A45 Endpockets - pictures of what fits?

[jed]

I'm considering an Aeronaut 45 to replace my duffel bag that I've traveled with for years, but I'm trying to get a sense of exactly how large the end pockets are. Does anyone have any pictures showing what kinds of things actually fit in the end pockets? Traveling for work I often have to carry a pair of Blundstone steel-toe boots (size 9) and my hard hat. I can fit these items plus about a week's worth of stuff in my current carry-on duffel - a North Face Base Camp duffel size small rated at 42 liters - but it is a very tight fit with no extra space to bring anything home.

Ideally I'd be able to put my boots in one end of the A45 and the hard hat in the other end, but I'm thinking the pockets are not quite large enough. Alternatively I guess I could fit those bulky items in the main compartment and distribute some of my clothing into the end pockets.

Thanks in advance!

[Ineffable]

I'll try to snap some pictures with the pockets open tonight but in my first trial run packing of my new A45 I was able to comfortable fit my size 12 running shoes in one end pocket and a combination of 2 packing cubes (not TB's, shame on me) with combined dimensions of ~ 12.5 x 7.5 x 3 in the other.

Not sure which boots you have but this product page indicates the boots are 12 x 8 x 4 inches so I think those would fit fine. I can't say I've ever worn a hard hat to really feel comforatable with the size but, again, this page shows dimensions of 11 x 8.5 x 5.6 inches which I think would be too big for the end pocket.

Let us know how big these items are and maybe we can test out similar sized things around our collective homes.

[itsablur]

Assuming the uppers of the boot are malleable, you should be able to fit the pair of boots into one end pocket, if you don't mind squeezing the uppers a little bit. What style of Blundstone do you wear? They're all pretty similar if I recall. Anyway, I've packed these Timberland White Ledge mid hiking boots into the end pocket. I think I wear a men's 9.5 or 10 in that boot.

The helmet will be the trickier part depending on it's dimensions. It would surely fit in the main compartment if you wanted to juggled things around (same for the boots). It might fit in the end pocket, but would depend on the dimensions.

[jed]

Yes, those are the boots ineffable. They are fairly bulky for boots which is why I ask - the steel toes make them a fair bit larger than my non-steel-toed model. The hard hat I would not be surprised if it doesn't fit either. Does the expansion of the end pockets work in both directions - in other words can an object in the end pocket be allowed to expand into the main pocket? If so I could potentially put the crown of the hat facing the interior of the bag and have it fit that way.

In any case, it's no big deal to have the hat in the main compartment - it's bulky but things fit in and around it ok.

[jed]

The hat I typically wear is like this one. http://www.amazon.com/MSA-Safety-Wor...9067517&sr=1-5

Dimensions are listed as 6 x 10.7 x 13 inches

I might switch to the more compact style if it would fit better!

[terayon]

Does the expansion of the end pockets work in both directions - in other words can an object in the end pocket be allowed to expand into the main pocket? If so I could potentially put the crown of the hat facing the interior of the bag and have it fit that way.

Yes, though the boots and hard hat would probably encroach quite a bit into the main compartment. Personally I would put the boots in the end pocket, but the hard hat in the centre so that I could pack stuff into the hard hat (though I suppose one could do that with it in the end pocket as well).