Thoughts on a college bag?

[modulusshift]

Ooh, wait, Navy/Iberian? I think that's the new winner, with a 16 inch Solar Key Strap. (seriously, offer more stuff in Solar. ) The thing is, I kept trying to justify getting a 19, but the colors available aren't as appealing, the potential of a multi-day pack is amazing, and even though I might never fill the 25 completely in everyday use (which irks me, honestly) it's not like it's going to be less effective empty, I don't think... Oh gosh, the airplane logo is cute.

I feel like after a month or so of use, and of figuring out the specifics of my new budget, I might come back for some organizers and other accessories. Maybe a Daylight pack for actual day trips... why not offer the freaking Daylight in Solar, though? I guess it's not a perfect outside color... But seriously, just looking at that French Blue and Solar Synapse 19 from the video moriond linked to, oh gosh, that's simply perfect... Forget understated, that's just my personality.

Edit: am I going crazy, or is there a new color option every time I look? That Grey/Wasabi is tempting... I'd love pictures, I'll go look for them...

[moriond]

Ooh, wait, Navy/Iberian? I think that's the new winner, with a 16 inch Solar Key Strap. (seriously, offer more stuff in Solar. ) The thing is, I kept trying to justify getting a 19, but the colors available aren't as appealing, the potential of a multi-day pack is amazing, and even though I might never fill the 25 completely in everyday use (which irks me, honestly) it's not like it's going to be less effective empty, I don't think... Oh gosh, the airplane logo is cute.

I feel like after a month or so of use, and of figuring out the specifics of my new budget, I might come back for some organizers and other accessories. Maybe a Daylight pack for actual day trips... why not offer the freaking Daylight in Solar, though? I guess it's not a perfect outside color... But seriously, just looking at that French Blue and Solar Synapse 19 from the video moriond linked to, oh gosh, that's simply perfect... Forget understated, that's just my personality.

Edit: am I going crazy, or is there a new color option every time I look? That Grey/Wasabi is tempting... I'd love pictures, I'll go look for them...

@modulusshift, You have such good taste in color! The Synapse shown in the @maverick video about lunchbots is Indigo/Solar. Indigo is a deep blue with a royal purple tinge that was released for the original Synapse back in 2009. The last Indigo/Solar Synapse was sold out by early May 2012 when Solar Dyneema was retired the first time. (It's just been retired again). They continued to make the Synapse (19) in Indigo with a Steel lining until they ran through the stock of Indigo Cordura (for bag manufacturing -- you can still get some pouches in that color) well before the Synapse 25 debuted.

Here's @nukediver's Indigo/Steel Synapse (19) posing at the beach


Here's a picture of @icebeng's Synapse 25 in French Blue from this post for comparison



Also, to help you judge colors, here's an image from the Blues and reds in organizer pouches thread


At the top, the colors from the right end to the left are Kiwi (Ballistic Nylon), Indigo, Storm Blue, French Blue, and Turquoise (the last 4 in Cordura, but Turquoise was never used for backpacks -- only Cafe Bags, and Swifts or Little Swifts).



@adalangdon took some more accurate pictures of Indigo in the Indigo v Sapphire, Conifer v Forest thread

For more pictures of the Indigo/Solar Synapse, my favorite source was yellowhammer's review on the EDC forums back in 2010, but all the picture links are broken in the review. However, the images are separately viewable in the Synapse picture set on Flickr.

HTH moriond

[Kay]

Ooh, wait, Navy/Iberian? I think that's the new winner, with a 16 inch Solar Key Strap. (seriously, offer more stuff in Solar. ) The thing is, I kept trying to justify getting a 19, but the colors available aren't as appealing, the potential of a multi-day pack is amazing, and even though I might never fill the 25 completely in everyday use (which irks me, honestly) it's not like it's going to be less effective empty, I don't think... Oh gosh, the airplane logo is cute.

