How to carry two backpacks - Smart Alec and Daylight Backpack

[Ilkyway Volunteer ********* Alumni Find all posts View Profile Close Ilkyway]

Hallo there!
Quite a while back we had a thread about two backpacks carried at once: http://forums.tombihn.com/questions-...pse+Cross+body

Today I have another take on that theme for you:
When the Daylight Backpack (DLBP) came out it was not first love for me. I loved the bright colors and could see the apeal in a minimalistic backpack but as much I want to... I am not a minimalistic person. So mine where quite underapriciated UNTIL the Freudian Slips for the Cafe Bags came out.
Having the medium one in the lower shingled pocket and the small Freudian Slip (FS) in the upper shingled pocket of the DLBP made all the difference for me. No rummaging around to find things, great back-suprot through the foam in the FS' where a gamechanger.

So for a while I used the DLBP and was quite happy. But than (as always...) I wanted more. More room that is. So I got thinking. The great back in terms of higly versitile is the Smart Alec (SA). So here is what I did:

1. Pack the DLBP so everything is very nicely reachable.
2. fould the front flap of the DLBP over so the backpack stays open.



3. Slide DLBP into SA
4. pack all the extra stuff that would not have fit the DLBP in all the extra room that is left



optional 5. Ponder a bit about the possibility if these are early sings of madness.

Ilkyway

PS: And this is, what the hole thing looks like in its natrual habitat: outside.

[marytattoo Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close marytattoo]

@ilkyway I thought I had the market cornered on carrying my life around with me on every daily routine excursion. I'm an amateur!

[Lani Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lani]

To be very honest, this is one of the reasons I've long been asking/wishing for a plain shoulder bag. Completely unstructured and floppy--essentially the Packing Cube Backpack, but turned horizontal and with clips for a simple shoulder strap in place of the backpack straps. This way I could carry a backpack and a shoulder bag.

My dream wish is to see a convertible Packing Cube Backpack/Bag... with backpack straps that unclip on the bottom (with maybe a tiny Veclro pocket on top to stash the straps away in) with a way to clip on a simple shoulder strap. One could keep dreaming!

[Amy Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Amy]

@ilkyway, I love that portrait of your smart Alec looking so pensive. It has such nice posture.

Great idea about the daylight backpack for adding some inner organization to the smart Alec. I am going to try that out. Since I received my smart Alec a week or so ago, I have been testing it out as a work bag, but it feels like my stuff is swimming in all the space and I am still trying to figure out how best to organize it. I am currently using a packing cube shoulder bag to contain my iPad and some papers. It feels much less organized than the synapse 19 I normally use, but the extra space feels pretty luxurious, and I can't get over how comfortable it is with heavier loads. I also love that I can dump any extraneous things in there and it always fits. Here are the innards of my bag right now. Cache with 13" macbook pro retina, packing cube shoulder bag with ipad, notebook and papers, #2 yarn stuff sack full of chargers and small stuff:

[Ilkyway Volunteer ********* Alumni Find all posts View Profile Close Ilkyway]

Would love to hear how you like it. The SA is great but needs some working out, right?

Ilkyway


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[bchaplin Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close bchaplin]

Interesting concept! I always love your pictures, too.
I love the Smart Alec so much that I have the whole other thread about whether it gets to go to West Africa next week, (probably not), and I love seeing how other people pack it.

My other thought is that it might be heavy, but if it works for you, that's great!

[Amy Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Amy]

@Ilkyway-- I like the Smart Alec's accommodating size, and was thrilled it can swallow awkward/delicate stuff that no other bag I have can handle, but I didn't instantly "get it" like I did with the Synapse 19. This bag is a big blank slate, and I've had to put some thought into how to organize it so that I feel efficient with it. It works beautifully for transporting big things, but so far, less beautifully as an EDC for me, due to its lack of structure.

I've started using the water bottle pocket for keys (on a strap) and phone because I like the bucket shape that my stuff won't fall out of, even if i leave the pocket unzipped. The other pocket feels like stuff could come out easily if I'm not careful. So I'm currently using that pen pocket for just a few pens and some additional keys that I don't need as often. And an empty pouch just in case I end up having to put something small in there that I don't want getting lost in the recesses. But that pocket is still a work in progress to me.

At first, I was frustrated by the water bottle pocket because I kept wanting to put large flat things in that pocket (like magazines or books, but the webbed piece with the snap would get in the way, and it doesn't push out of the way like the baffle on the Aeronaut 30's internal pockets. But when I relented and started accepting it as a "bucket" to drop stuff into, I started really liking that pocket because it feels secure. I can drop my Note 4 in there and not worry it's going to fall out, like I would if I tried to use the other pocket.

