Trinity in Deep Blue

[bartleby]

Hi folks, as I just returned from two weeks of vacation yesterday evening I had only a day two take a first look at the Trinity that Tom Bihn provided to me for review purposes. As I will start on another trip tomorrow (with the Trinity for sure!) I thought I post some initial pics.

Colorwise I am blue guy so this bag is in Deep Blue and Zest which is a lovely bright orange, I think that's a wonderful combo!









Although I will certainly travel with two bags tomorrow as I am not a minimalist traveller at all, I tried to pack as if I would be one (and I certainly missed some stuff but I hope it helps illustrating how one could use the bag). I use the terminology introduced by Cristina in her post: In the "work stuff section" I put my running shoes, a water bottle (16 oz) and two small organizers to carry the power supply of my devices (Everyday Cubelet) and adapters (Handy Little Thing size 1) / or my toiletries (Spiff Kit). I could only fit my shoes (11 men) horizontally, although my sneakers also fit vertically (with a little squeeze though).







My clothes went in the "clothes section" on the backside, fixed with the tie-down straps. I packed a chino, a short, two t-shirts, three polos, underwear and socks (it's still summer here). Packs flat and fits nicely :)





In the "laptop section" I put my 13.3' MacBook Air, some paper stuff (still can't do without) and my iPad. I hope you can see the inner organization of this section which I really like.





And finally in the very front pocket of the "work stuff section" I put little things like my purse, glasses, earphones, etc.



Packed as such, the bag is quite full, although there is still some space here and there for smaller things. Just a few impressions, I'll post more pics and comments with more experience!

Cheers :)

[G42]

Have fun on your trip bartleby !

Looking forward to seeing how you use it for that as I expect many folks will use it for two bag travel too.

[bartleby]

Have fun on your trip bartleby !

Looking forward to seeing how you use it for that as I expect many folks will use it for two bag travel too.

Thank you G42!

[epeterson]

OK, after seeing these photos, I feel like I "get it" now. Honestly TB should put these on the product page -- they really do well to illustrate the capacity. I can see it working for 1-2 nights away, for work. I use my S25 for this, but for those who prefer a shoulder bag carry, I can see going for this.

[Cristina]

bartleby great pics as always! I’m glad you addressed the shoe question. I have size 10.5 US women’s running shoes and I also found mine too long to be packed along the shorter edge. Happy travels! Looking forward to hearing what you think.

[Shortie]

This was really helpful. I would normally use my Synik 22 for a similar amount of stuff to carry but I can see how the Trinity would organize everything better. Looking forward to your follow up.

[bartleby]

Second day with the Trinity. I am traveling with a medium Yeoman in Burnt Orange (I don't know why I always carry that much stuff for just a couple of days...) and the Trinity so I mainly use it for my work stuff. Had a six hours train ride. This is where the Trinity can really play out its fantastic organizational features: I worked the whole trip and had very easy access to all my stuff, the Trinity standing on the floor next to me.





It was rather underpacked but honestly, I like it that way because it is a lot easier to get things in and out. In the clothes section I just had a sweater as German trains tend to be very cool at times...



... time to get some rest at the hotel :)

[andrewj]

Great post. How does the amount of stuff you can carry with the Trinity compare with the Tristar? The volume measurements for the Trinity (21 L) seem lower than the Tristar (33 L), though the bag seems similar in size overall? Also is the bottle holder removable (for people who don't have bottles to carry)?

[bartleby]

Hi andrewj, although moriond has already posted comparison pics of Trinity and Tristar I thought I post some more as this might be a question of general interest. So here are some side by side shots of Trinity and Tristar that clearly show their close kinship :)



The size difference is clearly noticeable as is their similar construction: Both bags have three major compartments that are almost equal in size. My personal feeling is that the middle compartment of the Trinity is smaller than the front and back compartment while the three compartments of the Tristar are more equal (but I didn't measure anything it's just a feeling).




To illustrate the size a bit better I concentrate on the back compartment (the clothes section). In the Tristar I packed a rather bulky hoodie and a sweater (there would be room for more stuff). I can also pack a pair of flat sneakers.



In the Trinity the hoodie (same model: AG classic, men size S) almost fills up the whole compartment (although I could certainly stack a little bit more on top of it).



BTW: It is interesting to see some differences in terms of construction: You can see the pouches for the shoulder strap buckle on the Tristar but not on the Trinity which gives the latter a very clean look.





