Daylight Backpack — a delighted surprise

[aedifica]

I took my DLBP yesterday on a trip by train, about three hours on each leg of the journey (had a job interview). I'm always surprised how much I can fit into it...

Viel Glück beim Vorstellungsgespräch! (that is, good luck with the job interview!)

[kuroe]

Wow! I am pleasantly surprised that my thread generated this much responses!

Sorry for the late reply guys. My life was pretty swamp, so I hope my reply was not too late ...

I've considered this, but the straps have always held me back. Does it dig into you if your bag is fairly weighted down? not trying to carry bricks, but a laptop, water bottle, and my camera can get a little weighty.

Nope. Unless you wear sleeveless and it directly contact your skin, then that may get a little uncomfortable becasue of the fibre texture and the sharp edge. With a single layer of T-shirt in between, it feels nothing to me.

I am new to the TB bags. In the last two months I ordered a quite few items. The daylight came as one of many accessories to the Synapse 25 and Areonaut 45 products. After I received all of the products I was immediately surprised how it felt on my back. I loaded it with some stuff and compared it with Synapse. I feel that in many ways it is better than the more expensive option. It feels great,looks great, weight almost nothing and you would be surprised how the straps sits well on your shoulders. By the way my model is made from the halcyon material and I can't comment on the ballistic versions as one might find it too stiff or more heavy, but I don't know.

I ordered the ballistic one and it's still very very light.

Here is a question for everyone - with no padding etc on the back, doesn't it get hot to carry? Of course everyone is different, but to me the only thing holding me back for ordering is worrying about how hot it will be on my back.

I live in Hong Kong, and I used it through the summar days ... Hong Kong is like Florida in terms of climate, so you can trust me when I say it is all very fine.

I took my DLBP yesterday on a trip by train, about three hours on each leg of the journey (had a job interview). I'm always surprised how much I can fit into it...

Yesterday it was:

• car keys
• wallet (not a minimalist wallet)
• phone
• iPad in a cover
• plug and cords
• earphones
• umbrella
• lunch box with leftover cake plus one apple
• big bottle of water (one litre)
• notebook and pen (+ papers)
• a book
• a non creasing suit jacket (I wore a cardigan on the train and switched for the interview)
• tissues, lip balm and various other small stuff

The bag wasn't stuffed to the seams, everything was accessible and it still looked quite slim on my back.

YES to the bolded part. That's why I'm sold. Immediately.

[synapse25survivedNYC]

The wife tolerates my fandom of TB bags, but on a recent solo trip she asked me to borrow my Daylight Backpack. So happy she did. ^_^

I wish I could thank the individual in this forum who described how light it felt. And the only way to know is to actually wear one on your back. Forgive the cliche, but it really feels like you forget you are wearing the DLBP. Packed with just essentials, the DLBP just disappears. I like to wear mine on trips. It’s the perfect pack for me when I’m sightseeing or expecting to be outside for a good part of the day. Also love that it doubles as a packing cube.

[MarkWebb]

Flattens and stows well

For travel - and Bihn's roots are in travel - I love the Daylight for three reasons:

1. It flattens out very nicely due to the "seat belt webbing" backpack straps and absence of padding in any of the panels. This is essential if I'm not using the Daylight as one of my two carryon bags, but want it in my 22" checked wheelie for local use. In a 22" wheelie I can't afford the sheer bulk of a school daypack with linings, padding, and very bulky straps.

2. It's a lot, lot, lot more sturdy than similar weight bags like the REI Flash 18 and 22 which are "ultralight" "peak" bags built for carry in a hiking pack. Those bags use just 70d or so nylon, vs. 420d ripstop in the Daylight. That's a huge difference in abrasion endurance and puncture resistance. And that's not even counting the 400d Halcyon reinforcing fibers in the Bihn Daylight. I could have carried my law school case books in the Daylight for all three years. With 70d in other bags I get nervous about heavier or poke-ier items.

