After months of wishing and waffling about should I or shouldn't I, would it fit me or not, last week I finally caved in and ordered a Smart Alec (Black/Black/NWS) along with a black top modular pocket. Not long after receiving the shipping notice, doubt set in that maybe I shouldn't have done that, wasn't the SA the one I tried on in store and it was way too large for my frame, etc etc. Especially when I realized it was exactly the same volume (26L) as my beloved Aubergine/Steel Western Flyer which I often feel ends up too large and/or heavy to carry as a backpack.
Fortunately I live close enough to the TB factory that my SA and assorted small bits were delivered quickly, but due to various circumstances I knew there was no way I would have time to really try it out until the weekend. So for 3 days, that bag has waited in the box, Shrodinger's Smart Alec - simultaneously both the perfect one-bag backpack, and at the same time too large and overwhelming and duplicative for my needs.
Today I finally had time to take it out of the box, try it on, and do a test pack for my ideal theoretical one-bag trip - a 3-day whirlwind to San Francisco including carrying the bag through 2 airports, BART to the hotel, and around the city while sightseeing for up to 1/2 day on the final day of the trip before taking BART back to the airport.
Theoretical packing list:
So, I opened up the Smart Alec, and started folding and tucking and loading everything in to the giant, cavernous interior in a reasonably orderly fashion (mostly, remember to put the 311 and NC headphones at the top for easy access, put the iPad Mini in the middle for a little extra protection.) Aaaaaaaaaaand....................... everything fit. Easily, with a tiny bit of room to spare and no need for the upper modular pocket (although I realized later I forgot to pack a couple organizer pouches with iPad/iPhone charger, and a few other tiny essentials from my EDC bag, so those would go there if they didn't tuck into the side pockets.)
Then the real test: I put the fully loaded Smart Alec on, and walked around the apartment a little, and looked in a couple mirrors to see if it was overwhelmingly "geez, look at that small person with a horribly large backpack!" on my small frame. And it was super comfortable, and actually felt much lighter than expected. It also didn't look overwhelmingly large, likely due to the solid black exterior color blending together a bit.
As a comparison, once I was done trying on (and loving) the Smart Alec, I loaded everything into my Western Flyer and hooked up the backpack straps to try it on. While I wasn't surprised that the WF was a little harder to pack with everything (mainly an issue of fitting in the NC headphones and 311 kit where they were easily accessible) I was surprised at how much heavier the same load felt in the WF. To the point that I recognized there was no way I could walk around San Francisco for 1/4 to 1/2 a day carrying the bag like that, even with the camera in a PCSB with a cross-body strap.
The one thing I forgot to include in my test pack was my travel tripod, and due to its size I'm fairly certain I could re-arrange a bit and have it fit in the SA as well. At that point though, the tripod may put the bag over the limit of comfortable weight, but since the tripod is a very optional inclusion I'm not terribly worried about having to leave it home.
While a 3-day San Francisco whirlwind isn't likely to be on the calendar anytime soon, the theoretical test pack and comparison to my Western Flyer did prove that a)the Smart Alec is indeed an ideal one-bag backpack and b)even though it is the same volume as my Western Flyer, it doesn't handle the same at all and is useful (for me) to have in addition. I'm very much looking forward to using it on a couple of shorter weekend trips coming up this month, where it will be an excellent companion to my Aubergine/NWS Swift since I'll be "two-bagging" on car trips.
And because this theoretical exercise wouldn't be complete without at least one photo, here's the final configuration of the SA using gatekeeper straps to replace the front bungee, and with black/turquoise custom cord pulls:
Fortunately I live close enough to the TB factory that my SA and assorted small bits were delivered quickly, but due to various circumstances I knew there was no way I would have time to really try it out until the weekend. So for 3 days, that bag has waited in the box, Shrodinger's Smart Alec - simultaneously both the perfect one-bag backpack, and at the same time too large and overwhelming and duplicative for my needs.
Today I finally had time to take it out of the box, try it on, and do a test pack for my ideal theoretical one-bag trip - a 3-day whirlwind to San Francisco including carrying the bag through 2 airports, BART to the hotel, and around the city while sightseeing for up to 1/2 day on the final day of the trip before taking BART back to the airport.
Theoretical packing list:
- 1 pair jeans (wear lighter/more comfortable not-jeans on plane)
- 3 shirts
- lightweight jacket (wear heavier/thicker fleece on plane)
- socks/undergarments for 3 days
- micro 4/3 camera and 2 small organizer pouches of accessories, in a Jill-E camera insert (to insert into a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag as my "day bag" for sightseeing)
- iPad mini and keyboard cover in neoprene sleeve
- 3D clear organizer pouch (as 311) and snake charmer (half full) for toiletries
- 1 pair flannel PJ pants
- 1 pair sock-like slippers (for flight and hotel)
- iPhone 6S+
- medium/large-ish wallet
- noise-cancelling headphones
- 2-3 lightweight scarves
So, I opened up the Smart Alec, and started folding and tucking and loading everything in to the giant, cavernous interior in a reasonably orderly fashion (mostly, remember to put the 311 and NC headphones at the top for easy access, put the iPad Mini in the middle for a little extra protection.) Aaaaaaaaaaand....................... everything fit. Easily, with a tiny bit of room to spare and no need for the upper modular pocket (although I realized later I forgot to pack a couple organizer pouches with iPad/iPhone charger, and a few other tiny essentials from my EDC bag, so those would go there if they didn't tuck into the side pockets.)
Then the real test: I put the fully loaded Smart Alec on, and walked around the apartment a little, and looked in a couple mirrors to see if it was overwhelmingly "geez, look at that small person with a horribly large backpack!" on my small frame. And it was super comfortable, and actually felt much lighter than expected. It also didn't look overwhelmingly large, likely due to the solid black exterior color blending together a bit.
As a comparison, once I was done trying on (and loving) the Smart Alec, I loaded everything into my Western Flyer and hooked up the backpack straps to try it on. While I wasn't surprised that the WF was a little harder to pack with everything (mainly an issue of fitting in the NC headphones and 311 kit where they were easily accessible) I was surprised at how much heavier the same load felt in the WF. To the point that I recognized there was no way I could walk around San Francisco for 1/4 to 1/2 a day carrying the bag like that, even with the camera in a PCSB with a cross-body strap.
The one thing I forgot to include in my test pack was my travel tripod, and due to its size I'm fairly certain I could re-arrange a bit and have it fit in the SA as well. At that point though, the tripod may put the bag over the limit of comfortable weight, but since the tripod is a very optional inclusion I'm not terribly worried about having to leave it home.
While a 3-day San Francisco whirlwind isn't likely to be on the calendar anytime soon, the theoretical test pack and comparison to my Western Flyer did prove that a)the Smart Alec is indeed an ideal one-bag backpack and b)even though it is the same volume as my Western Flyer, it doesn't handle the same at all and is useful (for me) to have in addition. I'm very much looking forward to using it on a couple of shorter weekend trips coming up this month, where it will be an excellent companion to my Aubergine/NWS Swift since I'll be "two-bagging" on car trips.
And because this theoretical exercise wouldn't be complete without at least one photo, here's the final configuration of the SA using gatekeeper straps to replace the front bungee, and with black/turquoise custom cord pulls:
Comment