Techonaut 45 seems kind of small

[latchford]

Just received my Techonaut 45 in Navy 1050d Ballistic and thought that it was kind of small and cute when I pulled it out of the box. When I transferred my full loadout from my Road Buddy 36 in the same Navy 1050d Ballistic to the T45, it's a pretty tight squeeze in the latter whereas I still have some space left in one end pocket of the RB36. I know some of the T45's volume is in the laptop compartment but I feel like there should be a reasonable amount of leftover room in a bag that has 9L more volume. Does anyone else feel that the T45 is kind of small as well?

I’ll consider getting the Aeronaut 45 when it’s back in stock if TB upgrades the shoulder straps to Edgeless. Folks who have both the Aeronaut 45 and Techonaut 45: Are you able to fit the same loadout in both bags?

[craigmcclellan]

I felt that way when I first received mine as well. I genuinely wondered if TB has sent me a T30 by mistake. On first pack, I barely fit more than my 33L Tristar. Every time I’ve packed it though, I’ve gotten more in it, and I’m now quite happy. You can stack items more than you think, and I feel like that depth is the difference between the T45 and smaller bags.

Hope that helps.

Edited to add that I was certain I had the correct Techonaut when I sat it next to my Synik 30. It was fairly obvious it was bigger.

[latchford]

craigmcclellan Thanks for chiming in! I thought that they’d mistakenly sent me a T30 too. I bought the T45 specifically for more volume to put an empty daypack and water bottle, which do not fit in the RB36, for one-bag travel. If I’d known that the T45 had less volume, I wouldn’t have bought it as I’m not in the US and international returns are costly

[craigmcclellan]

Hopefully more time gives you better results as it did for me. With both my Tristar and T45, I had to learn to pack them to get the most items in. My first Tristar trip, I struggled to get items for 3 nights packed. Now I can easily pack for a week. The T45’s first trip struggled with 2 nights (though admittedly, I was packing a lot of bulky clothes due to the cold weather in my destination). It’s next trip easily packed for 4 nights in an equally cold location, and had room for souvenirs on the way back. I have some thoughts on how to fit even more whenever I travel again.

Not every bag is for everybody, but I hope the T45 ends up bringing you as much delight as it has me.

[Bogiesan]

Slight diversion: I have both Aeronaut 45 and Aeronaut 30. I can get my entire 45L load into the 30L (yes, it's tight) because that's all I need when I travel (which I'm not doing these days, rats). I prefer the larger bag for the reduced pack-ish anxiety and the extra room is handy should it be necessary. The A30 is great for shorter trips when, if possible, my multi-day/international packing list can be reduced.

[Cristina]

Just received my Techonaut 45 in Navy 1050d Ballistic and thought that it was kind of small and cute when I pulled it out of the box. When I transferred my full loadout from my Road Buddy 36 in the same Navy 1050d Ballistic to the T45, it's a pretty tight squeeze in the latter whereas I still have some space left in one end pocket of the RB36. I know some of the T45's volume is in the laptop compartment but I feel like there should be a reasonable amount of leftover room in a bag that has 9L more volume. Does anyone else feel that the T45 is kind of small as well?

I’ll consider getting the Aeronaut 45 when is back in stock if TB upgrades the shoulder straps to Edgeless. Folks who have both the Aeronaut 45 and Techonaut 45: Are you able to fit the same loadout in both bags?

I had a similar experience with the T45. I try to get to know a bag and how it likes to be packed, because the layout makes such a difference, but I have to say that the layout of an Aeronaut makes so much more sense to my brain than a Techonaut.

edited to add: I had the opposite experience with the Shadow Guide bags in both sizes. They really hold a lot for their stated capacity!

[latchford]

Cristina Thanks for your input! The Aeronaut/Road Buddy layout makes more sense to me as well.

I did consider the Shadow Guide before the Techonaut’s debut based on reviews because it does seem to hold more than its stated capacity. However its incompatibility with my packing style and paracord in place of metal zipper pull tabs are the dealbreakers.

