Carryology Technonaut Review

[ayazgood]

New Review of the T45:

https://www.carryology.com/reviews-2/tom-bihn-techonaut-45-review/

A Tom Bihn fan is not impressed. A couple of his criticisms seem valid; e.g., TB should probably acknowledge that the side handle is a failed experiment, and add at least a small amount of independent volume to the exterior pockets (particularly the top pocket). Several other complaints seem nitpicky or contrary to most persons' preferences (e.g., the edgeless straps).

[Tonya]

I would have never seen this if you hadn't linked to it, but I love it! :D The awesome photos, especially of the carry and pack load, make me want a Techonaut. I especially love this sentence and think it true: Generally speaking, I like many of Tom Bihn’s designs; I find them to be organic in shape, utilitarian in nature and almost always dependable in use.

And this one made me giggle: They rather unfairly get pigeon-holed into being called “dad bags”...

I do agree that the review gets nitpicky, especially at the end, and I got rather tired of reading it due to this. For example, Coyote Ballistic Nylon is one of his favorite colorways but he doesn't like it on this bag? I think that the bag is gorgeous, so I didn't get it.

This seems to me (at first read) like a dude who really adores his Aeronaut and will compare all others to his unconditionally-loved, perfect bag. Well then, I'm okay with that. A first love is a hard thing to compromise on. I probably suffer from the same malady, mine being a TB DLBP. :)

[ittoujuu]

While there's definitely some bias in the review, I think it's more a natural outgrowth of personal preferences. What I enjoyed most was following some lines of inquiry regarding how the Techonaut is designed.

I've often looked at the Techonaut and sort of wondered, "Who is this for, really?" You know how sometimes you stumble upon a bag and you just know "Ah, yes, I know exactly how I'd pack this"? When I look at the Techonaut, I instead wonder, "How in the heck would I utilize this allotment of space?" The pocketing has always seemed...odd, to me, like it doesn't match up especially well with the general loadout of stuff I tend to take when I travel.

One thing the reviewer was getting at that I think has merit is that the Techonaut carries over the whole 3-way carry idea of the Aeronaut, but as a "backpack-first" design, doesn't honestly seem like it benefits from having those other methods of carry. I think if one wanted strap or handle carry as a primary method, they'd probably be better served by the Aeronaut, which is also more or less a proper, dedicated duffel in its design. The Techonaut wants to be a backpack, but seems kinda stymied by its chimeric integration of some duffel elements, rather than being free to be a full-on, dedicated travel backpack - which is something I would love to see from TB (I'm aware of the Hero's Journey, but besides already being long gone when I discovered the brand, it was far too EXTRA for my use cases).

I'm actually considering picking up a Shadow Guide 33 later this year as a second-option travel pack for when I want something lighter or simply need less capacity. I still think it's wild that I'm considering that as a travel bag over all the other TB offerings that are actually intended to BE travel bags, but it does technically have that "two-chamber construction" that I like, with its big hood pocket. I had thought that perhaps with time, one of the TB travel bags would stand out as a good fit for me, and I definitely gave the Techonaut some consideration, but I still don't "get" that bag. Maybe it's one of those things where you have to have the bag in hand, or actually use it on a trip, to really understand the thoughtfulness of the design.