My First Trip With The Synik 30

[GrussGott]

I'm really torn here. Thank you for your post. Exactly the kind of thing I was searching for. I have an Aeronaut 30 that I thought I would use for longer 4+ days, but am torn on a backpack for 3 or less days. Just wondering if the Synik 22 would suffice. I am 6' tall and just wonder if the 30 would be too large or the 22 would be too small? Or maybe I should sell the A30 and just ride with the Synik 30? I really like the features and organization of the S30. Any advice?

Hey jawjuh obvs I'm not kemote and it's a month late but thought I'd chime in as I've been rethinking how I want to pack as well ... I think the answer depends on if you're a committed one bag traveler, biz or personal travel, and how you like to pack.

FWIW, I'm a two-bag traveler: one goes into the overhead and one goes under the seat - the size of the bags varies with the length and type of trip. For business, esp if suits are required, my overhead bag will be dedicated to just clothes: historically that's been a WF, now a TS, or an A45. Depending on length of stay, my underseat bag can vary from a Pilot to a S25 to a 2nd WF. For personal travel, I try to pack for 3-4 days and do laundry, usually in my hotel with a Scrubba which makes an awesome waterproof beach bag as well. With that, I have an S30 on the way and am thinking of making that my main pack - I'll have to do a few test packs, but I typically use a DLBP for a packing cube in my WF so swapping over to the S30 could be great, and then I'd expand to a WF or TS as a shoulder bag ... possibly with a pilotian slip as my flight bag!

I'm 6'2" and for me, for one bag for 3 days, an S22 would be too small - though I travel "heavy" with full-sized headphones, a bluetooth speaker, lots of batteries, et al. So, if I were you, I'd probably lean towards the S30 and try a few trips and see how it goes - if you're willing to carry a 2nd bag you can add the A30 for longer trips and that'd be a pretty nice setup - if not then the A30 will give you optionality to choose the right bag for each trip.

Edit: oops, didn't see the other thread here!

[jawjuh]

I'm really torn here. Thank you for your post. Exactly the kind of thing I was searching for. I have an Aeronaut 30 that I thought I would use for longer 4+ days, but am torn on a backpack for 3 or less days. Just wondering if the Synik 22 would suffice. I am 6' tall and just wonder if the 30 would be too large or the 22 would be too small? Or maybe I should sell the A30 and just ride with the Synik 30? I really like the features and organization of the S30. Any advice?

[kemote]

For anyone curious, I just got back from my trip and the Synik was a champion as a one bag and I would encourage anyone who is thinking if they can do it to try it. I added some more pictures here in the Where Did Your TB Bag Go Lately thread. Everything went off without a hitch. Now I need to test the Western Flyer as a one bag for my next adventure to compare!

[tress29]

I've found that my S19 "sits" a little better when there's something in the front pocket. Otherwise, it falls on it's face!

[kemote]

Just curious, why are you moving the 3DOC to the Snake Charmer? Do you plan to put something else in the chin pocket?

I want all of my toiletries together, the 3DOC is really only meant for the TSA process and to keep the Snake Charmer dry in the event something leaks. Having the chin pocket available for something else I may pick up along the way is useful too.

[tress29]

On top of the TLSS I have a large Iberian Snake Charmer. This is going to serve as my dopp kit for this trip. On one side I have a first aid kit and a small, fold-up hairdryer and on the other side will be my 3DCOC from earlier (once I get through TSA, I will add it to the Snake Charmer).

Just curious, why are you moving the 3DOC to the Snake Charmer? Do you plan to put something else in the chin pocket?

[kemote]

I'm leaving on a 4 day, 3 night trip with my Synik 30 and wanted to share what I'm bringing and how I packed. This will be my first trip with the Synik (or any TB bag really) and I really wanted to see if I could one bag it. I know one bagging for 4 days is nothing but I won't have access to laundry and I have yet to adapt to washing in the sink. I've been test packing for a few weeks now and have purchased some TB accessories to perfect my pack and I really have this dialed in. Enjoy



Here's the Synik fully loaded, coming in at 11.2 lbs. Feels pretty comfortable and weight feels good. I will be utilizing the sternum strap but not the hip strap as I find them incredibly uncomfortable. Full disclosure, to the horror of some people on this forum, I actualy cut off the hip strap loops as I found that they annoyingly dug into my sides when wearing the Synik close to my body




Top outside pocket is holding a 16oz Hydroflask. My 32oz can also fit but it causes the Synik to bulge more than I am comfortable with.





