The New Pilot Available for Pre-order in January 2014!

[Anniegill]

How could anyone not like Solar, so named after our most wonderful sun! That what makes the world go around. I am not a big fan of Wasabi. But I was so glad when Solar made it's comeback! Solar makes the inside of 3 of my bags: Pilot, original Synapse 19, and 3rd Side effect!

[tangfj]

New Pilot discovery,

For those wishing to have the option go into backpack mode with the new Pilot ( fully loaded )
The Sea to Summit ultra sil daypack holds it in a vertical fashion perfectly, and bunches up to smaller than the size of a single shot expresso cup.

Sometimes if I'm in a sightseeing or in a walking around mode for a whole day it's nice to even out the load.
Sea to Summit - Outdoor, Travel and Backpacking Gear

Nice find! Any chance you could post a few pics of the setup?

[Trailhiker]

Nice find! Any chance you could post a few pics of the setup?

Opps, did the weekend go by already? ;-/
I'll try and get to it sometime on Monday.

[gochicken]

And while we're at it, have some bags in black/UV...

Amen to that!

[tangfj]

Opps, did the weekend go by already? ;-/
I'll try and get to it sometime on Monday.

I just made another discovery of sorts... the new Pilot fits in the Packing Cube Backpack for the Tri-Star/Western Flyer with a few inches to spare! The packing cube backpack, of course, is not as compact as the sea to summit pack mentioned previously but for those of you who already have it, it's good to know. I also tried packing the pilot inside of the aeronaut packing cube backpack and I suppose you could stuff it in there but the zippers were struggling to close... not a good fit.

Pics attached below...





Also, for those of you interested in knowing what you can pack in the pilot.

Front 3 pouches (from left to right pouches): Snake Charmer, Tumi accessory pouch, pens/pencils

I think I could also fit a side effect inside one of the side pouches instead of the snake charmer if I wanted.

Back Large Section: 15 inch retina macbook pro inside horizontal cache, Sennheiser 450-x headphones (in protective case) in one of the pouches, Sennheiser earbuds inside protective pouch in the other pouch

I was happy to read earlier in this thread that a 15in rmbp would fit inside a cache in this bag and that's the main reason I bought it. The fit is a little tight and I would have been happy if the bag was 1 inch wider but it fits snugly and is a nice option for me as a bag to use instead of one of my laptop backpacks.

Back pocket (pass through sleeve): Ipad Air in vertical cache with rails... I bought the vertical cache originally to use with my backpacks but it works well here as additional cushioning for my iPad and since it's in the back pocket/sleeve, it's always there for easy access without having to unzip anything... That being said, a zipper or velcro or something on the top half of the sleeve would have been nice just so I could zip it shut if I wanted to.

[moriond]

Back pocket (pass through sleeve): Ipad Air in vertical cache with rails... I bought the vertical cache originally to use with my backpacks but it works well here as additional cushioning for my iPad and since it's in the back pocket/sleeve, it's always there for easy access without having to unzip anything... That being said, a zipper or velcro or something on the top half of the sleeve would have been nice just so I could zip it shut if I wanted to.

@tangfj Awesome picture of the Nordic Pilot inside the Western Flyer/Tri-Star PCBP. With regard to carrying an iPad in the Pilot, I think the (discontinued) Breve is a great way to do this, because it has a zipper at the top, and basically fills up the inside of the Pilot. I store it with the zippered side where you insert the iPad facing front, and (when carried by itself, with no laptop) with one of the shoulder strap loops tethered to the snap hook end of a handle loop that gets horizontally passed through the loops for the GateKeeper Rails. The other end shoulder loop gets clipped to the loop end of that handle loop via a double carabiner. The other side of the Breve case holds the iPad attachments and charger, all self contained, and can be accessed by unclipping the carabiner end and swinging the Breve up and out. I haven't posted pictures yet of this. Excerpt From post #380 in this thread, dated 2/07/14:

@bchaplin Much earlier in this thread (around 1/27/14) you asked about using the Breve for the iPad with the Pilot. Did you win the Kiwi Breve in the eBay auction? (My post with some links about this is #256, and maverick's video showing the Kiwi Breve can be seen here:

I think this might be an awesome way to carry the iPad and its accessories in the Pilot.
<snip>

Basically, in this configuration the handle loop makes a horizontal band that goes through the webbing loops at the back of the Pilot's rear compartment and is held fixed there, with the snap hook end attached to the shoulder strap connector of the Breve at the right side. Because the Breve sits at just the right height in the compartment, and is wide enough (though flat) to fill the back compartment of the Pilot, it works very well this way. (Actually, the Breve works better than putting the iPad in a cache into the back compartment, since the Pilot is both wider and taller than the Co-Pilot, which is more exactly sized for holding an iPad in a cache.)

