2023 Wish List

[Cristina]

It’s December, so time for the 2023 wish list. What are you hoping for from TB in the new year?

[sturbridge]

I'd love shop bags to come in a new fabric that is a solid color. I hate the feel/hand/sound of cerylon and cordura isn't practical with the way it picks up lint. Was never a fan of halcyon/dyneema in items that large. I wish I'd picked up more shop bags in 210 ballistic when they were available. A shop bag with a zippered pocket like the Truckasana would be cool. I no longer need the convertible tote I'ved been asking for since I picked up one I like from another manufacturer, although I think there is some discrepancy between what most folks think a tote is (ie handles for hand carry or shoulder carry) and what this company thinks is a tote (a backpack).

I just haven't been that excited by recent offerings which is better for my wallet. Small organizers or current items in slightly different sizes/aspect ratios would get me to fork over some cash. Like a 4 x 6 (or so) Ghost Whale. Something that could hold a Field Notes or similar.

[epeterson]

(1) Add mesh back panel to smaller backpacks. Ideally I'd like to have a Paradigm (LOVE that front pocket) with a mesh back panel. After trying out the Luminary 15 I realized I just can't deal with solid fabric back panels when it gets warm out. Mesh provides just a bit of extra cooling/wicking and that makes a big difference in comfort, for me.

(2) Bring back 210 Ballistic as an internal fabric. It just feels a lot nicer than the Cerylon.

(3) Pop Tote with some internal organization -- I really like the look of the Maker's Bag interior organization, but prefer the zip closure of the Pop Tote.

(4) A5-sized journaling "thing" with space for an A5 notebook, pens, and maybe a few other accessories.

[G42]

Halcyon 200d in citrus colours to go with Zest & Solar/Solaris: lime green & a watermelon type of pink. Also a white grid 200d halcyon version of Grass and Dawn... or something in the periwinkle or lavender colour range that leans more blue than red.

I know TB has gotten so fabric efficient that OPs in halcyon aren't practical for their production anymore, but I miss them and would love an encore production run, especially Small and Mini.... or any sort of thin flexible fabric for OPs (ie, not Cordura or Ballistic, they're relatively stiff in small sizes). The GWs are great for most things but that flat Small OP is perfect for a US passport, vax card, etc.

Return of the Night Flight Travel Duffel as is or an evolution to be a true mini Aeronaut/Techonaut, when the end pockets unzip, laptop, backpack straps. Yes, it would be somewhat like a Cambiata, but sightly different aspect ratio, more duffel, etc.

Return of the Mesh 3DOC, at least for an encore run.

Upvote for an A5 journal thing.

Scaled down Brain Bag/Synapse/Synik mutant that keeps the overall vertical where it is, slightly narrows left to right, alters to include the Addax double laptop pocket & side access... keep the two main compartments (make the back one less deep front to back to make it more about the laptop), keep the side compression straps, update the front pockets to be more Synapse-like or at least the water bottle area.

Happy to see what things the TB crew comes up with next that never occurred to me to wish for until I see it

[Chicagoan]

1.) Coyote!!! Side Kicks. Co-Pilots. And using the new, warm, copper-hued Coyote Ballistic. I like the look a LOT more than the 1050, and once you toss on some red zipper pulls the aesthetic is just <chef's kiss>. And I really, really dig the pairing of Coyote Ballistic and Sangria Cerylon. Probably one of my fave color combos, right alongside Ursa/Dawn.

2.) If we don't get a re-release of the NFTD or Stowaway, and if the Trinity won't ever be made...some small convertible travel bag solution. I think this would be a GREAT place for Jose to continue cutting his teeth as lead designer. 90% of my travel is overnight and I'm always in the market for a smaller, well-organized overnight bag.

3.) A larger, open-volume travel bag (> 45L) that carries more comfortably than a Large Yeoman and has some height to it - like it could fit full-size toiletries standing straight up and zip easily over them. Something that could manage my wife's weekend car travel packing list. She doesn't use TB bags for travel. I've bought her several to try (A30, A45, RB30), but so far, they've all been too small - we live in the Great Lakes region and sweaters just take up a LOT of space when traveling in winter.

4.) A horizontally/landscape-oriented crossbody (read: NOT hip or sling pack) larger than the SK, smaller than the DLBC, with as much (if not more) built-in organization as the SK.

