Your Photos Are Needed

[G42]

I think one of my biggest gripes with the bag was the fact that, when you take advantage of the capacity enough to fill the bag, neither the backpack straps nor the provided shoulder strap are supportive enough to make it a comfortable carry.

Just curious, do you know roughly how heavy your load was?

[moriond]

The two bags I’ve always wanted were a Stowaway and Night Flight Travel Duffel.

Yes, you read that right: “were.” Past tense.

As of today, I finally own both bags.

Most of my travel is overnight. A few times a year my wife and I might be able to get away for a long weekend. And once every year or two we take a weeklong family summer vacation. But, for the most part, all I ever NEED to pack is a change of clothes and toiletries - so smaller bags get used much more often than the heavy haulers.

I’m amazed at how much organization they crammed into a bag designed to fit under an airline seat (as an economy ticket personal item) and in that way it’s not unlike my Stowaway, or even my Co-Pilot, but all three are very different bags even if they are of a similar size.

You don’t get a true sense of how small the bag is until you see it set down next to another one, so I’ve also included a picture of the NFTD next to my CP.

Time to make the bag properly mine and put some zipper pulls on it!

Did you get the Aether Packing Cubes for the Stowaway as part of your acquisition? Because I never got to try out the Stowaway, and I think that I might have found the way it suspended on my back slightly annoying, but I always knew that I wanted the Aether Packing Cubes for the Stowaway as accessories, and they allow you to make much better use of the vertical space layout of the Luminary back pocket (both 12" and 15" Luminary) than any other accessory that I know of. The issue is that very few people seem to have noticed this or even tried to take advantage of this.

moriond

ETA: Can you tell us the interior color of your NFTD? I recall they made Verde/Steel and Verde/Northwest Sky combinations, but I don't remember if they made, for example, Verde/Ultraviolet in the NFTD.

[Chicagoan]

Just curious, do you know roughly how heavy your load was?

I don’t, but…

…even though I no longer have the bag (the Cambiata was sent back as a return), I could still reassemble the same packing list and try to weigh it later in the week, deducting the product weight of the bag to figure out roughly how much my items themselves weigh.

I’ll come back to this one in a few days.

[Chicagoan]

Did you get the Aether Packing Cubes for the Stowaway as part of your acquisition? Because I never got to try out the Stowaway, and I think that I might have found the way it suspended on my back slightly annoying, but I always knew that I wanted the Aether Packing Cubes for the Stowaway as accessories, and they allow you to make much better use of the vertical space layout of the Luminary back pocket (both 12" and 15" Luminary) than any other accessory that I know of. The issue is that very few people seem to have noticed this or even tried to take advantage of this.

moriond

ETA: Can you tell us the interior color of your NFTD? I recall they made Verde/Steel and Verde/Northwest Sky combinations, but I don't remember if they made, for example, Verde/Ultraviolet in the NFTD.

Unfortunately those packing cubes seem to be harder to find than the [Stowaway] bags are themselves - I did own them years ago when I first purchased the bag directly from TB, and I did like them. It made it very easy to pack either a couple rolled tees, or a couple pairs each of socks and underwear, into the halves of one compartment. But they made sense for that bag, since you could stack items higher than the openings of the compartments (while inside the packing cubes) and it would keep them flat and from falling out.

So far as the NFTD goes? I’m honestly not 100% sure on the interior color.

The exterior is obviously Verde 1050 Ballistic.

But I pulled out a NW Sky organizer pouch for comparison, and it’s too close for me to tell.

[G42]

But I pulled out a NW Sky organizer pouch for comparison, and it’s too close for me to tell.

That's NWSky... There is tiny variance over time, fading, etc, but it's definitely not Steel

[Chicagoan]

That's NWSky... There is tiny variance over time, fading, etc, but it's definitely not Steel

Thanks for the ID!

[moriond]

That's NWSky... There is tiny variance over time, fading, etc, but it's definitely not Steel

I agree. What are you using for packing cubes, if any, for the Night Flight Travel Duffel? The (retired) Aether Packing Cubes for Mini Yeoman Duffel will also work win the NFTD.

By the way, the (retired) Stowaway Aether Packing make it easier to organize the back pocket of both sizes of the Luminary (12 and 15) easier. Take a look at my pictures in the Luminary 15 maximum laptop size? Will the padded pocket fit a Thinkpad T480s? thread of the ways these can be stacked and then pulled out from the side opening of the bag.