If you want to access the front compartment of the Breve, with the zippered pockets for holding the accessories, just take hold of the left side of the Breve and swing it up and to the right, out of the Pilot's back compartment. You can unclip it from the snap hook tether to the handle loop, and snap on your shoulder strap to carry the Breve with iPad and accessories separately from the Pilot. I have to say that my Cardinal Breve looks really good against both the Nordic and Black 400d Dyneema fabrics of the Pilot.
<snip>

[tangfj]

Awesome! Thanks for pointing me in the direction of the breve! Now I'll need to keep an eye out for one of those on eBay. Any other suggestions for finding a breve online?


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[tangfj]

I discovered something else tonight about the Pilot (quickly becoming my favorite TB bag...). The back pocket fits the Packing Cube Shoulder Bag perfectly!

Picture below showing ipad air in cache, inside packing cube shoulder bag...



Picture below with the above tucked inside the back pocket!



Guess I won't be looking for that Breve after all! (at least not that hard... )

[Trailhiker]

Pilot into the Sea to Summit Ultra Sil Daypack

From my earlier post, (without pics)
"For those wishing to have the option go into backpack mode with the new Pilot ( fully loaded )
The Sea to Summit ultra sil daypack holds it in a vertical fashion perfectly, and bunches up to smaller than the size of a single shot expresso cup. Sometimes if I'm in a sightseeing or in a walking around mode for a whole day it's nice to even out the load."

Sea to Summit - Outdoor, Travel and Backpacking Gear

For comparison illustration I placed the Secret Gift from Tom Bihn to the left of the pack in fold up mode.
To the right a small can of pasta paste,,,




Not shown is the little stuff bag attached within.
The Pilot strap is packed within the Pilot.




Accessing one of the front side pockets is easy
by just folding down the front flap

[Trailhiker]

Continued,







There is still just a little room up top,
After packing in the Pilot.



I find that it is easier to stuff the pack back into itself if u turn it inside itself out where the straps are now within the pack

Sidebar,
Since the shoulder straps r really thin u need to take care to fatten out the material against your shoulder.

[Moose]

I'll bet a couple of shoulder strap wraps would add to all day comfort.
Moose

[kkintea]

I'm wondering now how small you could get the TB packing cube backpack, and whether the Pilot would fit in one or both sizes. There are a few comments on Backcountry about the ultra sil straps wearing out and the fact that it is only water resistant.

I put the pilot in the brain bag yesterday and it worked with a lot of room but you would have to start out in backpack mode, as opposed to changing on the fly.


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[tangfj]

I'm wondering now how small you could get the TB packing cube backpack, and whether the Pilot would fit in one or both sizes. There are a few comments on Backcountry about the ultra sil straps wearing out and the fact that it is only water resistant.

I put the pilot in the brain bag yesterday and it worked with a lot of room but you would have to start out in backpack mode, as opposed to changing on the fly.


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The Pilot will only fit comfortably in the tri-star/western flyer packing cube backpack. I tried in the aeronaut packing cube backpack and the zippers struggled to close. The tri-star/western flyer packing cube backpack can pack up small but not nearly as small as the sea to summit.

Here you can see the tri-star/western flyer packing cube backpack folded and stuffed in to a size 1 stuff sack (next to the pilot).

[Rocks]

tangfj, you are blowing my mind with these discoveries! Now stop making me want a Pilot! I already have a PCSB and PCBP. I may have to go for the trifecta.

[tpnl]

tangfj - Is that a Black Dyneema Tri-star/Western Flyer packing cube or a Steel Dyneema one? The top picture looks like a Black Dyneema one.

Pics attached below...






Cheers!