Even though they are bigger pockets on the Smart Alec, I don't find them as easy to use as the side pockets on the Synapse since they lack a gusset. I love the little triangular "shelf" at the bottom of the Synapse side pockets. Things like a glasses case or a tube of something fit great in that shape. But I'm still figuring out where to put my stuff in this Smart Alec. I don't want to rely on a ton of pouches, but I kind of feel like I need to with the Smart Alec, since I don't have a feeling of a "place for everything and everything in its place" yet.

Last night, I decided it would be easiest to use the Yarn Stuff Sack to corral all the little stuff. So I've got that sitting at the bottom of my Smart Alec, holding things like chargers, cables, glasses cleaner, wipes, etc. So that way I just have to reach in for 1 bag. Similarly, I decided that all the flat stuff needed its own bag, so that's why I decided to use the Packing Cube Shoulder Bag for the iPad, and other paper-related items. (I have to mention how much I love that packing cube shoulder bag, by the way. It's so incredibly versatile. It looks too small to hold letter size paper but it does, easily. And the zippered outer pocket is great for my iPad in its slim case. )

I've found myself wrestling to keep the bag open sometimes as I'm retrieving stuff, because its' so floppy, probably because of the flexible Dyneema. At work, I've been using a big clip to hang it by the handle from the edge of my desk, so it doesn't collapse into a heap on the floor. My cordura Synapse wins for ease of retrieval of items.

I also have found myself on the "wrong side" of the bag for retrieval of items. I think this bag works best when you approach it from the back side (strap side), because then all the zippers and pocket contents are more accessible. That's exactly the opposite of the Synapse, where you come at it from the front side (pocket side) to retrieve your stuff. (Side note: it occurred to me that the Smart Alec, for this very reason, is the superior travel pack since it's hard for a pickpocket to unzip it without your knowledge.)

I really like the minimalist, pocketless look of the Smart Alec. It has great lines, and I think it looks better when stuffed than the Synapse 19 does, which does go egg-shaped (a cute egg). And I like the big, wide padded floor of the Smart Alec, which gives its cargo a lot of protection and stability.

Another random thought that occurred to me yesterday: the size and sloped top of the synapse totally reminds me of the Skyrest travel pillow, and makes me think that the Smart Alec would be equally comfortable, and a lot less dorky, as a pillow on a long haul flight:



I really like the Smart Alec and plan to use it for many things, for many years. But I'm still undecided about using it as a work bag.

[Amy Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Amy]

Proof of concept: :)

[Ilkyway Volunteer ********* Alumni Find all posts View Profile Close Ilkyway]

Bchaplin I always striggle with weight all the time. But the DLBP is not the problem. My notebooks are.

I saw your thread but I do not own a Westerflyer so I could not contribute.
I admire how much you see from the wold!

Ilkyway


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[Ilkyway Volunteer ********* Alumni Find all posts View Profile Close Ilkyway]

Amy I totally get your struggle. This is how I aquired a ton of TB bags and Accesories over the time always playing around with ideas to find the best solution for a load.

That picturework of yours: hilarios! :-D

Ilkywa


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[Blackeagle Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Blackeagle]

I often did much the same thing with my iPad Ristretto inside my Smart Alec.

[WenV Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close WenV]

How to carry two backpacks - Smart Alec and Daylight Backpack

To be very honest, this is one of the reasons I've long been asking/wishing for a plain shoulder bag. Completely unstructured and floppy--essentially the Packing Cube Backpack, but turned horizontal and with clips for a simple shoulder strap in place of the backpack straps. This way I could carry a backpack and a shoulder bag.

My dream wish is to see a convertible Packing Cube Backpack/Bag... with backpack straps that unclip on the bottom (with maybe a tiny Veclro pocket on top to stash the straps away in) with a way to clip on a simple shoulder strap. One could keep dreaming!

@Lani, the closest to this description that I discovered recently is the Swedish Fjallraven Kanken. They have various sizes. I like the depth of the pack and how it opens quite wide. But, a backpack orientation.


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[Lani Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lani]

@Lani, the closest to this description that I discovered recently is the Swedish Fjallraven Kanken. They have various sizes. I like the depth of the pack and how it opens quite wide. But, a backpack orientation.

Interesting...! I used Mr. Google to check it out... a little big, but the design is unusual.

I'd love to see a TB version fo it, in Halcyon (and not quite so huge). Honestly, I'd be over the moon to see a PCSB-ified bag the size of the Co-Pilot, Pilot, and Daylight Briefcase (that is, completely stripped down with no extra bells or whistles; just the zipper(s) and D-rings to clip the straps onto).