I’m not a fan of red (Iberian) myself, but man, the Navy? Is gorgeous! If you’re looking to combine understated and beautiful, I think you couldn’t do better. Loving the outer color seems most important to me... the inner pop is really nice to see when you search for things, but the external color is what you’re looking at all day. (And navy is a nice one.) ;-)

As for your question about protecting fragile items... again, I have only the S19, not the S25, but from my experience with the smaller bag, you should be okay with little fragile items in the side and top/center pockets. I’m not sure they could hold a DVD case (and I’m picturing the smaller CD-style case, not a big DVD feature film one). I typically put my ancient iPod Touch (the size of the older small iPhones?) in the small center pocket, a water bottle and travel umbrella in the big center pocket, my phone (a 5” screen) in one of the side pockets along with my giant set of keys, and my pens and annoyingly large packet of epi-pens and antihistamines in the other side pocket. I have no worries about the fragile phone and iPod, but you could always add a padded pouch. In the big main area, I usually have my computer without a case wedged in with textbooks and binders, and then on top I often have a small set of travel laptop speakers, since the area I teach requires A/V presentations and I’ve learned not to trust the A/V systems anywhere. Even if your DVDs didn’t fit in a smaller pocket, you could stack them atop the books and I think you’d probably be fine so long as you’re not hurling your bag down cliffs.

[Kay]

Indigo is a deep blue with a royal purple tinge that was released for the original Synapse back in 2009. The last Indigo/Solar Synapse was sold out by early May 2012 when Solar Dyneema was retired the first time. (It's just been retired again). They continued to make the Synapse (19) in Indigo with a Steel lining until they ran through the stock of Indigo Cordura (for bag manufacturing -- you can still get some pouches in that color) well before the Synapse 25 debuted.
HTH moriond

Oh heavens to Betsy, Indigo is gorgeous. You’re killing me here... 2012? I’d heard of Tom Bihn bags before then, but discounted them when I saw the prices because I was living on a grad student stipend then, which was pretty much “careful lifestyle plus savings” and not the somewhat more ‘real’ paycheck I have now, which allows for “careful lifestyle plus savings plus occasional splurge on the greatest bags ever.” I could have had an Indigo bag had I realized!

Missing out on Nordic seemed bad enough, but this...sob!

But thank you for the swatches, @Moriond. Very pretty and helpful!

[modulusshift]

Oh gosh, so many colors~! That Indigo/Solar is still my true love, though... After consulting with my girlfriend, she voted for Grey/Wasabi over Navy/Iberian, which I understand, the Navy, while a nice color, isn't quite as zingy as these older blues, and the Wasabi is actually better than the Iberian for my tastes... And wait, there's still a Navy/Solar Side Effect! I guess I'll just have to buy that as my first organizer before they completely retire it... Gosh, with the Cache and the Key Strap, my bill is going to be like 300 dollars! Thank gosh my uncle helped, else I would have gone running to Jansports by now.

I'm waiting until tomorrow for a response from the Bihn crew as to whether the Air 11 Cache could take an extra centimeter in width, (the Surface Pro 3 is smaller in all but one dimension, so I'd be shocked if it didn't fit) and also wondering which orientation of Cache they'd send with the Synapse. As soon as that's in, I'll order a Grey/Wasabi Synapse 25 with a Cache, a Navy/Solar Side Effect, and a Solar Key Strap, and then swear off extra spending for a month and a half, at least.

That should cover my everyday carrier/laptop bag (S25), my main internal organizer (SE), my day trip bag (SE), and a good ID strap for use with either one. That's a heck of a lot more prepared than I'd thought I'd be this fall.

[adalangdon]

As far as packing, if there are heavy items in the main compartment, how do the smaller pockets treat more fragile items, such as DVD cases or bottles? I'm sure I can eliminate a lot of problems with some common sense, though.

Bottles can go in the water bottle pocket, which you will find a godsend if you use a heavy and/or breakable water bottle. (In fact, my normal suggestion for a school backpack is the Smart Alec, but if you buy all the modular pockets plus a Cache you'll find yourself hitting $300. Kinda crazy.) But more germanely, the S25 has the water bottle pocket in the middle, which is good for balance when your bag is loaded up, in addition to offering excellent protection. I carried my loaded-up SA yesterday complete with a super-heavy full 20oz. Lifefactory in the right pocket, and really felt the effects of the unevenly balanced load.

DVDs, CD-Rs, etc. can go into the elastic compartment in the main compartment. There's quite a lot of padding from the numerous pockets in front, so I think that should be a safe place to stash those things.

[modulusshift]

They suggested a 6Z Cache, annoyingly, which is backordered right now anyways... So I ordered without a Cache, but I still got the Side Effect. I should have ordered yesterday, I had to bump up to the next shipping tier to get it a couple days before my trip up to campus, so I have some time with it... I'm excited.