One of the main criticisms some folks had of the Luminary is that if you wanted to get to items that ended up being on the bottom of your packed up Luminary, you had to keep removing things that you stacked above it in the main compartment. That's not true in the smaller redesigned packs (Zeitgeist, Paradigm etc. or in the redesigned Sprout)

moriond

[Chicagoan]

I agree. What are you using for packing cubes, if any, for the Night Flight Travel Duffel? The (retired) Aether Packing Cubes for Mini Yeoman Duffel will also work win the NFTD.

By the way, the (retired) Stowaway Aether Packing make it easier to organize the back pocket of both sizes of the Luminary (12 and 15) easier. Take a look at my pictures in the Luminary 15 maximum laptop size? Will the padded pocket fit a Thinkpad T480s? thread of the ways these can be stacked and then pulled out from the side opening of the bag.

One of the main criticisms some folks had of the Luminary is that if you wanted to get to items that ended up being on the bottom of your packed up Luminary, you had to keep removing things that you stacked above it in the main compartment. That's not true in the smaller redesigned packs (Zeitgeist, Paradigm etc. or in the redesigned Sprout)

moriond

Nope, don't own either the NFTD or YD packing cubes.

So this is probably going to become a better entry for the "2022 Wish List" thread, but I wish they continued making packing cubes even after retiring the corresponding bags (like with the Stowaway and NFTD), OR, if they do temporarily revive an old design, provide the option to buy the corresponding packing cubes (like with the Yeoman duffels).

Why? Most the cubes TB makes are for large, 30 to 45 liter bags. I generally don't use packing cubes in large bags since I can rummage through them without anything falling out, and most tend to include luggage "tie down" straps to secure the contents.

But when trying to cram things into smaller bags, and use their full volume, it's super helpful to have cubes to keep smaller items consolidated into larger units that can be inserted and removed easily, be it for organizational or security access, etc. That would really allow someone to pack compartments like the ends of the NFTD full from top to bottom and leave no space unsued.

Maybe TB just needs to rebrand the packing cubes as general use, and create some sort of chart to show customers which cubes work best with which bags? It would eliminate some of the confusion and awkwardness like what happened with the Western Flyer, then Synik 30, then WF/SN30 packing cubes.

Side note: that flat back "laptop" compartment against the back of the L12 and L15 is criminally underrated and holds much more than folks seem to put inside it. And I don't mind how vertical storage is inside the L15 - it just meant things like my camera and power banks naturally settled at the bottom of the bag and lightweight items (rain jacket, puffy coat, hat, gloves, etc.) would float near the top.

[moriond]

Nope, don't own either the NFTD or YD packing cubes.

So this is probably going to become a better entry for the "2022 Wish List" thread, but I wish they continued making packing cubes even after retiring the corresponding bags (like with the Stowaway and NFTD), OR, if they do temporarily revive an old design, provide the option to buy the corresponding packing cubes (like with the Yeoman duffels).

Why? Most the cubes TB makes are for large, 30 to 45 liter bags. I generally don't use packing cubes in large bags since I can rummage through them without anything falling out, and most tend to include luggage "tie down" straps to secure the contents.

But when trying to cram things into smaller bags, and use their full volume, it's super helpful to have cubes to keep smaller items consolidated into larger units that can be inserted and removed easily, be it for organizational or security access, etc. That would really allow someone to pack compartments like the ends of the NFTD full from top to bottom and leave no space unsued.

Maybe TB just needs to rebrand the packing cubes as general use, and create some sort of chart to show customers which cubes work best with which bags? It would eliminate some of the confusion and awkwardness like what happened with the Western Flyer, then Synik 30, then WF/SN30 packing cubes
Side note: that flat back "laptop" compartment against the back of the L12 and L15 is criminally underrated and holds much more than folks seem to put inside it. And I don't mind how vertical storage is inside the L15 - it just meant things like my camera and power banks naturally settled at the bottom of the bag and lightweight items (rain jacket, puffy coat, hat, gloves, etc.) would float near the top.

I think this is unlikely, because my experience is that even when accessories like the Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing cubes are available and are posted with pictures showing lots of comparison small bag packups and multiple uses in conjunction with many other accessories, people tend to ignore them and/or assume that they will be be able to order them much later when they finally get around to it. So I don't think they ever had a thriving business in the Aether Packing Cubes when the bags they were designed for were actively being sold. (See for example, my 2017 thread The New Yeoman Duffel Aether Packing Cubes)

Sometimes there's information that gets asked/answered randomly in a wishlist thread or on a random specific topic. You might be interested in taking a look at my pictures in the 2021 July Rare Bag Giveaway: Night Flight Travel Duffel! thread.

