The New Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing Cubes

[moriond]

Hi All,

I thought I would start a thread on the new Aether packing cubes offered for the 4 sizes of the Yeoman Duffel. They differ from the earlier Aether packing cubes for the Aeronauts and the Tri-Star by their depth, and also by the fact that they seem designed to be used in the Yeoman Duffels in "book end" fashion, with webbing handles to make it easy to pull them out.

I've already posted some pictures in the Need pictures of interior of mini yeoman packing cube that I'll show here, to start off size comparisons.

From left to right, in alternating colors (Violet, Carbon, Violet), the Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes for Mini, Small, and Medium. For reference size purposes, that's a Solar Clear Quarter Packing Cube just beneath the Violet Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube at the left, and a Steel/Solar Co-Pilot below the Violet Medium Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube at the right end.



Here are open views of the three Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes displayed with some contents. The Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube has a size 1 Travel Stuff Sack in Northwest Sky (stuffed with a down vest). It could also hold an Eagle Creek Specter II Quarter Packing Cube in Silnylon, which is slightly wider and taller than the Size #1 TSS. To the right of the Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube I show the Small Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube in Carbon, holding an Eagle Creek Specter II Quarter Packing Cube inside a Small Monarch Halcyon Snake Charmer, with a 3D Fabric Organizer Cube in Solar beside it. The Mini Yeoman Cube doesn't quite have the width to hold two 3D Organizer Cubes side by side if both cubes are stuffed, but I could fit one Eagle Creek Quarter Packing Cube beside the Size #1 TSS, both of these stuffed.

To the right is an open Medium Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube, which is holding an FJN (or Side Kick -- similar size) at the bottom, with a flattened Small Cafe Bag in Grey Cordura on top. I've added a flattened First Aid Pouch, which is larger than the 3DOC, on top, to give another idea of scale. For reference, that's a Small All-Fabric Western Flyer Packing Cube in Halcyon above the Medium Size Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube. This is one of the packing cubes that I use in the Co-Pilot (for clothing use), and which I used for initial packups of both the Mini and Small Yeoman Duffel.



The Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes are deep, and have webbing handles. They can conveniently be carried, too, in other bags. Here are two of the Small Yeoman Duffel packing cubes (Wasabi and Carbon) in front of a Small Shop Bag in Monarch. The zipper runs along 3 sides of the cube (and just around the corners of the fourth side), close to the edge, so that the open cube can be fully filled, and the webbing handles allow you to carry each cube easily.



Two of the Small Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes are nicely sized to fit into a Small Shop Bag, as shown in the next picture



This is the top view of the two Small Yeoman Duffel packing cubes inside the Small Shop Bag. There's still room for inserting a medium organizer pouch, or other contents into the side pockets of the Small Shop Bag.



Here's a view of the way the Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes are designed to fit into their parent bag, four cubes side by side, with the webbing handles at the top for easy pull-out from the opening. You can color code the Aether cubes for quick identification of their contents, or simply use their position in the Duffel to determine this. Remember that if you use multiple cubes you might want to get more than one color for this reason. This is a view of the four Small Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes in Carbon, Violet, Wasabi, and Carbon outside a Small Burnt Orange Yeoman Duffel



The same packing cubes are shown loaded inside the Small Burnt Orange Yeoman Duffel.



It's also easy to pack up the Yeoman Duffel using combinations of the YD packing cubes with other packing cubes and accessories. I'll just show a few comparisons of the way these can fit together for the Small Yeoman Duffel. Because of the angling of the shot, the items in the foreground look longer than the Yeoman Duffel, but will fit inside.

Here I've replaced two of the small YD packing cubes at the left with a Small Western Flyer Packing Cube (all fabric, as shown in the second picture). On top of it, with similar length, is a Small Cafe Bag in Cloud/Cloud. Also of similar length, but not as wide, is a Navy Lead's Pocket for the Guide's Pack.



Another possibility: add a small Aether packing cube for the A30 to hold shoes



You can also insert a third YD packing cube (sideways) and add a couple of First or Second Aid pouches, or a Side Effect (depends on how much you stuff these whether you use one or two pouches)



This is only meant to give an idea of different possible combinations. When I first received exactly one packing cube in each size, I wasn't sure how they were supposed to be used, or even whether I needed a set of four to best utilize the space. But, as is the case with most Tom Bihn bags, you can reconfigure your packing strategy of the Yeoman Duffel quite flexibly.

