Benefits of an Ego vs S25

[Jeff A]

As most of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of Synapse 25. My only TB laptop bag, the rest are purely travel bags. With the Ego going bye-bye I've been tempted to give it a whirl. However both the S25 and Ego have a ton of pockets, room for a laptop and are similar in liters.

What are some benefits of the Ego over the S25? I would definitely go for the Q-AM strap if I picked one up.

Question about the first pockets under the flap: how deep are they and do they expand some? Or are they mostly for Field Notes/Moleskine notebooks? Thanks for the help!!

[terayon]

I have both of those bags and like them a lot, but for different applications. They're pretty different, one being a backpack and the other a messenger. The Ego would probably be considered more professional in most settings. It's easier to get a laptop in and out of the main pocket. It has even more pockets to stash things than the S25. Because it's a messenger, you can grab things from every pocket without taking the bag off. I find backpacks more comfortable for longer or heavier carry, but I generally prefer a messenger for carrying papers and files.

If you mean the two open-topped pockets under the flap, they work best for flat things like a small notebook (eg Field Notes or a pocket Moleskine) or a phone (my iPhone 6 in a case fits with about an inch of space beside it). Here's a 1-oz Go-Toob; it fits but makes the pocket bulge - sort of like if you put it into a small OP:



If you mean the zipped pockets, they are bellowed and can fit quite a lot. This is a weird angle, but hopefully you can see the depth of the bellows.



These pockets can accommodate a paperback book, for example.

[moriond]

@Jeff A, Did you take a look at the pictures @Moosezilla took in the Ego comparison shots thread? There are also some pictures of her wearing the bag. The Ego is not a bag that I have/use (I'm more of an ID Bag user), but I think it could be a good bag for you.

HTH

moriond

[Jeff A]

@terayon Thanks for the pics and description!! You're not making this easier, haha

@moriond Thanks for the link to @Moosezilla's thread. Lots of great pics there, too.

My main concern is when the Ego is full of gear it looks like it can turn into a barrel. With that being said, I'm sure it can be avoided by not overstuffing it. Can the water holder pockets hold a 32 oz. Hydro Flask? Looking at picking one of those up too. I'm guessing the Ego can easily hold my Sol Republic Master Tracks (awesome headphones, by the way) in the front compartment under the flap easily while having my 15" MacBook Pro Retina in the main compartment? In my S25 when using my laptop cache the headphones tend to be a tight fit.

Also, is Crimson a bright red? I definitely don't want a darkish interior.

[moriond]

My main concern is when the Ego is full of gear it looks like it can turn into a barrel. With that being said, I'm sure it can be avoided by not overstuffing it. Can the water holder pockets hold a 32 oz. Hydro Flask? Looking at picking one of those up too. I'm guessing the Ego can easily hold my Sol Republic Master Tracks (awesome headphones, by the way) in the front compartment under the flap easily while having my 15" MacBook Pro Retina in the main compartment? In my S25 when using my laptop cache the headphones tend to be a tight fit.

@Jeff A, The Ego can hold a lot of gear -- which is one of the points that fans of this bag love. I know there are people my size/height (just under 5'4"/1.6 m) who have this bag, and @adalangdon has posted pictures of what this bag looks like carried with Q-AM (Quick-Adjust messenger) strap on her back, but it's a better bag for somewhat taller people, so I'll let others reply to your usage questions, and address your question on lining color. It's not just bag size, but weight of contents carried messenger style vs backpack style as a fraction of your body weight that shifts these personal decision points.

Also, is Crimson a bright red? I definitely don't want a darkish interior.

Crimson is great as a lining color. In another thread (Am I crazy? Maybe (for burnt orange)) I wrote:

Can we hear stories from people who converted from getting all-black bags once they started ordering from Tom Bihn, even for business bags? I love the colors. Technically the first bag I got from Tom Bihn was a Black Brain Cell -- but that was only because the Plum (original design) Buzz Sling Backpack I ordered had such a long wait time due to the backlog of orders. And the section for the laptop divider and pens, etc was this stunning Sapphire blue. Even the Empire Builder briefcase had pictures that showed how effective a bright lining color could be in making it easy to locate items inside a Black bag. I think that Crimson is the lining color option available in older bags that I miss the most.