[latchford]

Hopefully more time gives you better results as it did for me. With both my Tristar and T45, I had to learn to pack them to get the most items in. My first Tristar trip, I struggled to get items for 3 nights packed. Now I can easily pack for a week. The T45’s first trip struggled with 2 nights (though admittedly, I was packing a lot of bulky clothes due to the cold weather in my destination). It’s next trip easily packed for 4 nights in an equally cold location, and had room for souvenirs on the way back. I have some thoughts on how to fit even more whenever I travel again.

Not every bag is for everybody, but I hope the T45 ends up bringing you as much delight as it has me.

I gave it another go and managed to get my daypack and water bottle in. I then transferred most of my stuff back into my RB36 and found so much more delight and way less resistance while packing it. Perhaps I'm being nitpicky and unrelenting in changing my habits but I'd much rather go with the flow than against it. Additionally, now that travel is more stressful than ever, I don't want my packing to be part of that stress. This means that I've to either sell or return the T45.

[Traveltech]

I’m sure you checked, but could it be a t30?

ive been amazed at how much fits in my bag, but it is halcyon.

[G42]

I have both Techonauts courtesy of TB, but have spent more time with the 30 because it's with me on my trip. It's halcyon, which I find easier to pack in general, than ballistic. My A30 & T30 are halcyon and the 45s are ballistic, so I'm comparing like materials between designs.

I did have a learning curve on how to pack the T30, but it feels equivalent to the A30 to me in terms of volume.

I changed the way I stacked things in the main compartment, especially when I realized that there a lot of space outside the compression straps, if you're using them. I don't use them much on the A30, but some of my laundry cubes are in the bags I have stored with family, so I have more clothes just stacked & strapped than usual.

ETA, perception wise, to me, more of the interior space is obscured by how the Techonaut flap is shaped/sized vs on the Aeronauts.

[marbenais]

I had a similar experience with the T45. I try to get to know a bag and how it likes to be packed, because the layout makes such a difference, but I have to say that the layout of an Aeronaut makes so much more sense to my brain than a Techonaut.

edited to add: I had the opposite experience with the Shadow Guide bags in both sizes. They really hold a lot for their stated capacity!

The Navy 1050/Ultraviolet Techonauts REALLY tempted me, because that is such a beautiful combination, but I really like the layout of the Aeronaut! That back panel is beautiful and looks more comfortable, but the pockets do not work for my packing style.
I do intend to get an Aeronaut 30 before (how is it already so soon?) next year's trip to Australia and New Zealand for the 2023 World Cup because we will have many domestic flights with smaller bag requirements - the Aeronaut 45 worked for France in 2019 because we took the lovely TGV trains all around France.

[GrussGott]

Just received my Techonaut 45 in Navy 1050d Ballistic and thought that it was kind of small and cute when I pulled it out of the box. When I transferred my full loadout from my Road Buddy 36 in the same Navy 1050d Ballistic to the T45, it's a pretty tight squeeze in the latter whereas I still have some space left in one end pocket of the RB36. I know some of the T45's volume is in the laptop compartment but I feel like there should be a reasonable amount of leftover room in a bag that has 9L more volume. Does anyone else feel that the T45 is kind of small as well?

I’ll consider getting the Aeronaut 45 when it’s back in stock if TB upgrades the shoulder straps to Edgeless. Folks who have both the Aeronaut 45 and Techonaut 45: Are you able to fit the same loadout in both bags?

FWIW, my normal "all clothes" pack-out of the TS involves 3 EC large packing cubes stuffed full, 1 for each compartment and that pretty much toasts my TS.

On my T45 with the bottom unzipped I can stuff all 3 stacked on top of each other ... then the bottom is still half open which fits 2 fleece coats and then I still have tons of room for 2 laptops (1 17" MBP, 1 13") and the fixins for those go into the top pocket. Then on the last trip I shoved pajamas into the large side pocket and bunch of other little stuff into the other side pocket. Given the TS only fit the 3 cubes (maybe I could shove 1 laptop into the back pocket but then not the power bricks.) I'd say my T45 holds much more ... I also shoved a third fleece into the top handle and I'm sure I could taken an additonal laptop or other flat thing.

With that, if a great looking A45 1050 combo comes along I'm in.