5.) More new bags, more colors, more availability. Enough brands make black bags, and I appreciate the heck out of the fact that Tom Bihn offers more than that. And I honestly like the Addax a LOT. If it wasn't a gift, I'd have bought one for myself, and despite the fact I already own one, I went ahead and bought the smaller 26L in the same color (Ursa) because I enjoy the design that much. So the only feeling I have about a new designer is excitement, because it means new designs.

6.) Some better solution to reduce, prevent, blacklist, etc. resellers. Someone on eBay right now has 3 Night Walk Side Kicks for sale at $400 each (no idea how they managed to buy more than 1 with the limits placed on NW items?) and it frustrates the hell out of me when I see that people on the forums - who really wanted that bag - weren't able to buy one before they ran out of stock. I almost wish TB would log onto eBay, buy that person out, take note of the name on the return address label, and never sell to them again.

7.) Upvote for Halcyon Organizer Pouches. I bought some when they made new ones from Cordura, but I've got 3 cats at home, and that fabric is a pet hair magnet. It not Halcyon, 210 Ballistic, or Cerylon.

[Shortie]

A landscape-oriented Cambiata with tote bag (hand or shoulder carry) handles. Overall I like the features of the bag but I don't need another backpack.

[latchford]

6.) Some better solution to reduce, prevent, blacklist, etc. resellers. Someone on eBay right now has 3 Night Walk Side Kicks for sale at $400 each (no idea how they managed to buy more than 1 with the limits placed on NW items?) and it frustrates the hell out of me when I see that people on the forums - who really wanted that bag - weren't able to buy one before they ran out of stock. I almost wish TB would log onto eBay, buy that person out, take note of the name on the return address label, and never sell to them again.

I’d missed out on the recent Night Walk Side Kick because I fell asleep at 5am my time, just minutes before the restock. I cannot stand such profiteers because I’m still salty that I’ve never gotten the sneakers I really wanted at retail price for many years due to rampant profiteering in that market. I’m especially annoyed that certain TB items that I actually like and want to use have recently become such “commodities” and that this specific profiteer is taking advantage of the demand for NW.

On a somewhat related note, I just bought a pair of sneakers that I like more than the ones I’d been wanting for many years. Bonus points for being able to just casually order them directly from the store because there wasn’t the usual frenzy for that brand’s sneakers and there’re still many sizes available in my country’s online store three weeks after its release. At least I finally got a pair of sneakers I really wanted even though I’d to wait over a decade for something to come along. Hopefully I don’t have to wait that long again for something that I really want. Maybe TB will fulfill the SK-sized gap in my EDC with something even better or something I didn’t know I wanted.

[kris]

I would love to see a larger/wider Side Kick with an open slip pocket on the back for stashing a map or a newspaper. If that's not in the cards, then how about a Tom Bihn version of the Donner bag by the now-defunct Overland Equipment?

I've tried the Icon, but couldn't handle the off-center zip opening that made it difficult to get larger items in and out of the bag. I've also tried the Co-Pilot, but my quick access items were too tall to fit the front compartments eg. 11" umbrella, 24oz. Takeya water bottle. I know these are problems I could probably fix with some creativity and a lot of getting used to, but I realize what I am truly wishing for is a bag with the features of Overland Equipment's Donner bag which I used for 10+ years until the velcro bits wore out after a second replacement. You know how it feels when you've found your perfect bag, right? You use it every day for years, and every bag you come across will invariably be compared to it and found lacking. ;-)

Anyone else familiar with the Donner bag? I figure I shouldn't be posting a pic of it here, but if you google, you can see it has a front flap covering several organizational components (including a zipped mesh section, a soft-lined phone pocket, flat pockets for anything from wallet/credit cards to pens and chapstick) and the main body has a wide zippered top for easy access to plenty of space inside plus a back slip pocket, and it also has two wonderful external side pockets that practically "disappear" when you don't use them. Genius! It was during my search for such innovative design that happily led me to Tom Bihn. I'd really love to see these features incorporated into a new bag!

[ittoujuu]

kris I had a look at the Donner Bag, and it does look pretty useful (though a bit "pouch-y"). I'd honestly encourage you to post pics of bags from other companies, as it's a healthy way to broaden the conversation. The market is pretty wide, with a lot of interesting stuff out there, and you never know who might find a bag they really click with based on an off-hand mention of something else.