3. Those seat-belt webbing straps. This is where Bihn excels - "intelligent minimalism" - basing his designs on his research, customer feedback and expected use rather than "tradition" aka pushing dubious "improvements". These webbing straps are SO much sturdier than the lightweight "mesh" designs on some other light packs - those mesh designs are actually relying on the edge piping for their load carry capacity, since the "mesh" that actually comprises the central part of those straps is really pretty flimsy.

Most shoppers don't know what's best, so the sheer ABILITY to deliver "features" at dirt cheap prices means packs sell based on "looks on hooks" - hanging on hooks in most stores - and not on field testing.

For many, the end result is thinking that seat belt webbing looks like a cheap cost-cutting measure, instead of appropriate design, and hence and won't be comfortable, when actually it is VERY comfortable and IS highly funtional.

The only downside to the webbing straps is - no sternum strap. The width of the Daylight is a good match for me, however, so the straps don't tend to roll off my shoulders, but this could be an issue for some.

4. The zippered "panel loading" style is much better for me than narrow-opening, draw-cord operated cinch packs (aka "top loaders"). It's so much easier to root around in a wide-opening Daylight than to root around in a tubular, top-opening only pack.

5. This is a "slim" pack. By design. Most daypacks get very thick and lumpy as stuff settles down. I prefer packs that provide their volume by spreading it out in as close to an efficient rectangular shape as possible. Hence I like "onebags" for overhead carryon, instead of lumpy tear-drop shaped backpacks. Instead of shoulder bags that taper or slope.

The downside to the slim bottom panel and edges are that the pack is optimized for a slim tablet or laptop (in a protective slip case or thicker cover, a carefully optimized jacket or fleece (ideally folded to reach to the four corners of the pack and not simply wadded up and stuffed in), and those thick aluminum and glass and steel water flasks don't make a good match (I use Platypus "film" flasks). It's a poor match for stuff that won't "spread out" via careful folding.

This is because the Daylight is a more "pack looking" option than the Packing Cube Convertible Backpacks from which it evolved, hence the slight taper at the top.

I can accept this. The original convertible packing cube backpacks hold more, but look...weirder. This Daylight is better for air travel, and in 525d ballistics looks slick enough for business casual meetings.

I've only experienced two negatives:

The first negative is the now-discontinued Cordura option. It sucks!

I got Cordura, but Cordura stinks in the way it picks up dust, grime, lint, and cat fur. And despite the best water repellent treatments in the world, "wets out" much faster than smooth fabrics like Halcyon. The interior coating is much improved over the treatments from decades ago (no sticky feeling, doesn't flake off, keeps contents pretty dry without the weight and bulk penalty of an interior lining), but it's still not as good a solution as a slick exterior surface from which rain drops roll off - e.g., Halcyon or Ballistics.

The original "design goal" of Cordura was to imitate most of the look and feel of cotton canvas, since back in the day we consumers weren't ready to break with that particular "rucksack tradition". So Cordura's developer actually went to a lot of trouble to "break" the fibers so they would look like cotton, instead of continuous and slick like original parapack fabrics (smooth and usually a little glossy).

But as Bihn has written on his "materials" pages, the original "smooth" nylons like parapack were actually much better performing [my word] "technical" fabrics than fake-cotton [again, my turn of phrase] Cordura. We just weren't ready to accept the "plastic" look.

Nowadays, of course, obviously "technical" bag fabrics like Halcyon are the cats meow. And slick parapack no-longer looks like cheapo, semi-disposable travel shop junk (it's apparently hard to find from mills).

I may just have to get a Halcyon Daylight. That would solve the shortcomings of the fur-and-lint magnet Cordura edition.

The other negatives cluster around "sack" vs. "features". In the ideal world I'd have the nifty features of a Synapse 19. In the actual (travel) world, I need to be able to flatten the heck out of my "local bag" so it won't take away packing space. (I've tried just increasing the size of my checked luggage, but that introduces other sets of problems.)

Fortunately, the modularity of Bihn's approach helps a lot. The o-rings for clip-on pouches, Side Effects and Side Kicks as internal organizers help a lot.

So all in all I can't say the Daylight is "perfect" for air transits - if it were, I'd use it as my seat-side personal bag instead of stowing it in checked luggage - but it is near the top of my list for carryon personal item, and at the top of the list for "stowed" bag.