I reconstructed a question from aedifica about wanting to tether a transit pass to the NFTD without having to open the bag, and I answered that she could hack the "side pockets" of the NFTD. The pictures show several different accessory solutions and their relative sizes, as well as variations on how to get a tether point. I happen to like the old Knitting Tool Pouches for general purpose use (before there were Ghost Whale Organizer Pouches -- and especially when there were still colors like Kiwi and Burnt Orange in the Size 2 Pouches, but I show a range of solutions based on how well an organizer pouch can securely occupy the slip pocket.

What I find particularly frustrating is that with the current convention of using JSON coding to insert image uploads I can remember exactly where certain images were used as part of an answer and still find that the forum software will leave out one or more of the inserted pictures when I reference the source, so I have to go looking for another post in which the pictures are correctly displayed. (This was also true of pointing you to a post/thread with pictures of how the Stowaway Aether Cubes were particularly well suited for use in the Luminary, with easy pull out by the webbing loops, and really efficient stacking of A5 journals, Kindles, etc. in the the back pocket space.)

Will just say that there is a lot of this information on different size smaller pouches from other accessories floating around the forums in answers. Sometimes there are solutions that really catch on -- like using the (retired) pouchkins from the First and Second Aid Pouches as separate accessories (e.g. the smallest could be used for earrings or I think I used one to hold a teabag attached to an O-ring in the side pockets of the early Luminary 12. Mostly, the leaf pouchkin attached to the elastic in the HLT 2 as a separate Stationary pocket got a lot of attention, but you could also do things with the smaller pouchkins in the HLT 1, for example.

HTH

moriond

[Chicagoan]

Appreciate the thoughts, links, and overall helpfulness, moriond ! You're quite the resource, and thank you.

I don't know - I'd have to think if they can continue producing niche items like packable pillows (huh?), packing cubes aren't an outrageous ask, if not to just offer something smaller than the "small" A30/A45/WF/TS cubes or PCSB, larger than the Cubelet or 3DOC, and not as structured as something like a Grab Bag, EC, or SE.

I'm not a fan of the Ghost Whale pouches, either - I'm glad they brought back the all fabric organizer pouches, albeit in Cordura, because they're easier to open and only open from the top.

I'm sure I could make some combination of Cubelets and 3DOCs work for the NFTD, but I'm still in want of a smaller packing cube - not something designed to suit another purpose, but an actual packing cube.

Those Stowaway cubes were a nice size! I wish they could offer them again, rebranded with a more universal name.

[Traveltech]

Unfortunately those packing cubes seem to be harder to find than the [Stowaway] bags are themselves - I did own them years ago when I first purchased the bag directly from TB, and I did like them. It made it very easy to pack either a couple rolled tees, or a couple pairs each of socks and underwear, into the halves of one compartment. But they made sense for that bag, since you could stack items higher than the openings of the compartments (while inside the packing cubes) and it would keep them flat and from falling out.

So far as the NFTD goes? I’m honestly not 100% sure on the interior color.

The exterior is obviously Verde 1050 Ballistic.

But I pulled out a NW Sky organizer pouch for comparison, and it’s too close for me to tell.

Now I’m longing for a NFTD again. Maybe they’ll bring it back with zipped dividers and in a nice halcyon so it collapses for flat pack… ?

[G42]

I have a Steel Parapack/Solar S19 but haven't really seen the other Parapack colours in a big bag for any length of time, until now...

Navy Parapack has an amazing deep sheen. And though I usually go for colourful accessories, the Black 210 ballistic (while it lasts) goes really well.

[moriond]

I have a Steel Parapack/Solar S19 but haven't really seen the other Parapack colours in a big bag for any length of time, until now...

Navy Parapack has an amazing deep sheen. And though I usually go for colourful accessories, the Black 210 ballistic (while it lasts) goes really well.

G42 I'm going to point you to an old thread from 2016 More Parapack Synapses?? so that you can see some other pictures. One of the caveats is that the Parapack Synapse 19s manufactured at that time had the wider spacing between the backpack straps. There was this whole thread that bchaplin started in April 2014 titled New backpack strap placement on Synapse 19? There are some nice, relatively recent pictures of the Guide's Edition Syniks in Navy Parapack.

HTH

moriond

[G42]

Thanks moriond !
Yeah, pictures are around but for me, it was definitely better in person ?

[G42]

The VPC works well in the side pockets of the Truck family