Tri-Star front compartment thickness?

[chx]

From https://www.tombihn.com/products/pac...=6919349698623 I gather the 'official" thickness of this compartment (with the zipperable divider) to be 2.4" thick. Now, how stiff the wall to the middle is? I am looking to put a laptop in the middle and my teddy bear in front, I measured it to be 8" x 4" x 13.5" but of course those are not absolute numbers it being a plushie after all This review https://youtu.be/dTRsGyFwDf4 put a https://www.tombihn.com/products/pac...14986332340287 in the back compartment which I presumed to be the same size and that's 3.5"... I really, really, really wish I could test pack this bag but I am in Vancouver, BC -- not easy to do so.

Also, it looks like the water bottle pocket won't work in backpack mode?

[bartleby]

All compartment of the Tristar have the same size. Thus, you can use e.g. a large Tristar Packing Cube in each compartment. The divider between the compartments is not very thick which means that if you have a lot of stuff in one compartment it will compress its neighbor a bit making it more difficult to put things inside. I use the middle compartment for my notebook and the outside compartments for clothes, shoes, etc.

Whether the water bottle compartment works in backpack mode depends on how you use it. If you can close the zipper there will be no problem. In my experience that depends on how full your front compartment is and how bulky your water bottle is. If it is really stuffed it will rather be difficult to close the zipper.

[x3n0n]

I think it also depends on what you mean by "work" as far as the water bottle pocket; in backpack mode, it won't hold the bottle upright, if that's what you mean.

[GrussGott]

For me the water bottle holder is used for two distinct purposes:

(1.) i carry a folded up whole foods grocery bag there as that's my first stop when I land on any trip in the US - makes it ultra-easy to grab out

(2.) I buy a bottle of water right after security, and given I'm wearing a backpack and shouldering the bag, it makes for a perfect place to hold the bottle until i get to the gate where I move it to my backpack which goes under the seat.

The only time I've used any big Bihn bag in backpack mode is waiting in customs at Amsterdam as I'm a 2-bag traveller: one TB backpack, one TB big bag ... and since TB backpacks can't be carried any other way than as a backpack, it forces you to shoulder the big bag vs using the backpack straps.

(i do carry only, so no rollerbag, and shouldering a big bag for 45 min in a customs line gets tiring - it's why I wish Bihn would add shoulder strap attachment points to their backpacks - throw us 2 bag travelers a break tom!