Please explain these bag sizes

[rlandis]

Once again, I apologize for being such a newbie. I took these descriptions right off the TB website, and I'm a little confused.

CADET 16.25" x 12.5" x 4.5" 13.5 LITERS $170
ID 15.75" x 12.0" x 5.5" 20.9 LITERS $160

so, the ID is 1/2" narrower, 1/2" shorter, and 1" deeper, and is 7.4 liters bigger???? That's approximately 1/3 more space. Is that possible??

[dorayme]

I don't own either bag but could the difference be in the cadet being padded on front, back, bottom and sides and the ID being padded on the back only?

[moriond]

Once again, I apologize for being such a newbie. I took these descriptions right off the TB website, and I'm a little confused.

CADET 16.25" x 12.5" x 4.5" 13.5 LITERS $170
ID 15.75" x 12.0" x 5.5" 20.9 LITERS $160

so, the ID is 1/2" narrower, 1/2" shorter, and 1" deeper, and is 7.4 liters bigger???? That's approximately 1/3 more space. Is that possible??

Hi,

Yes, this is possible, and it's true that the ID bag can hold a lot more than the 15/13 Cadet. The dimensions quoted are usually the external dimensions of the bag. But the volume estimates are usually given by trying to stuff the various compartments with foam packing peanuts and measuring the capacity. First off, the half inch off the length and width is only a small fraction of these dimensions – say a 3 or 4% change. The increase in depth of the ID bag is about a 25% increase. But when you pack items into the front section and pockets of the ID bag, they can expand outwards, and the front flap that lies over this and attaches to the buckle can be adjusted to accommodate this. The Cadet has a squarer body build that doesn't permit this. Also, I'm not sure whether the volume estimate of the ID bag includes the outside pocket that can hold a water bottle or umbrella. It might do.

You might take a look at dbradford's Decision time! thread. It predates the release of the Cadet by some years, but describes how he wanted a bag that would hold his (13" MacBook) laptop and everyday items but also could be used for overnight trips. He ended up getting an ID bag. I have both these bags, but I mainly use the Synapse since its release. And the Cadet is for situations when I want to carry less. But I'm not using a 15.4" laptop. The 15" Retina MacBook Pro will also fit the Synapse, by the way.

HTH.

moriond

[rlandis]

Thanks so much for your responses. This is a great forum, with a bunch of great enthusiasts for this product line. All this now makes sense.
Ciao,
Richard