Like @Ilkyway, I like Burnt Orange, but I don't have the level of enthusiasm it inspires in some. And I still like Cayenne Cordura (another orange color) a lot.

moriond

I've bolded my comment about Crimson, but it's a genuine sentiment. I mentioned to Darcy that I was surprised (and delighted) that they managed to dig up enough Crimson and Sapphire 500d Cordura -- colors we hadn't seen in bags for several years -- probably the last appearance was in some of the Snake Charmers -- to line the bags that were being retired. If you want to see examples of these colors, check out my posts with image uploads in response to @GoStanford in the Blues and reds in organizer pouches thread.

Here's an example where I used a Crimson 500d Cordura Organizer Pouch in a picture from a different thread about using Pocket Pouches to show the contents of a Pocket Pouch that was used to carry short cables. (The red Crimson pouch background made it easier to see the components than putting them against a white table background, so I stuck the organizer pouch underneath the Pocket Pouch and its emptied contents:


Sapphire's a harder color to show; there's a picture of a Stabuck's leaf card inside a Sapphire Double Organizer pouch I got in October 2014 in this montage of a Plum Field Journal Notebook, Sapphire Double Organizer Pouch, and Black 400d Dyneema/Wasabi Side Effect lying on top of a French Blue Daylight Backpack folded in thirds:



(These were all items I placed in the Daylight Briefcase, so this was a picture from that review thread). @icebeng also ordered Sapphire, Crimson, and Cayenne organizer pouches in 500d Cordura as a result of reading through that Blues and reds in organizer pouches thread and related threads, so you can look at his picture in post #35 near the end of that thread.

Finally, if you do want to use a Q-AM strap with your bag, you should probably order one now -- because the stabilizer attachment for 1.5" wide waist strap will probably go away once these bags are finally retired, and only 1" waist strap options (e.g., for the Large cafe bag) are likely to remain. You should also look at the pictures for how the Q-AM strap attaches to the Ego and is carried with that bag on the Q-AM strap product page before those disappear for good, too:





HTH

moriond

ETA: If you want to see what Crimson 500d Cordura looks like as the lining of a bag, check the old ID Messenger Bag Review thread that @maverick started in 2004. @weirdguy posted questions there last month, and I replied by including a link to the original review and pictures of the Crimson interior via the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine that you can use. The 500d Cordura versions of Crimson and Sapphire that were used for bag linings are more vibrant than their 1000d Cordura counterparts, in case you didn't pick that up from reading the Blues and reds in organizer pouches thread. (@adalangdon posted some pictures of her Crimson cafe Bag -- the 1000d Crimson Cordura is darker, and there are also differences between the color of 1000d Sapphire Cordura and the 500d Sapphire Cordura used to line bags, although it's not discussed in detail in that thread, but elsewhere (in a thread about Snake Charmer colors).

@Jeff A! I actually thought you might have bought the Black/Black/Sapphire Ego when that bag disappeared shortly after I posted the reference to @Moosezilla's thread. I also noticed that the options for the Black/Navy/Crimson and Black/Black/Steel Ego reappeared on the product page about that time, so I don't know whether there are new bags being made, or products returning to stock.

[Jeff A]

@moriond Thank you so much for all the info! Crimson looks awesome, it really does! No, I didn't buy the Black/Black/Sapphire Ego. I emailed Hannah back and forth a few times and she mentioned the last batch of Ego's were being put on the site so I think that's where the two current color offerings came from. Loving the Q-AM strap, too. Would be perfect for my usage.

Unfortunately, my TB funds are too low right now so I'll probably miss out on the Black/Navy/Crimson Ego as it probably won't last long on the site

For fun I Photoshopped the available ballistic stripe colors onto the Black/Navy/Crimson Ego. They look pretty awesome!!! I'm thoroughly convinced it would be a great bag for me but what can you do. Enjoy the pics! My faves are the Steel, Navy and Coyote stripes on this bag combination.

