I love bags, but it's rare that just thinking about one makes me light up. When I was searching for a good travel bag for multi-day solo trips, something that could double as a duffel when needed, I did a bunch of research. After making the rounds, I kept coming back to the Techonaut 45. Granted, I couldn't see it in person, but from what I could see from the images, videos and posts on the Tom Bihn forum, it seemed like the right balance of laptop storage (for a 16" laptop — which most bags I found can't accommodate), durability and storage.
When I unboxed it, I had a good feeling but I knew it wasn't until I could put it through the paces that I'd really know whether the leap I had taken was a good one. I packed it to the gills and flew to Portland for the weekend to meet up with a friend. From the moment I put it on my back, I knew I had made the right choice.
What astonished me whilst walking through the airport terminal was that for as heavy as the bag felt when lifting by one of the solid handles on the top or the side, when it was on my back it felt like half the weight was just...gone. The weight distribution and the padding on the straps is just right. It fit effortlessly into the overhead compartment on the plane, and once at the Airbnb, it was delightful to live out of — each item in its own pocket, clothes neatly packed in Tom Bihn travel cubes in the main compartment, even my bulky hiking boots neatly fit into the side compartment.
This bag is everything I…