[TavaPeak]

One thing I really loved about the S25 is how the SE fits in one of the side pockets, and a 3D clear organizer cube in the other. That's the winning combo for my travel routine. I sometimes put the SE where the water bottle goes in my S19, and put a smaller water bottle in a side pocket. That SE is so darn handy.

Congrats! And think how happy your family will be to know just what you want for Christmas - more TB accessories. ;-)

[adalangdon]

One thing I really loved about the S25 is how the SE fits in one of the side pockets, and a 3D clear organizer cube in the other.

I had no idea! Thanks for sharing.

[TavaPeak]

Ok, so I've been second-guessing myself since I posted that. I remember that the 3D clear (packed full of toiletries) fit easily into the side pocket. Can't remember if the Dyneema SE fit in a side pocket as well - I know that it fit easily in the water bottle pocket. I returned the S25 (alas), so maybe someone can confirm in SE fits in the side pockets for me.

[moriond]

Ok, so I've been second-guessing myself since I posted that. I remember that the 3D clear (packed full of toiletries) fit easily into the side pocket. Can't remember if the Dyneema SE fit in a side pocket as well - I know that it fit easily in the water bottle pocket. I returned the S25 (alas), so maybe someone can confirm in SE fits in the side pockets for me.

I think that the water bottle pocket and side pocket lengths are the same on the Synapse 25 as on the Synapse 19. For example, you can reference the blog post or Darcy's post in the forum thread on Introducing the Synapse 25:

Introducing the Synapse 25

The Synapse 25 is a carefully calculated, supremely organized backpack, designed for day hiking, everyday carry, and ultralight travel. No mesh pockets clutter the exterior of this bag, nor extraneous straps festoon it; in it, you’ll be able to carry more than you would imagine, and no one will be the wiser.

You guys have been asking us for a while to make a bigger version of the Synapse 19 — here it is. Seems easy, right? Just make the whole bag bigger? Not quite. Take the water bottle pocket, for example: if we had simply made the Synapse 25 a larger version of the Synapse 19, the water bottle pocket would have been needlessly long. That’d be wasted space, plus you’d have to reach farther in to pull your water bottle out. Instead, we took that volume and allocated it to the bottom pocket (where it can serve good instead of evil).

Read our full blog post introducing the Synapse 25 for the details on all five design updates.

You get a little more space in both the water bottle pocket and the side pockets of the S25, but that's because the bag is a little wider, and also because the items in each pocket can expand into the main compartment as the usage of the Synapse adjusts. But I can't put my Side Effect into the front side pocket of even the Synapse 25 if I'm carrying an iPad Mini in a hard case inside it (with Kindle PaperWhite and other items). The biggest difference is in the bottom pocket -- a PCSB fits comfortably there. Again, if it's completely stuffed, you can fit it into the S25 bottom pocket, but it will push into the space inside the main compartment.

I agree that you can use the water bottle pocket of either Synapse model to hold your SE. You may be able to put SEs into the side pockets especially if they are Dyneema or Parapack, and not completely full, but in general it's a tight squeeze. 3D Organizer Cubes (clear, fabric, or mesh) are a better fit to the side pockets. You can also carry pen/pencil organizer pouches in these pockets (which are useful for more than pens and pencils -- these are what I used for spoons or eating utensils before the size #2 Knitting tool pouches, which I also use for ethernet and various mini-display port connectors).

HTH moriond

[adalangdon]

Ok, so I've been second-guessing myself since I posted that. I remember that the 3D clear (packed full of toiletries) fit easily into the side pocket. Can't remember if the Dyneema SE fit in a side pocket as well - I know that it fit easily in the water bottle pocket. I returned the S25 (alas), so maybe someone can confirm in SE fits in the side pockets for me.

No e-reader in my SE, but it has a power brick, large mouse, iPod touch, earbuds and thumb drive. Tight fit but it does go in. Hurrah!

[moriond]

No e-reader in my SE, but it has a power brick, large mouse, iPod touch, earbuds and thumb drive. Tight fit but it does go in. Hurrah!

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It helps that the SE is Dyneema (or Parapack), and I have placed SEs in the side pockets, but it does get tight. Nice color combination (Nordic with Burnt Orange), and congratulations on your Indigo/Solar Synapse (19) (mentioned in other threads).

ETA: I can put the (400d Dyneema or Parapack) SE into the side pockets of the S25 if it's just the Kindle Paperwhite. It's the iPad Mini in case that really stresses this -- but many people can't fit an iPad Mini into their SEs at all, so I suppose this is understandable.