The individual packing cubes have other uses, too, as I'll detail.

[moriond]

Using the Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes as a Lunch Bag

The Mini and Small sizes of the Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes are well suited to carrying lunch. Here are a few demos of he my pack ups of a lunch box and 12-oz Zojurushi thermos (for the Mini YD packing cube) and with a 16-oz thermos (for the Small YD packing cube).

The Charcoal Yeoman Duffel Cube is the Mini size. (If you ever get confused about packing cube sizes, look under the Tom Bihn label tag at the bottom of the cube; when you lift the tag there is a small tag beneath with the label "Mini" or "Small", etc.). The lunch box is from Life without Plastic, but the size is fairly typical. I'm using a 3D Clear Organizer Cube in addition, to hold various contents, and optionally a Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch if I want to separately store cutlery. The open Mini Yeoman Duffel packing cube is holding the stainless steel lunch box with a 12 oz Zojurushi thermos (with a tea insert) beside it.

Many of the contents of for the 3DCOC in Indigo were shown in my post (#26) in @sturbridge's 3D Clear Organizing Cube as portable picnic kit (because you never know...) thread. That's a Matador pocket picnic blanket in red, that @ceepee recommended in that thread, to the right of the Indigo 3DCOC; above it are two Tidbit Toppers plates (described in my post in that thread) with a packet of Oat Cakes; to the right are folding chopsticks, then an Alite design Cloverware utensil @sturbridge recommended (post #16) in the How do you use and pack your Side Kick? thread, pocket toothbrush, tea bags overlying miso soup packets, Swiss Army Knife, Size 2 Kiwi Knitting Tool Pouch, and combination napkin/trivet on the right.



Exploded view of cutlery items which can separately stored in the Size 2 Knitting Tool Pouch. (The advantage is that the Ballistic Nylon ends are reinforced for holding metal cutlery. The Alite Cloverware utensil is separated out here; cutlery set is Joseph Joseph Go Eat, and the chopsticks are not shown expanded.



Here's everything packed into the Mini YD packing cube:



I can do a similar pack up for the Small Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube, in order to use a 16-oz Zojurushi thermos. (Other, wider sizes, of thermos will also work). I'd make a few adjustments to better pack the top and sides, such as moving some items like the Matador picnic blanket, and teabags/miso soup to lie between the lunch box and the top of the cube, and adding a tissue pack. Placing the Size 2 Knitting tool pouch at the right side can also reinforce things. The closed, Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube in Charcoal is shown to the left of the open, Violet Small Yeoman Duffel packing cube.



Here are the two sizes packed up for comparison (Charcoal Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube, Violet Small Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube). The Mini YD Packing Cube is the tighter pack up, but the Small YD packing cube also works)



I can load the packed Mini YD Packing Cube easily into the Sprout (original version). The Small YD will also fit, but its tighter to put in. You can also obviously carry these in Small Shop Bag. They'll go into the bottom part of the Packing Cube Backpack for Aeronaut 30, but weight balance and space usage may be a concern for usage.



I think the new Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes are going to be great, general use items. Some obvious other uses: carrying diapers and other bulky, light objects that you want to separate. The Medium size packing cubes look good for those. I haven't had a chance to try all the variations yet, since it was difficult to figure these out with just one cube of each size. My first attempts to approximate use in a Medium Yeoman Duffel looked like this, where I had to approximate two packing cubes with Co-Pilots:



I don't have the Nightflight Travel Duffle or the other Skookum Road Duffels to try out, but I bet these Yeoman Duffel packing cubes could work in those bags, too. And also work in bags like the Smart Alec, where I also like using the Small Western Flyer Packing Cubes (to match the width).

HTH

moriond

[nimikor]

I love your lunch kit!

[GoStanford]

Awesome post, @moriond! The idea of a Yeoman packing cube as a lunch cube is a great one. I have generally shied away from Aether packing cubes because I really like my partly-mesh Steel Dyneema packing cubes as I can sneak a peek at the contents, but your detailed and beautifully presented post above makes me rethink my decision.

