews
- LJLarry J. C.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Sewn in USA, High Quality Craftsmanship2 years agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Sewn in USA, High Quality CraftsmanshipRated 3 out of 5 starsAverage Bag
I’ve been hoping to see this bag back into production for a long time and had it preordered within the first several minutes. A “personal item” that was top-loading and met a certain airlines rather “limited” size limits was at the top of my Travel Stuff wish list.
I was fortunate that the Tom Bihn crew was able deliver in time before my 6 days of (literally) train, plane, and automobile travel between San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston.
However, it is telling that as soon as I opened the box and then opened up the NFTD, I was looking around the house for fixes -- eventually ordering one fix online and hoping it would arrive in time (it did).
Issues:
1. No padding inside on the bottom of the end compartments. This was a surprise to me, since the main compartment is padded. One of the things I use an end compartment for is carrying a small mirrorless camera (Fuji X-E3). One layer of fabric between it and the world is unsat. My “fix” was to order some adhesive backed 1/8” foam neoprene. I cut pads to fit and installed them -- they worked fine. In fact, that additional padded layer helps give the end compartments a little more shape, but not so much that the NFTD won’t fit nicely into the airport sizing jigs. Unfortunately, that mod probably means that I no longer can return the bag.
2. Center compartment too small. I understand the long dimension limitation of 17 inches. But if Tom Bihn had just reduced the end compartments to 3 1/2 inches, that extra…
TBTOM BIHN2 years agoHi Larry, we appreciate this thorough feedback and will certainly be sharing it with the rest of the Design team.
- GHGreg H.Verified ReviewerBought For GiftProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, Compact2 years agoBought For GiftProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, Sewn in USA, CompactRated 5 out of 5 starsA Supern Personal Flight Bag
A good friend and I had each identified the NFTD as an ideal personal flight bag, and were of course disappointed that it was out of production. But I located a NFTD on eBay and bought it for him as a Christmas gift. I was truly impressed when I got my hands on it and—very briefly—considered keeping it for myself. These almost never show up in the after-TB market. But I stuck with my gifting intention, and my buddy was thrilled with it. I was also fortunate to locate the camera insert kit [he's a photog], though its pieces=parts are probably easy to source from photographic gear retailers. If TB returns the NFTD to production, I will be among the first inn line . . ..
- MTMichael T.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, High Quality Finishings1 year agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship, High Quality FinishingsRated 4 out of 5 starsExactly as billed, but would like to see some tweaks
First off, let me say that this bag is exactly as described and has all the hallmarks of a TB product. I really appreciate the thoughtful touches like the pockets and scoop handles found at either end and the little stash pocket in the top flap. That said, I do wish the bag offered a little more flexibility in terms of how the interior space can be used. One change I would like to see is making one or both of the partitions between the main compartment and the side compartments zip-away-able to allow for carrying of longer/larger items, when needed. Having another 2-3 cm at either end of the main compartment would make this the perfect gym bag for me. As it is, I have to struggle a bit to get my shoes in and out. All in all a great bag--added versatility would really take it over the top for me.
TBTOM BIHN1 year agoHello Michael! We appreciate your feedback, and it brought a smile to our faces! We did explore the idea of interior zippers to expand the main compartment during our design process. However, for several reasons, it didn't make it to the final design. It's great to hear that you had the same thought as us!
- KTKathrine T.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, Versatile1 year agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, VersatileRated 5 out of 5 starsOutstanding for European Travel
Excellent size and easy to carry along with a backpack. I am on a quest to travel lightly in Europe keeping baggage to what I can carry easily myself without wheels. This bag worked perfectly along with a backpack. I am under 5' tall and was able to get both bags into overhead compartment. I also carried both bags through the airport to the local transport, walked to AirBnB and then up 2 flights of steep stairs. Will also be traveling by train.
- JWJacob W.Verified BuyerBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, High Quality Craftsmanship, Compact2 years agoBought For MyselfProduct Standouts Thoughtful Design, High Quality Craftsmanship, CompactRated 4 out of 5 starsExcellent bag, but *much* smaller than expected
Very happy with many of the bag's features (e.g. the number of small pockets and clip loops) and the craftsmanship is great as usual, but I was (perhaps unreasonably) expecting this bag to hold a lot more stuff than it actually does. Over-ear headphones and a book will take up most of the main compartment - and forget about your laptop.
So get out your tape measure before ordering and make sure this bag will be big enough for your needs. It turns out that the official size limits for a personal item make for a really tiny bag. I was hoping I could squeeze my 14" laptop into this guy but it turns out to be barely big enough for an iPad mini.
I intend to figure out another use for the bag (beach day?) because I really like it in theory, but I almost always fly with too much stuff in my personal item to use the Night Flight Travel Duffel for that purpose. I ended up ditching this for a recent trip with multiple international flights and replaced it with a trusty backpack that, among other things, has a padded laptop compartment.
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