July Rare Bag Giveaway: Night Flight Travel Duffel!

[Darcy]

Sign up here to enter to win: https://www.tombihn.com/pages/newsletter

[epeterson]

For various reasons, another production run of the exact original Night Flight isn't in the cards, though Nik plans to design a new 2022 edition of the Night Flight.

I'm glad I clicked!!

[GrussGott]

Oh man, that NFTD is

[Crinoidea]

I'm glad I clicked!!

Oh man. I was thinking about getting an A45… but maybe this is the bag I need.

[Fukuromomonga]

Darcy Will the 2022 NFTD that Nik has planned be a 20L as well? Do you have any other info on possible upgrades to the bag? Thanks.

[moriond]

Darcy Will the 2022 NFTD that Nik has planned be a 20L as well? Do you have any other info on possible upgrades to the bag? Thanks.

Welcome to the forums Fukuromomonga We would all like to know details about a redesigned Night Flight.

[Darcy]

Darcy Will the 2022 NFTD that Nik has planned be a 20L as well? Do you have any other info on possible upgrades to the bag? Thanks.

Welcome to the forums Fukuromomonga We would all like to know details about a redesigned Night Flight.

It's a little too early in the process to share details, I'm afraid: much is being discussed and much is subject to change. Do feel free to share what you liked (or didn't) about the previous Night Flight.

[sturbridge]

Do feel free to share what you liked (or didn't) about the previous Night Flight.

One of the big reasons I didn't keep mine, is that the divider sections were fixed, as opposed to the Aeronauts where you can unzip the divider if you need more room in that dimension.

[Cristina]

I think dividers will be a popular request.

My own request is to please not reduce the number of pockets. I dearly love the layout of the NFTD including the open top flat pocket inside the end pocket and the very end zippered pocket and even those those sneaky little hidden upside down unofficial pockets in the end grab handles. You can put a handkerchief or a folded map in there without worrying about it falling out! I might even put an o-ring there for fun.

One of the big reasons I didn't keep mine, is that the divider sections were fixed, as opposed to the Aeronauts where you can unzip the divider if you need more room in that dimension.

[loma]

I like everything about the NFTD! Wouldn’t change a thing except for making the dividers movable as sturbridge suggested.

[G42]

another vote for making the end pocket dividers zippable

and would LOVE this in Night Walk/Tidal

[organicfarmer]

Do feel free to share what you liked (or didn't) about the previous Night Flight.

A tablet padded pocket would be helpful as it will be a underwear personal item. In keeping with the Aeronaut design that would have the laptop compartment at the bottom of the bag so I don't know if that would work well.

Agree with others to retain same number of pockets. I think zippered end pockets may be complicated for a small bag so maybe a floating divider like TLSS may work better.

With reduction of air travel, a consideration for a land travels would be back panel like support for carrying heavier items like a 12 pack of cans or tools.

[Fukuromomonga]

Thanks for the welcome moriond. I'm a little late getting back, but happy to be here!

I'm happy to hear that the NFTD is probably coming back! That's good news for everyone wanting one.

I do feel a bit silly, though, because I just yesterday spent way over market value for one thinking that they wouldn't come back. I'll use the bag and love it to death, but I probably could have waited and gotten a cheaper, updated version. Oh well. I guess there is charm in having an original (I tell myself this so as to not have buyer's remorse, haha).

[moriond]

Thanks for the welcome moriond. I'm a little late getting back, but happy to be here!

I'm happy to hear that the NFTD is probably coming back! That's good news for everyone wanting one.

I do feel a bit silly, though, because I just yesterday spent way over market value for one thinking that they wouldn't come back. I'll use the bag and love it to death, but I probably could have waited and gotten a cheaper, updated version. Oh well. I guess there is charm in having an original (I tell myself this so as to not have buyer's remorse, haha).

I have a Night Flight Travel Duffel that I bought before they retired, and I often find that I really appreciate features of earlier model Tom BIHN bags. On top of that, even though it’s great to hear that a product may be coming back in a redesigned version, the reality is that it can be very difficult to wait for this to happen.

If you’d like to read more about the specific discussion related to @Cristina’s comment:

My own request is to please not reduce the number of pockets. I dearly love the layout of the NFTD including the open top flat pocket inside the end pocket and the very end zippered pocket and even those those sneaky little hidden upside down unofficial pockets in the end grab handles. You can put a handkerchief or a folded map in there without worrying about it falling out! I might even put an o-ring there for fun.

I can point you to the discussion on 4-20-2019 in the 2019 Wish List thread. That post now looks totally weird, with the images somehow showing up in a different post from the text, so I'll try to reconstruct my intended answer here.

@aedifca had written:

So my latest wish on the wish list is for the NFTD to come back with two modifications: O-rings in the side slip pockets (it's a great pocket for a transit pass, but I want to clip the pass to something) and as others have suggested, borrowing a leaf from the Aeronauts' book so that the middle section can borrow room from the side pockets at need.

and I wrote:

aedifica, there's an easy way to get a tethering solution for the side slip pockets: insert a Tom Bihn pouch inside the slip pocket, and make use of either the O-ring or snaphook. My choice would be to use Small Halcyon Double Organizer Pouch, since that size will fill up the side slip pocket entirely, and provide the right combination of light weight and stiffness to hold things in place, but other good possibilities are the original size Passport Pouch -- with RFID lining to improve stiffness is preferred -- or the Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch (which is Ballistic Nylon).