I haven't been as active on the forums lately as I'd like, but it is this type of detail and dedication that I appreciate in you and the other moderators, including after new product releases, so that we can see the possibilities for these items. All of you, as well as forum members, take time out of their busy lives to add their input and keep these forums so interesting whether I've been here frequently or not often.

[aedifica]

Thank you for the link to the Joseph Joseph GoEat kit! I carry a Light My Fire spork in a size 2 knitting pouch (I chose the pouch for the same reasons you mention) but it would be nice to have an actual knife sometimes. Even if that cutlery set doesn't come in Forest like my spork. :-)

[moriond]

Hi @aedifica,

Thank you for the link to the Joseph Joseph GoEat kit! I carry a Light My Fire spork in a size 2 knitting pouch (I chose the pouch for the same reasons you mention) but it would be nice to have an actual knife sometimes. Even if that cutlery set doesn't come in Forest like my spork. :-)

You can find this cutlery set on Amazon and at other stores, but it seems as though the price from the manufacturer is less, at least currently, ($12 vs $20). The fork, spoon, and knife fit together (knife base is magnetic). I don't need to take this along unless I want to carry an actual cutlery set. (That's why my Swiss Army knife is present, when I don't need other utensils). It does come in green or grey, but the green is more of a Wasabi rather than Forest. I don't use the Silicone outer case it comes with. The Alite Designs Cloverware Lite Eating Utensil Set (@sturbridge's recommendation) is no longer being made, but does have a "knife" component. I did find one of these new for $7.95 several months ago, but most of prices are more expensive. (There may still be some new stock in Canadian on-line camping goods stores).

Glad this worked for you! I need to upload some pictures that also show you can pack a Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube with lunch box into the Mini size Yeoman Duffel, and then also use the rest of the bag for your gym bag or clothes if you're traveling.

moriond

[moriond]

Mini Yeoman Duffel packed with lunch and clothing (mixed Aether and Halcyon cubes)

Here's another demo pack up of the Mini Yeoman Duffel to show that you can carry your lunch in one of the new Aether Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cubes in addition to clothes (or items for the gym). For those of you who haven't seen other pack ups of the various size Yeoman Duffels before the Aether Yeoman Duffel packing cubes were released, I point you to pictures in the New sizes to the Yeoman SOOO cute thread. Those pictures were geared to showing various sizes of accessories that fit, what laptops could be carried, where the O-rings were located etic., and novel other uses (e.g. as a music instrument bag, etc.)

Here I show a Charcoal Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube (that contains the lunch kit in an earlier post), along with two Western Flyer Small Packing Cubes containing clothes, and an Aubergine Ballistic Nylon Side Kick. (The Side Kick could contain an iPad Mini, or you could substitute an iPad in its caches, or other configurations). These sit around an open Steel Mini Yeoman Duffel.



Here is the Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube containing the lunch kit at the left end of the Steel Mini Yeoman Duffel, with the two Small Western Flyer Packing Cubes filled with clothing stacked vertically on the right. The Aubergine Ballistic Nylon Side Kick remains in front of the open Mini Yeoman Duffel. There's room for additional contents on top of the two filled, small Western Flyer packing cubes.



The Aubergine Ballistic Nylon Side Kick has been placed on top of the two Small Western Flyer Packing Cubes. An iPad in its cache or other table in a cache could easily have fit here. The Mini Yeoman Duffel could also have been packed with gym items (plus lunch), since it can also fit shoes (depending on your shoe size, but @Pokilani showed a pack up of a Navy Mini Yeoman Duffel that she used as a runner's back, using Eagle Creek Specter II packing cubes, in the Yeoman Duffel thread that I linked).



The Mini Yeoman Duffel can also be packed simply with a series of 4 Aether Packing Cubes, bookend fashion, as shown in the first post of this thread for the Small Yeoman Duffel. These pictures are just meant to show other possible configurations where one or more of the Aether Packing Cubes are used with other accessories to pack the Yeoman Duffels.