It's the right balance of light weight, low bulk, ruggedness, and functionality.

[Petros.Kyrillos]

[QUOTE=MarkWebb;168580]

I may just have to get a Halcyon Daylight. [I]

I would be more careful with the judgment. Order one in different material and keep the one you feel its better. I just got the 525 ballistic version (from curiosity and just to know) and I believe that both versions got its pluses an minuses but they are very minimal. I might keep both of them and use each one in different environments as pleased. I love them both for different reasons.
The best reviews are based on the facts and personal experiences but not on speculations.

[sujo]

I ordered a black/NWS DLBP recently and I got it just before a 3-day trip. So, I used the DLBP. I had the thing full to capacity and was tempted to pull out the Western Flyer. In the end, I used the backpack and it was wonderful.

Top pouch: a mini Cordura Organizer Pouch (wasabi) with a tote bag, a JBL Clip 2 speaker and a small non-TB pouch for USB drives.

Bottom pouch: medium Double Organizer Pouch (linen) with fork/spoon, folding bowl and optical drive with cable in the front and notebook, pens, and assorted stuff in the back; travel 3-plug power strip; and umbrella

Main compartment: medium Tri-Star packing cube (original steel and mesh) holding 1 pants, 1 cardigan, 2 long-sleeve tops, 2 underwear, 1 bra, and 2 socks and my computer without a cache

On top of everything: minimal 3-1-1 in a Ziploc bag and No. 1 Travel Stuff Sack (solar) with computer charger and mouse

Front zipper pocket: mini Cordura Organizer Pouch (crimson?) as a first aid kit

I originally had a cache in there but it was too tight. The packing cube held the laptop in place. Nothing moved around. If I took out the laptop, it was a fight to get it back in. But everything fit. It was light and easy to get on and off. I folded my jacket into it's pocket and hooked it to one of the backpack straps with a carabiner.

I would definitely do this again. If I had one more day of travel, though, I would probably go with my small zipped Shop Bag and the DLBP.

[MarkWebb]

....
I would definitely do this again. If I had one more day of travel, though, I would probably go with my small zipped Shop Bag and the DLBP.

Watch out! the new zipper top totes seem smaller than the ones they replace (or supplement, in the case of the small one). I have the original shopping totes and on the basis of their sizes ordered the small zipper tote, but had to return it because it seemed smaller. I returned it for the large size, which is the right size - in between the two originals. I don't think my eyes are fooling me. I held each seem up to the other.

[Opakapaka]

Hi, does anyone have any pictures of the Daylight folded up or flattened out? I'm not 100% sure how "packable" this can get. Thanks in advance!

[G42]

Watch out! the new zipper top totes seem smaller than the ones they replace (or supplement, in the case of the small one). I have the original shopping totes and on the basis of their sizes ordered the small zipper tote, but had to return it because it seemed smaller. I returned it for the large size, which is the right size - in between the two originals. I don't think my eyes are fooling me. I held each seem up to the other.

FWIW, the new shop bags are slightly larger in capacity than the original shop bags, but the shape of the bags is different. If you look at the shape of each panel that makes the bags, it's more apparent, and not as easily discernible by laying them on top of each other... this may affect your perception and possibly how you use the bag - it does for me.

-oSSB 15L
-zipSSB16.5L
-oLSB 25L
-zipLSB 27L

I use the original bags (mostly the small) for grocery shopping, especially when tall items stick out of the top of the bag.
The new zip shop bags are for when I need things to be more securely contained, like under the seat on airplane rides.

[TRD]

Hi, does anyone have any pictures of the Daylight folded up or flattened out? I'm not 100% sure how "packable" this can get. Thanks in advance!

Personally I either treat mine like a packing cube in my TS/WF or I carry it.

I like visuals though so here is a sample (folded in half and rolled without much effort it fits in a 3DOC.





It can definitely be argued that if you have A30 as your only carryon and don’t want a second item you can pack it flat though, in that case most of us pull out backpack straps and then put the dlbp in the pocket where the straps are stored.

Folded into thirds for reference.


Packed in the compartment