[terayon]

I don't have a Hydro Flask, but this is a 32-oz Nalgene wide-mouth bottle (3" in diameter) and it fits nicely n the bottle holder. These are the best external bottle holders I've ever seen - the snug-them-up straps are genius. Also, the lighting is crap but FWIW here is my Crimson SCB.

[Jeff A]

I don't have a Hydro Flask, but this is a 32-oz Nalgene wide-mouth bottle (3" in diameter) and it fits nicely n the bottle holder. These are the best external bottle holders I've ever seen - the snug-them-up straps are genius. Also, the lighting is crap but FWIW here is my Crimson SCB.

Thanks for the pic and info on the bottle holders! Nice to know they can hold bigger water bottles. I bet that Crimson SCB is awesomely bright in the sun

[tpnl]

... both the S25 and Ego have a ton of pockets, room for a laptop and are similar in liters.

What are some benefits of the Ego over the S25? I would definitely go for the Q-AM strap if I picked one up.

Question about the first pockets under the flap: how deep are they and do they expand some? Or are they mostly for Field Notes/Moleskine notebooks? Thanks for the help!!

What I love most about the Ego is the ability to quickly access the front pockets and the front compartment without having to open the flap. The 2 zippered front pockets are my favorite. They are slash pockets that you can put items in securely - keys, passcards. to your question on how deep they are, width-wise, from the centre of the bag to the zipper. Top to Bottom height is obvious I think - from the bottom of the bag to the to of the front opening. As for depth, you can stick some chunky items but they are best, IMHO for medium to thin items. But, if you want to use it for thicker items, it will just expand into the front compartment of out more.
As @terryon shows, the 2 front most pockets are not elastic and will only hold medium thickness items - see this picture I found of someone putting their compact camera there:



I also saw a picture of someone putting their gun there ... but perhaps not too safe a thing to do.

If it helps, here is a sample picture I did with some of the items I did carry in my Ego (I have since downsized my carry and use a Ristretto 13).



Here is the link to the post I did. It has more posts with great info:

Ego vs Super Ego

As for the main compartment, this is what you can hold:



Note - not my cat - just a picture I found on the internet (really wish they still had the beautiful cork strip available!)

... but, if not that, you can add a Camera I/O and it becomes a very full featured camera bag.

The front pocket can really be a bottomless pit of stuffing ... it really can hold a lot - lunch, etc. A Large FS fits in the front pocket well too if you want to further organize:



Further thoughts on S25 - Ego comparisons:

S25 - everything all zipped up so no accidentally looking things
Ego - do not have to take off bag to get everything in it
S25 - can carry a heavy load better (Ego can get very heavy and backpacks IMHO are always better to carry heavy loads)
Ego - easy to access slash zipper front pockets and mesh side pockets
S25 - slightly more volume
Ego - great separate spots perfect both umbrella and bit bottle
S25 - perfectly balanced bottle pocket
Ego - style - can customize strip to add even more personalization
S25 - better for hiking
Ego - nice comfortable Poron Handle
S25 - looks better IMHO when fully loaded (ie - your Ego looking like a barrel if fully loaded comment)
Ego - built-in padding on back and bottom (I thought in the front as well but I was mistaken in my memory!)
S25 - lighter (probably because no native padding)
Ego - option to Shoulder and Backpack/Courier Style carry
Ego - size wise, easier to be a personal item (ie S25 is bigger in width and height, Ego is bigger just in height)

Also, I personally think a black S25 is just as fine as an Ego in a general business environment but that is just my opinion - Backpack vs Courier style bag.
Ego use advice I have found: Do not pack the front section full as this is what contributes to it looking more round.

Hope this helps
Cheers!

[MtnMan]

I have been the proud owner of a SuperEgo briefcase since 2009. While the SuperEgo isn't what Jeff A is looking for, it is simply a larger version of the Ego. Either of the Egos makes a great briefcase.

I find the inner pockets under the front flap to be huge. I can stuff all sorts of pens, markers, business cards and other goodies it there.