HTH

moriond

ETA: A couple more pictures. Although this post was designed to show off the packing usage of space, in practice you will also want to attach accessories to the (5) O-rings spaced around the top of the Yeoman Duffel. So on top of the Aubergine Side Effect I've place a Kiwi luggage tag (still has the Tom Bihn logo card with blank address information on the opposite side -- insert a business card or other ID card to provide this information both inside and outside the bag). A Medium Double Organizer Pouch in Steel Dyneema is clipped to another O-ring. This one is holding a Starbucks card in the front pocket, but might also hold access cards, if you're using this as a gym bag, or travel information/records or receipts that you might want to keep handy. I've also attached an Alphaviolet Cubelet, which could hold a power brick for an iPad or Phone, or some snacks. In front I show a Small Cafe Bag in Alphaviolet/Cloud that I might use with the Mini Yeoman Duffel.



Finally, although this pack up of the Mini Duffel was a general purpose example, the Mini Yeoman Duffel is also a good bag for children to carry their personal items. There are sample pictures on the product page and videos of how this can be used to pack stuffed toys, and other light-weight objects. So, since Darcy sent me the updated (Aubergine/Northwest Sky) Sprout, which is nearly an inch longer in height than the original model Sprout, I also show this to the right of the Steel Mini Yeoman Duffel. (It looks larger because it is in the foreground). The Sprout + Mini Yeoman Duffel might be a travel combination that a child could use.



HTH

[backpack]

Thank you so much for such useful and extremely beautiful pictures!

Using other popular accessories and TB bags next to the Yeoman Duffels and their Aether Packing Cubes is genius.
It help tremendously, putting everything in scale.

[moriond]

Here's a comparison picture of the Mini Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing Cube with the Halcyon Packing Cube for the Night Flight Travel Duffel. You can just fit the NFTD packing cube inside the Mini YD Packing Cube, and you can use it interchangeably inside the Mini Yeoman Duffel.



I've found that I now carry an empty Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube around with me for Farmer's Market purchases and off the cuff buying when I don't need a Shop Bag. I had lunch where the salad was huge, and ended up taking about half of it home with me. The next day I added it to the Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube along with some fresh peaches I had cut up:



Then, later in the day I had to pick someone up from an international flight, and brought along a container of chilled juice that I carried in the Mini Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube (by those convenient handles).

I love that this is so light weight that it's easy to stash in my Side Kick!

moriond

[Pokilani]

Stop it, @moriond. You're making me think I need Aether packing for my mini Yeoman (which I just replaced after losing my first one in London).

[moriond]

Hi @Pokilani,

Stop it, @moriond. You're making me think I need Aether packing for my mini Yeoman (which I just replaced after losing my first one in London).

The Mini Yeoman Duffel is absolutely packable without having to use the Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing Cubes -- you can do very well with the Eagle Creek Specter II cubes or, if you want to use other packing cubes, I like using one or more Small Western Flyer Packing Cubes. I was just really surprised by how much I liked having at least one or two of the Aether Packing Cubes for general purpose use.

It's a form factor that has a niche that isn't filled by other accessories. I also like the fact that I can use these cubes either to keep damp items separate (if you use your Duffel for swimming, for example), or to protect items from the rain (in most cases I'll be using a bag that does that, but I can stash a Field Journal Notebook and/or an original size iPad in its cache inside a Medium Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube to rain-proof them -- though my personal guess is that parents will want this size for carrying separate diaper products that are bulky but light weight).

These are the sizes from Mini (Carbon) to Small (Wasabi) to Medium (Violet) to Large (Carbon). They're roughly lined up along their back edges:



The next picture is just a comparison of the Small and Large Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing Cubes. Except for the cube at the far left, which is the large packing cube for the Aeronaut 30, all the packing cubes are either Small Yeoman Duffel (Wasabi or Carbon upright at the right; Violet flat on the ground in front) or Large Yeoman Duffel (Carbon upright on the right; Violet open and flat).

To get a sense of size, the Large Violet Yeoman Packing Cube is holding a 13" Retina MacBook Pro, that basically nearly fills its length on one side.



It's hard to keep the sides up on a cube this deep, so this is what it looks like with a book sitting on top of the 13" Mac Laptop:



That's a large organizer pouch in Steel Parapack in front of the Large Yeoman Duffel Packing Cube.

The Large Packing Cube for the Aeronaut 30 is the closest I have to it in size -- but it is not as tall. A Large Packing Cube for the Aeronaut 45 would be closer to the cross-section size, but I only have these in Halcyon.

HTH

moriond