As for my 2023 wish list:

- A dedicated TB travel backpack. I went into more detail about what kinds of things I'm looking for here (at the bottom of the first page), but in short, something that's optimized for hands-free backpack carry, without the vestigial duffel aspects that the Techonaut has that (IMO) compromise its efficacy, nor the access issues of a roll-top like the Addax. TB doesn't have a shortage of solid "travel bag" options, but it's weird to me they've not taken a clean shot right at the heart of the one-bagging market.

- I'd like a few cordura colors to come back into the lineup as outer fabrics for bags. Conifer (forest green), Cocoa (brown), and Navy Blue would be my tops (and Black as the classic neutral). I feel like enough of the core decision-makers at TB have pets that fabric choices are weighted a bit too heavily toward "this won't collect pet hair." And I mean, it's great to have options for that, but 1000d and 500d cordura are industry staples for a reason. They're hard-wearing, last a long time, and age gracefully. This is a prime time for it, as the loss of 400d halcyon opens up the field for fabrics both old (cordura) and new (X-Pac).

[epeterson]

krisI'd like a few cordura colors to come back into the lineup as outer fabrics for bags. Conifer (forest green), Cocoa (brown), and Navy Blue would be my tops (and Black as the classic neutral). I feel like enough of the core decision-makers at TB have pets that fabric choices are weighted a bit too heavily toward "this won't collect pet hair." And I mean, it's great to have options for that, but 1000d and 500d cordura are industry staples for a reason. They're hard-wearing, last a long time, and age gracefully. This is a prime time for it, as the loss of 400d halcyon opens up the field for fabrics both old (cordura) and new (X-Pac).

What are your thoughts on the clothing abrasion issue? I recently got a secondhand bag in cordura and I love the fabric (it's so soft and pliable, and I like that it doesn't have the ballistic "sheen") but I'm keeping a close eye on the areas of my clothing where the corners of the bag might touch. That (clothing damage) is a much bigger worry for me than pet hair (which I can remove), but my worries might be unfounded...

[ittoujuu]

What are your thoughts on the clothing abrasion issue? I recently got a secondhand bag in cordura and I love the fabric (it's so soft and pliable, and I like that it doesn't have the ballistic "sheen") but I'm keeping a close eye on the areas of my clothing where the corners of the bag might touch. That (clothing damage) is a much bigger worry for me than pet hair (which I can remove), but my worries might be unfounded...

My stance on that is that I'd prefer not to have 1000d cordura on areas that come in contact with my shirts (I think 500d is much gentler). TB uses the Edgeless Straps pretty much uniformly across the lineup now, so there's no worries about abrasion on the chest and shoulders. For packs, everything that has a mesh back panel is automatically safe (for example, the Synik, or the Techonaut), so the remaining problem points would be bags that just use the facing fabric on the back panel. Those bags tend to be lighter packs, where the burliness of cordura might not make much sense anyway (the Daylight backpack and Paradigm come to mind), but for the cases where cordura does make sense for a bag but there isn't a mesh back panel, that would probably necessitate a full back panel made from something like a lightweight black ballistic, like the back parts of the Synapse/Synik that aren't covered by the mesh. That (plus the Edgeless Straps) should prevent any significant abrasion.

That said, I do have a GoRuck GR2 for travel (made entirely of 1000d cordura), and like you, I'm mindful of any places where wear might crop up. I bought mine secondhand, though, so maybe having been already broken in somewhat, it's been gentler on my clothes.

[John1970]

Cordura Syniks, Synapses, and Techonauts. Olive (not just in the S30), Cocoa, Navy, and Black.

[Chicagoan]

Tossing in another vote for Cocoa Cordura just so we can keep this momentum going like we're doing the wave in a baseball stadium.

[Shortie]

Tossing in another vote for Cocoa Cordura just so we can keep this momentum going like we're doing the wave in a baseball stadium.

Deviating that wave slightly with another warm color - coyote cordura.

[Chicagoan]

Deviating that wave slightly with another warm color - coyote cordura.

Oh hell, you know I'll stand right back up again for Coyote anything...

Upvote for Coyote Cordura!