Western Flyer or Tristar for a petite female?

[Pita11]

A 15" mbp is quite a tight fit in a synapse and there wouldn't be room for padding. It just barely fits widthwise across the top of the synapse. I have a dyneema synapse so it is a bit easier fit. Otherwise a synapse it great. It holds almost as much as the wf.

Thanks for the info on the dyneema Synapse. I wanted a smaller backpack to go with the shoulder carry. I use a padded sleeve right now with my 15" mbp.

[Grandcache]

[QUOTE=Pita11;45670]Never thought of leaving the middle compartment of the TS empty ...

I'm currently leaning towards the TS due to the different options (laptop or not, underpacked or stuffed). If I do get the TS, to help stop overpacking, I may need to pack like I have a WF. (But I guess I'll have to get a WF as well, huh, to figure that out .... TB buying syndrome here I come).

When I was trying to decide between the WF and TS, I actually purchased a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag and a Packing Cube BackmPack. I was then able to practice packing, knowing that the Cubes would fit in either bag. I found that I could fit clothes for a 4 day trip with room to spare in a WF. I ordered a WF...no regrets here! :-)

[Pita11]

Lol. @jannilee, I agree. I'm waiting for a dyneema WF with a wasabi interior myself.

[jannilee]

I LOVE the backpack straps. I hardly notice I have it on and it makes it so easy to navigate plane aisles and other narrow places. A 15" mbp is quite a tight fit in a synapse and there wouldn't be room for padding. It just barely fits widthwise across the top of the synapse. I have a dyneema synapse so it is a bit easier fit. Otherwise a synapse it great. It holds almost as much as the wf.

If they do the dyneema wf with an ultraviolet or wasabi I don't think I'll be able to resist.

[Pita11]

Thanks, Lani. I was lucky enough to score a black ballistic roll/sleeve WF on eBay and let me just say OMG! It fits so much in it. Like a lot of people, I packed it wrong just to see what this deceptively small bag could hold. In 18-inch Eagle Creek folder: 3 pants, 4 dress shirts. In EC packing cube: 1 capri, 4 short sleeve and 3 long sleeve. Added mesh bag of underwear and socks and vibrams. Weighed 13 lbs (wow!) and it did not look stuffed at all. I then went, "what the heck", and added my MBP 15 -- fits!! Total weight (with power brick) was close to 18 lbs. Nice!

I'd probably put my electronics in a separate pack though to make it easier during security checks if I had that much in clothes. I know I want to get the new side effect w/o straps ... Need to figure what laptop backpack I want to get. Maybe a synapse? How about a dyneema WF with backpack straps ?

BTW, Lani, you used the WF w/o backpack straps this trip, right? Did you miss the backpack straps?

[Lani]

Sorry I'm jumping into this conversation a little late. I've been on a weeklong cruise.... with my Western Flyer! I've actually downsized and find I don't need the extra room in a Tri-Star anymore. Part of it because I've lost a lot of weight and my clothes have shrunken, but I've also gotten even better at minimizing my packing.

As for how to schlep either the TS or WF as a petite/shorter female, either can work, but the WF is definitely going to give you less of a Galapagos tortoise look.

[Pita11]

Thanks, everyone. It looks like I'm just going to have to pick one and do a test pack for my various scenarios. Depending on what I find, I'll either keep or do an exchange.

Thanks again!

[jannilee]

If you put the laptop in the back compartment on top of a couple of pairs of pants there should be no fit or cushioning problem.

[Pita11]

If you look at one of my posts from the going to seattle... yay thread you can see my under and over packed wf lists. Also the wf weighs less than the tristar and the dyneema one (drool) weighs even less than that.

Definitely getting a dyneema bag (love the weight reduction there). I also looked at the WF packing lists and I am so amazed with what people put in the bag! I guess I'm more worried about the laptop as I do tend to travel with that more than not. Sigh ....

[jannilee]

If you look at one of my posts from the going to seattle... yay thread you can see my under and over packed wf lists. Also the wf weighs less than the tristar and the dyneema one (drool) weighs even less than that.

[drbobguy]

Never thought of leaving the middle compartment of the TS empty ...

I'm currently leaning towards the TS due to the different options (laptop or not, underpacked or stuffed). If I do get the TS, to help stop overpacking, I may need to pack like I have a WF. (But I guess I'll have to get a WF as well, huh, to figure that out .... TB buying syndrome here I come)

I debated this as well and ended up with a Tristar. Having used it a lot in the past 4 months it was definitely the right decision for me. These are high quality, expensive bags, so I decided to get the one of the three (TS, WF, Aeronaut) that was the most "jack of all trades" and that can cover the most use cases. The disadvantages over the WF are small, whereas the advantages over the Aeronaut seemed large.

I will say a stuffed Tristar with electronics+clothes was definitely TOO much. I took a 3 week trip with a maxed Tristar, and opening/closing the zippers was a real chore as it took a lot of effort. It performed fine, but weighed in at 25lbs, which I quickly found was too much for even the Absolute strap to comfortably carry for more than 5 minutes. The Aeronaut's extra size I can't see being an advantage for me, at that size I'd want wheels on my bag.

The Tristar though works well under packed, or packed full but not stuffed (keep it rectangular and it looks very professional).

[Pita11]

Never thought of leaving the middle compartment of the TS empty ...

I'm currently leaning towards the TS due to the different options (laptop or not, underpacked or stuffed). If I do get the TS, to help stop overpacking, I may need to pack like I have a WF. (But I guess I'll have to get a WF as well, huh, to figure that out .... TB buying syndrome here I come)

I usually wear my heavier/bulkier shoes in transit. For running and/or touring I use my vibram five fingers (used in multiple countries and states). The only time the vibrams are an issue is when it's a wet area as they are low profile and aren't waterproof. I guess it's something to think about if I find myself traveling to a wet area for business.

Speaking of wet areas ... I'm bummed that my next trip is to Seattle but I'm going to miss going to the TB store. I wasn't able to get a flight to arrive in Seattle until Friday evening (way after the store closes). I'll continue to check for earlier flights as I'd love to see the stuff in person (even though I will hopefully have my own TB bag for that trip).

[ceb]

I've found that shoes are a problem in both bags. Everything seems quite do-able in either bag (I just did a 3 day business casual [with the same people so I had to look a bit "different" each day] trip using the TS as a WF (nothing in the middle compartment) without issues. I was using a small Dell laptop bag for my computer that I quite like (but wish it was on Bihn quality) which sounds like what you would do.

I'm thinking of adding a WF or Zephyr to my TS to replace my laptop bag and to do an overnight with the laptop in the back compartment.

Anybody have any secrets for packing a pair of men's 10.5 shoes without having the front bulge out?

[JLE]

I downsized from a TS to a WF (5'6" female) and am happy to have done so. I love using the WF although I know what you mean about the convenience of the TS's third compartment! But I am one of those who found it was very easy to overpack the TS.

I could easily use the WF for a 3-4 day trip but I would probably take a second bag for my laptop in that situation. But that's because I usually have a second pair of shoes with me. Without them I think it would be do-able.

Mostly, however, I use mine for overnighters.

[lotuseater]

Having downsized from a Tri-Star to a Western Flyer in December, I one-bagged it with the latter for the first time this evening. Three day trip, business casual. All my clothes (I'm 5'9") fit into one compartment; my Lenovo T410 inside a padded sleeve, power supply, notepad, a little paperwork, Kindle and 311 bag fit into the other.

It's a little heavier than I'd like over one shoulder, but absolutely manageable schlepping around the airport. The WF doesn't look overpacked in the slightest.

What couldn't I fit? My running shoes. I'll need to figure that out next time.