Where did your TB bag go lately

[Tonya]

Kayaking the New River in Ashe County, NC, USA. Today it rode along for about 11 miles with us.

This isn't this Monster Truck's first trip down the river. I own 3 MTs (so far! although these may be it since the price keeps creeping up) and these are by far my most used bags. They carry everything! Today it hauled 2 life jackets, several waterproof bags with snacks etc, extra paracord & essentials, 2 water bottles, a hoodie & sunshirt, river shoes, and more. I can easily unpack it when we get to our access point and then stuff it into the kayak belly for safekeeping down river. After we're finished, it carries wet gear like a trooper.

[Meglet]

Yesterday I finally visited Mount Rainier National Park for the first time (despite living relatively close to it for all my life.) It was a mostly car-based, photo-oriented trip, so most of what I packed was camera gear and water. After test packing both the Paramour and Smart Alec, I decided to leave the "big" zoom lens at home and just carry my usual mirrorless camera kit, which allowed everything to fit into my trusty Synapse 19.

My very first TB bag, in Grey/UV acquired in 2014.

Day Trip at Mount Rainier by Meghan, on Flickr

[G42]

When weather delays strand you at MDW after the last flight out, the Pop Tote makes a decent pillow, though I don't recommend it as a regular use case

[Chicagoan]

My wife and I drove to Ohio to spend the holiday weekend with friends, where we stayed in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright while we explored the trails of Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Since I injured my shoulder, I've been carrying a Cambiata every day, and that's the bag I used most on this trip.







We split the drive there across two days and spent our first night in Shipshewana, Indiana, where we stayed at a log cabin in a favorite campground.

[tdivcr]

I spent last weekend with a good friend I first met chasing waterfalls on my last acting gig in [North] Carolina - we performed in a musical at nights but during the day we became friends hiking out to all the local waterfalls near the theater.

That was ten years ago. He became one of my best friends in the time since. So much so, he even stood up at my wedding.

But he lives in Texas, and I live in Chicago, so we don't get to see another in person often.

So we planned a "guy's trip" to the northern most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where we could - ironically - enjoy some time together doing the exact same thing we met doing: driving down sketchy roads, hiking poorly marked trails, and chasing waterfalls.

I did wear a hiking backpack (in addition to my Side Kick) on the trails, but also got by on a Techonaut 45 (clothes and toiletries), Monster Truck (camping gear), and Small Zip-Top Shop Bag (canned and bottled beverages).


Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Ontonagon, MI)

The Astor House Motel at Minnetonka Resort (Copper Harbor, MI)

Standing at 1958' atop the Summit Peak Observation Tower, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Ontonagon, MI)

Sunset at Hebard Wayside Park (Eagle River, MI)

Sunset at Hebard Wayside Park (Eagle River, MI)

Hunting for Lake Superior Agates at Gratiot River County Park (Allouez, MI)

Pizza dinner at The Ambassador Restaurant (Downtown Houghton, MI)

Ah, great to see those photos. I graduated from Michigan Tech and lived a few years to the east in L'Anse. A beautiful region.

[Chicagoan]

On Sunday, my wife and I took an urban dayhike (guess folks would just call that a Sunday stroll?) along the Yahara River Parkway - it's a path along the river connecting the two lakes which form the isthmus that is Madison, Wisconsin.

It was around 100F that afternoon and I snapped this picture of my Cambiata while we were taking a break under the shade of a tree before busting butt back to our parked car.

Why walk around in hundred-degree heat?

We really didn't plan to, or at least that wasn't the point of the trip - there's a local rock shop I hadn't visited since January and I wanted to see what their current selection of Lake Superior Agates looked like (spoiler: I brought some home with me and now have the unique problem of owning a collection that is larger than the amount of room I have to display it).

[Chicagoan]

I spent last weekend with a good friend I first met chasing waterfalls on my last acting gig in [North] Carolina - we performed in a musical at nights but during the day we became friends hiking out to all the local waterfalls near the theater.

That was ten years ago. He became one of my best friends in the time since. So much so, he even stood up at my wedding.

But he lives in Texas, and I live in Chicago, so we don't get to see another in person often.

So we planned a "guy's trip" to the northern most part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where we could - ironically - enjoy some time together doing the exact same thing we met doing: driving down sketchy roads, hiking poorly marked trails, and chasing waterfalls.

I did wear a hiking backpack (in addition to my Side Kick) on the trails, but also got by on a Techonaut 45 (clothes and toiletries), Monster Truck (camping gear), and Small Zip-Top Shop Bag (canned and bottled beverages).