If you absolutely have to have an O-ring as the tether point inside the slip pocket, because you don't have any triangle hooks, double carabiner clips, or Nite-Ize S-biners to connect to any part of the pouch, then the Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch or Passport Pouch will do. Personally, I carry a mini mesh Coyote organizer pouch with bag hacking parts (they don't include the S-biners, although I do have these, too).

So here are my top choices for inserting into the side slip pockets:

On the left are the candidate pouches I've mentioned: (from the top) Burnt Orange 1050d Ballistic Nylon Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch; Small Double Organizer Pouch (DOP) in 200d Steel Halcyon, with a 1" Triangle Hook part and a Wasabi Double Carabiner Clip below (either of these can provide a tether point to the DOP snaphook end, as shown by the Triangle Hook attachment -- I could have used a Nite-Ize S-biner here, too); Original Design Northwest Sky Passport Pouch with RFID lining (pre-April 2018 redesign to hold more passports -- see April 4, 2018 blog post and/or the Updated (2018) Passport Pouch thread. (Note: I continue to use the original Passport Pouch, while the larger (current version) of the passport pouch is being used (sometimes) to hold my Kindle, but Cristina and pammy may have moved onto the larger size).

You basically need a pouch that can fit through the slip pouch opening (the height of the Mini Organizer Pouch or the width of one of Nik's wallets), but that is too wide to fall back through or be pulled through that opening by the tethered object. For that reason it should be stiff and long enough. Better to have the tether point at the corner, but you can invert the Size 2 Knitting tool pouch to put the O-ring in the middle height of the slip pocket if you wish.

At the right side of the photo I show a Kiwi 1050d Ballistic Nylon Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch overlying the slip pocket of the Nordic 400d Halcyon Night Flight Travel Duffel, and positioned above the opening. The clear space is exactly the size of a transit card such as the Oyster card. The reinforced ballistic nylon on either side keeps this pouch from buckling. The O-ring of the Knitting Tool Pouch has an 8" keystrap with split ring end in Coyote (could have used an O-ring end), which is tethered to a Mini Size Coyote Mesh Ghost Whale Organizer Pouch that is lying on top of a Northwest Sky 200d Halcyon Small Double Organizer Pouch.

A few more photos:

The Northwest Sky 200d Halcyon Small Double Organizer Pouch inserted in the slip pocket of the Night Flight Travel Duffel. (Not sure it is easy to see, but the edge of the DOP goes all the way to the back of the pocket.)


The Northwest Sky 200d Halcyon Small Double Organizer Pouch lying on top of the Slip Pocket of the Night Flight Travel Duffel. (The bottom of the pouch covers the opening of the Slip pocket, which is why I showed the smaller Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch overlying the Slip Pocket in the first photo -- you can see the size of the opening that also works as a hand grip.)

The Northwest Sky 200d Halcyon Original (smaller) Version (pre-April 2018) of the RFID Passport Pouch lying on top of the Slip Pocket of the Night Flight Travel Duffel.

HTH

moriond

Other possible combinations may work: I like the Small Double Organizer Pouch because the double zipper at the bottom provides a sturdy solution. (I can also unzip the bottom zipper and insert my tethered item behind the fabric). Any pouch that is long enough and stiff enough can be inserted, but the Small Ghost Whale Organizer pouches are generally not very stiff, and the First/Second Aid Pouch leaf pouchkins have fragile bandolier clips that you might snap if they're at the bottom.


ETA for current post:
I think that I updated all the links and managed to get the photos that were in my original post integrated with the photos that now (post forum upgrade to vBulletin 5) seem to show up in a separate post.

This has to be one of the weirder post appearances that got mangled by the vBulletin forum upgrade this Spring, but fortunately I remember what I wrote and can give a full reconstruction. I'll just note that the version of the Night Flight Travel Duffel shown here was in 400d Nordic Halcyon, and one of the things that you can do with the Halcyon version, if you removed the foam insert, is "pancake" the two ends of the bag together.

When not "pancaked" to collapse down, the side pockets of the 400d Nordic Halcyon Night Flight Travel Duffel can nicely hold other bag-in-bag organizers, like the Everyday Cubelet and the (retired) Mini Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing Cubes (that I use as an alternative to the Night Flight Travel Duffel Packing Cubes -- both sizes will work in the NFTD).

Here's a sample picture (taken from one of my posts about the Travel Cubelets)


HTH

moriond

[Fukuromomonga]

Thank you so much moriond for the SUPER detailed response, pictures, and information. It was very helpful. All you did to me was make me even more impatient for my Night Flight!

I'm semi-newish to the brand (especially compared to everyone else I assume), having only bought my first bag about 2.5 years ago or so. It was the Aubergine S25 GE. I love it to death, and it's been all over the world with me. This week alone I aquired a Citizen Canine, Night Flight, and Risettro 11. Tuesday couldn't get here fast enough!

I'm super happy to be surrounded by you and all of the other knowledgeable people in these forums. I look forward to learning all about the bags that I didn't know I needed in my life!