The construction principle of the front compartment is similar in both bags: A divider that can be unzipped when it is not needed. Again, there is a lot of space in the front compartment of the Tristar, e.g. for a large toiletry bag or packing cubes with clothes, or shoes etc.


The biggest difference beside the smaller size is that the divider of the Trinity also serves as a water bottle holder which I think is a great idea. It still folds away quite nicely when you don't need it, as the material is very light.


I welcome this transformation even more as the designated water bottle compartment of the Tristar did never work for me. When the bag is fully packed, you just don't have enough volume left to squeeze in a water bottle (and close it). Furthermore, the compartment is too small to hold a decent water bottle. Thus, I packed mine in the front pocket anyway (see pic above).



I agree that the biggest improvement of the Trinity vs. the Tristar is the redesign of the front pockets: The Tristar only has the three (or four if you also count the water bottle pocket) very flat front pockets with no further organization (except for some O-rings) while the Trinity has a fantastic large front pocket with lots of organization and two additional (rather flat) side pockets. You would definitely need a Freudian Slip or a similar device to add this amount of organization to the Tristar.



Hope this gives you an idea of how these bags compare.

[bartleby]

And I want to add some thoughts here after one week of using the Trinity:

- I love the size of the bag and its organizational features. Working out of this bag at the hotel or on the train was great as everything was immediately at hand.

- I was attending a conference and I had the bag with me the whole day (after leaving some of the heavy and bulky stuff at the hotel). I felt that due to its smaller size the Trinity is rather unobtrusive when not fully packed which I really like (couldn't imagine running around with the Tristar the same way).

- I would recommend adding an Absolute Shoulder Strap (it adds to the bill and the weight, I know) as it is much more comfortable. As I carry a lot of stuff, the bag becomes quite heavy and thus I welcomed the additional comfort.

[G42]

Fantastic evaluation & photos bartleby !

I haven't had a TS in a long time (not a flat packer) so it was good to see the comparisons and the evolution of features that you pointed out.

The center section of the Trinity is indeed narrower by design than the flanking two sections ("The Trinity has two main compartments of equal size and a slimmer middle compartment.") vs the TriStar and you can mostly see it in the view of the bottom of the bag.
It's one of the features they mentioned - that the flanking sections would help cushion the laptop area and hold everything in place.

I can't remember, do you also have a Western Flyer?

It really is useful that the bag sits up on it's own & is easy to work out of.

[bartleby]

Thank you G42 !

Oops, must have missed the one on the center section, thanks for verifying that! And indeed: The flanking sections do hold everything nicely in place!

Oh, and I forgot and important detail: The Tristar center section isn't cushioned whereas the one of the Trinity is cushioned (bottom and sides). That is an important difference as I always use a neoprene sleeve for my laptop when traveling with the Tristar.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Western Flyer. A couple of times I was close to pulling the trigger, but I didn't. It would also make a great candidate to compare the Trinity with.

BTW, I think that all these details like the organizational features in the front pocket as well as the cushioning and perhaps some other design tweaks here and there account for the higher price. It's a rather complex bag...

[G42]

Thank you G42 !

Oops, must have missed the one on the center section, thanks for verifying that! And indeed: The flanking sections do hold everything nicely in place!

Oh, and I forgot and important detail: The Tristar center section isn't cushioned whereas the one of the Trinity is cushioned (bottom and sides). That is an important difference as I always use a neoprene sleeve for my laptop when traveling with the Tristar.

Unfortunately, I don't have a Western Flyer. A couple of times I was close to pulling the trigger, but I didn't. It would also make a great candidate to compare the Trinity with.

BTW, I think that all these details like the organizational features in the front pocket as well as the cushioning and perhaps some other design tweaks here and there account for the higher price. It's a rather complex bag...

Bummer about the WF - your photos are way better than mine for review :)

It is a complex bag and then there's that little thing called inflation...

complete aside (I just like economics but am not a professional) I've been spending a lot of time recently looking at & communicating the various inflation trends for the US economy and certain sectors related to my job/industry - charts are fun and remind that me there's a healthy chunk of the US population that has no meaningful adult experience of inflation above the 0-3ish % range

[bartleby]

very interesting G42 ! I remember that inflation was a big thing way back then when I was in school!

[bartleby]

I add two more pictures here as in the other thread the question came up, how a HLT2 would fit in the Trinity: To me the best place would be in one of the sections of the front main compartment. It would also fit in the front pocket but not in one of the pouches (even the HLT1 wouldn't fit here). Due to its depth the HLT2 would definitely bulge the front pocket, thus, I wouldn't consider the front pocket as an ideal spot for this organizer.