Road Buddy Pre-Order and updates to Daylight Backpack and Maker's Bag

[Tonya]

Well both RBs arrived yesterday and the 60L is a keeper. I already have a travel duffel close in size to the 36 and could use larger for winter travel and camping trips. The 60 isn't nearly as large as photos make it look. It has a taller profile than most duffels because the corners are nearly square, so this adds height and space which is why many might consider it overly large, but it's perfect for me for longer trips when I can't or don't want to wash clothing or for carrying wintertime clothing and gear.

And then I unthinkingly packed up the 36L for return and realized that I didn't take photos. So sorry!

In truth, I love both sizes of the RB and am tempted to keep both. However, I ordered both in Verde (freaking beautiful color!) which was my top choice, but I don't want two RBs the same color. I could see this causing confusion. ("It's in the green bag." "Um, which green bag?" "The big one." Which big one?" okay you get the idea...) I reached out to TB about another LQ restock of RBs and this was Mike's response:

Thanks for reaching out! We exhausted the inventory that we have on the shelves but it's likely we'll get some returns. It's our intention to simply put those up as the returns come this time around. I hope you're able to get one!

Extremely disappointing, to say the least. I really wish TB had waited until everyone received their RB before they offered the LQ restock. I don't have time to hover over the RB page, hoping one will show up, so I'm returning the 36 and opting out of the RB rat race. Glad I was able to get one that I like until they disappear into the vault, possibly forever.

[ittoujuu]

I'm glad your double-order of Road Buddies paid off in discovering that 60 liters was, in fact, not too voluminous for your needs. I have a single-chamber duffel that's 12x12x24 (56L) and despite not looking too much larger than the 36L Road Buddy externally, I can cram a lot into that space. At and above 45L, duffels are mainly big gear haulers, so I'm curious how useful the end pockets will be for your packing.

I went on a trip where I packed in a duffel just two weeks before my own Road Buddy arrived, so alas, I won't get a chance to take it for its inaugural trip for a couple months, but with how I've driven more and flown much less in the last three years, I don't doubt I'll make good use of it. I'm seriously impressed with the quality - 1050 is confidence-inspiringly burly, and everything about the bag's dimensions feels well-considered - for instance, a pair of pants folded, then folded again fits perfectly in the main compartment's dimensions. A pair of my shoes (men's 11, but 4E/X-Wide) actually fits in the end compartments without feeling like I had to cram them in there, or that they're bulging into the main compartment, which was a pleasant surprise. What I like about segmented duffel designs in the 30-40L range like this one is that you can pack them for less than their capacity if needed (just the main compartment, or main compartment + one end pocket) and since those compartments are still packed snugly, things don't shift around in transit/carry like they would if you underpacked a single-chamber bag. And of course, the D-shaped lid is my favorite for duffel access, particularly in the way I use them like a little dresser at my destination. Another nice thing is that the dimensions of the RB36 are within airline limits (well, technically a half-inch over on top-to-bottom depth, but that's the easiest dimension to compress), so I can likely press this into service for air travel if desired. Not sure when I might, but it's nice to know that I can.

A lot of duffels have the handle straps wrap completely around the bottom for more stable load-bearing, but the RB doesn't, which came as a bit of a surprise. Perhaps the wrap-around handles are unnecessary for any amount of weight a person could normally stuff in the bag and they decided not to do them to conserve weight and material. This design has been iterated on for multiple decades, and I figure if they thought that would make it better, they would've done it by now...so I figure if Tom doesn't think it's needed, then I trust his experience. That said, I still wish it had the handles on the back (like the Aeronaut) so I could hand-carry it in the thinner profile.

All that's left to do now is get my paracord to weave into the zipper pull tabs and I'll be ready to dislike long car trips somewhat less!