A word of caution: a minor nuisance that I've found with the Super Ego is that you sometimes want to carry it like a conventional briefcase: by the single poron-filled soft handle on the top of the case. Doing so leaves the shoulder strap hanging, which can either get in the way or gather dirt/dust. Since the shoulder strap is semi-permanently attached, you cannot just unsnap it and stow it away in less than ten seconds like you can the shoulder straps on the Empire Builder or the Zephyr. That's why I recently started a discussion thread on how to remedy that matter. I strongly recommend buying the extra parts and rigging the Ego to have a quick-attach/detach strap arrangement. I am awaiting my order to do this.

Another word of caution: these briefcases have substantial capacity. It is tempting to haul everything but the kitchen sink in one. I know; I've done it before. They can become quite heavy. I recommend using a shanphook-rig-mounted Absolute Shoulder Strap and watching what you carry.

Caveat on my advice: I subject my Super Ego to light use. I do not take it everywhere. Still, it is very useful (and stylish, and convenient) for presentations and business meetings on the road.

HTH

[Jeff A]

Thank you everyone for the excellent replies, so much great information!!

I have a vertical cache 15" MacBook Pro cache in my S25. If I use that in an Ego I know I won't be able to attach the rails. With that being said, will it flop around too much in the main compartment if not secured?

[tpnl]

I would not think your cache loose in the main compartment would flop around much. I say this because the main compartment will be slimmer if it is not full (bottom padding will flex a bit so it is thinner. Also, the front under flap contents will lie right beside your cache in the main compartment keeping it in place.

If you still prefer to have it attached to something in the bag, may tether it to the annex clip loops or the horizontal Rail Loops - perhaps using a 8" key chain looped around the cache rails and then either the annex clips or rail loops - or even a organizer ring. The actual Gatekeeper Rail Clips may even work for your needs even though they cannot be used in the normal way.

I do not have a cache with Rails to try but that is the route I would go if I still want my cache secured in the main compartment. Of course you could get a Brain cell or Horizontal Cache but I think you are trying to avoid having to do this.

Hope this Helps

Cheers!

[Jeff A]

Thanks @tpnl

If you're looking at the front of the Ego, are there pockets on each far side next to the zippered pockets? Almost looks like there are mesh pockets but not sure.

Also, do you think an eBags Slim Lunch Box plus the Sol Republic Master Tracks would fit in the front compartment under the flap with an 15" MacBook Pro Retina in the main compartment? Thanks!

[tpnl]

If I have the dimensions of your items correct:

eBags Slim Lunch Box - 11.75" x 8.5" x 3"
Sol Republic master Tracks - 8" x 6.8" x 3.3"

The Lunch Box would not fit in the Front Compartment (I tried an 8.5x11, 500 sheet package and it did not fit in the Ego front compartment without squishing it to get past the edges due to the thickness - single sheets of folders will be fine to use the Front Compartment).
The Over-Ear Headphones do fit in the Front Compartment.

Now, you Lunch Box would fit in the main compartment with room to spare for your laptop. The depth of the main compartment is around 4.5" max based on the material width at the bottom of the bag. With the 3" your Lunch Box takes, that leaves 1.5" for your laptop in Cache - which should be enough room. You, of course could put the Headphones in the Front Compartment.
There is a possibility your Headphones might be able to fit in the main compartment with your Lunch Box if oriented vertically - and your laptop behind both items. But this would fill up the whole space and would probably require you take out one or both these items to get out your laptop.

Unfortunately, I do not have either of the items to test for real - only books of similar size - so YMMV.

If the dimensions I have above are incorrect, let me know and I can test again with my books!

Hope this Helps

Cheers!

[tpnl]

... If you're looking at the front of the Ego, are there pockets on each far side next to the zippered pockets? Almost looks like there are mesh pockets but not sure. ...

If I understand correctly, yes, there is an open top mesh pocket beside each of the zippered pockets. I put my iPod Nano usually there or pens for quick access. They are a diagonal cut pocket about 2.25" wide and 3"-6" tall.

Also, for the zippered pockets, there is an O-Ring in each.

I have edited my picture of the Ego to show the approx. location and size of the pockets (6 in total not including the 2 side water bottle / umbrella pockets):



Hope this Helps

Cheers!