Left pocket is holding a pen, flashlight, and a small Northwest Sky Travel Tray. Before I go through TSA, my plan is to throw my phone and watch into it and cinch it up and put back into this pocket. I cannot stand the thought of having my personal items loose, sitting in those nasty TSA containers and I need a safe place for these items. When I get to my destination, the Travel Tray will be on nightstand duty for all safe keepings when not in my pants pockets.




The right pocket has a Wasabi size 1 Travel Stuff Sack; in here are my electronics. I originally was going to use my Travel Cubelet for this and it can fit into this pocket but it's a tight squeeze and is more weight than necessary. The Stuff Sack is great for this use. It can easily fit into this space and weighs almost nothing. In the Stuff Sack is an Apple lightning cable to charge my phone, an Apple Watch charging cable, my Anker PowerCore Fusion power bank, and a vent clip to hold my iPhone in my rental car so I can easily see directions on my phone.

I also have clipped to the O-ring, a super mini Ghost Whale in Aubergine. Inside here are my AirPods Pro.





In the bottom pocket is my Northwest Sky 3DCOC acting as my 3-1-1 bag with all of my toiletries. I've always used a Ziploc bag for this purpose but wanted to try this out (I have a ziploc folded up in here in case TSA causes a fuss). My plan is to have this easily accessible so that when I pull up to TSA, I can easily grab the 3DCOC out of this pocket and lay in the container (I really need to get TSA precheck so I don't have to worry about this). I also have a large Heroclip in here if I find I need to hang the Synik from something.




Now we're getting to the good stuff, inside the Synik. This is where I really had to think to get this space to work for me. After a lot of trial and error, I've got this area super dialed in. I am using my black ballistic PCBP as my packing cube and inside it is holding 4 shirts. The PCBP is in here primarily to be my daypack for hiking and other outdoor activities when I get to my destination and I found out it takes up less space if I set it up in this fashion.

As you can see in the picture, all of the shirts are up at the top of the packing cube and the bottom is completely flat. This is so that I have room for what I am about to show you next. It's not an earth shattering idea but once the idea came to me, I thought I was really onto something! It only saves me maybe an inch of depth but when you are one bagging it, every inch counts.




What goes on top of the flat, bottom part of the PCBP is a completely stuffed Northwest Sky A30 TLSS. In here are 4 pairs of undies, 4 pairs of socks, 2 shorts - one for sleeping and one for hiking, 2 shirts - one for sleeping and one for hiking. With the bottom part of the PCBP flat, I can really get the TLSS nestled in here.

On top of the TLSS I have a large Iberian Snake Charmer. This is going to serve as my dopp kit for this trip. On one side I have a first aid kit and a small, fold-up hairdryer and on the other side will be my 3DCOC from earlier (once I get through TSA, I will add it to the Snake Charmer). I also have a newly acquired Deluxe Spiff Kit but it would have actually taken up more room and I would have to move the hairdryer to a separate pouch so Snake Charmer it is. With everything in the Snake Charmer, it's actually kind of amazing how compact it is. I would not be surprised to see it become my full-time dopp kit.

To the left of the Snake Charmer, I have a microfiber towel. This is probably not necessary but you never know what the towel situation is going to be at an Airbnb so this is very much a "just in case" item, which I tried to limit for this one bag adventure.

Lastly, I have an Amazon Essentials puff jacket folded up into the pouch. I tried packing the jacket into its stuff sack but it ended up just being a large lump taking up too much room so I got the idea to just fold it flat into the pouch and it works unbelievably well in here.

sidenote: I am only bringing one pair of pants which I will be wearing on the plane, as well as a shirt and hoodie.




Here's everything together so you can see just how much I am able to fit into this Synik 30. I've only one bagged a few times before but never with a backpack so this will be interesting to see what works and what didn't. I know I can improve on packing and that will get better with time but for now, this will just be a fun adventure with my new Tom Bihn goodies!