Lake of the Clouds, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Ontonagon, MI)

The Astor House Motel at Minnetonka Resort (Copper Harbor, MI)

Standing at 1958' atop the Summit Peak Observation Tower, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Ontonagon, MI)

Sunset at Hebard Wayside Park (Eagle River, MI)

Sunset at Hebard Wayside Park (Eagle River, MI)

Hunting for Lake Superior Agates at Gratiot River County Park (Allouez, MI)

Pizza dinner at The Ambassador Restaurant (Downtown Houghton, MI)

[nsh]

I recently returned from a 4-day trip to Sonoma County (still in CA, but reasonably upstate from me in SoCal) where I took my Paramour as my only bag. I remember nsh taking a weekender trip a while back with only what she could fit in her Paradigm, and ever since then, I've thought, "Hmm... I wonder, could I do that?" Well...probably not in a Paradigm, but I think the Paramour is a fair proportional upscale given my greater height and weight.”

This is amazing to hear about the Paramour’s versatility! I hope you had a great vacation. The mere mention of sourdough is making my mouth water….

[ittoujuu]

I recently returned from a 4-day trip to Sonoma County (still in CA, but reasonably upstate from me in SoCal) where I took my Paramour as my only bag. I remember nsh taking a weekender trip a while back with only what she could fit in her Paradigm, and ever since then, I've thought, "Hmm... I wonder, could I do that?" Well...probably not in a Paradigm, but I think the Paramour is a fair proportional upscale given my greater height and weight.

It's a really easy carry, fits under the seat on even a smaller airplane, and due to its width, readily swallows a packing cube and a dopp kit. Miscellaneous things acquired while traveling can be easily sorted in the tri-partitioned front pocket (I ended up with two boxes of tea, a bottle of ibuprofen, my phone charger, and a CD in there by the end).

This is the first time I've shot for full-on minimalist under-the-seat travel, but I was able to fit two pairs of shorts, two t-shirts, and a couple pairs of socks and underwear into a 10-liter packing cube, with light sleeping shirt and shorts free-floating in the main compartment - and I could've added one more of each if I'd wanted to, tbh. I also stuffed a packable tote in there that I ended up using to bring back a whole-ass loaf of sourdough bread (...I know), and there was room enough under the plane seat for pack and bag. I'm enough of a beast of burden that carrying a pack in my usual 30-40L range doesn't bother me, but this adds a fascinating new data point on "How little I can get away with." Granted, the ability to do this presumes that A) I don't need to pack for colder weather, B) I don't need to bring any clothes on the more formal end of the spectrum, and C) I'm not packing a second pair of footwear. A casual trip in the high summer provided the perfect opportunity to try it out, and I did wear everything I brought at least once.

The cool thing about the Paramour is that it really does sort of accordion down thinner based on what you pack, so it never looks like a larger pack unless you've got it stuffed. This gives it a slight advantage over something like the Paragon, IMO, where the big box shape is the space you've got to work with, and you always see that space, vs. the Paramour where both compartments can sit flatter. I've settled into using my S25 as my daily driver now, but I think the Paramour's secret biggest potential is as a day-trip/weekender sort of bag, and it's proven quite good in that use so far. I may not have the chutzpah to take it as my only bag on an overseas vacation, but I look forward to packing it on more trips.

[Chicagoan]

I don't have pictures of the Techonaut 45, Large Travel Tray, All Fabric 3D Organizer Cube, or Small Zip-Top Shop Bag I also packed along on our anniversary weekend trip, but I do have a picture of the Side Hustle I carried with me while walking up and down Galena's Historic Main Street this weekend! The main compartment swallowed an umbrella no problem.

[Meglet]

I took a photographic stroll through a local public garden yesterday, and took my Aubergine Paradigm along as my camera backpack:

Tom Bihn Paradigm at the Botanical Garden by Meghan, on Flickr

[DanielCTA]

I am in love with the Monster Trucks as our grocery bags -this is today at King Soopers.

[Meglet]

Took my Aubergine/Steel Maker's Bag to the beach yesterday as my "big" camera bag on a photo walk and trial of my new tripod.


New Tripod Trial by Meghan, on Flickr

Still working on writing a full review of Maker's Bag as Camera Bag.

[Denises]

While I can eat almost any flavour, dark Ghana and dark salted caramel are my favourites. I also like the Hawkes Bay plum in the artisan bars.

[Walker]

Let me guess - bulk purchase of Whitaker's?

Yep and yep! And the giftees (is there such a word?) LOVE them as much as I do.