All those pockets!! The Synapse 25: To buy or not to buy.

[Ilkyway]

I use a S25 when I am not using a Smart Alec right now and for the past two month at least it is the Synapse.

As the pockets on this one are big enough to take on most edc type of items for mit it is kind of the other way around: in every day life all the pockets are used and the main compartment is mostly empty. On travel I than fill the main compartment with my closes and toiletries and am good to go.

As for pickpockets: I have worn a Synapse in Berlin, Spain (touristy places), London and Hamburg. I grew up in a city and I have not been pickpocket once in my life. Two things about that.
1. Pickpockets like easy targets. If a Synapse walks by and you have NOT widnessed the owner put their phone or wallet away: which pocket would you choose to open and hope for something good to steal?
2. Next time you are in a croweded place take a look around as if you where looking for something to pickpocket: so many people walk about unaware and uncaring. You see wallets and phones in backpockets or top open totes or tugged under arms or on a table while the owners are chatting to other people or reading... thouse are easy targets.

But even with that in mind: all the things I realy would not want to loos or get stolen are either teathered to my bag with keystraps or are in my Side Effect that I wear hip-belt style. And I am aware of my soroundings keeping my phone and wallet (passport if I need to have it) NOT in an outer pocket of a Synapse... just in case.

Ilkyway

[Kelly S]

If I was in a place where I was worried about my passport getting stolen, I'd have it in an old-fashioned money belt, around my waist and under my clothes.

[BWeaves]

All good points to consider.

I was in San Francisco last year, and the number of people I saw walking around with their backpacks on their fronts, clutching the backpack like a baby, really caught my attention. I immediately thought they'd all been pickpocketed at some point in the past.

[Ilkyway]

BWeavers or have read about the dangers on the internet. ;-)

Ilkyway

[DubbySmurf]

Do most of you not carry your phone or wallet on you? I always feel naked if I don’t have those things in my pockets on me.

On topic, waiting on my Synapse until I’m back in the states, but in most of my bags I don’t use all of the pockets. In my Brain Bag for example, the front pockets hold pens, a flashlight, a knife, small notepad, chapstick, etc, but in all honesty I never use those things. I keep a journal and mini pen in my pocket that I use most often. For travel, I might throw my Travel Tray or small cube in the front pockets which works great though.

[gqb]

Do most of you not carry your phone or wallet on you? I always feel naked if I don’t have those things in my pockets on me.

On topic, waiting on my Synapse until I’m back in the states, but in most of my bags I don’t use all of the pockets. In my Brain Bag for example, the front pockets hold pens, a flashlight, a knife, small notepad, chapstick, etc, but in all honesty I never use those things. I keep a journal and mini pen in my pocket that I use most often. For travel, I might throw my Travel Tray or small cube in the front pockets which works great though.

Sadly, most women's clothing is hopeless as far as pockets are concerned. And this is why we all carry handbags

Sent from my F8331 using Tapatalk

[bouncing]

I don't have a Synapse. But here's my take on pockets, for my use patterns -- which I think are pretty reasonable.

You know what I hate? This crap:



What? Who? Seriously? That's how people imagine this bag will be used? Is there some alternate universe where you keep like 3 loose business cards against your pens? Is this someone's reality? How's that dedicated Cliff bar compartment? Do you never have a larger snack than that? "Oh, well I would like to carry these nuts, but they don't fit in my backpack's snack compartment, so I guess I'll just get this juice box instead."

No one lives like that. And... is that foreign currency back there? At the bottom? Is that where you reach to pay 3€ for your coffee? Is that your so-called organization?

Cuz I don't think it is.

Having impractical pockets, where nothing is easy to access, contributes to pocket fatigue.

Pocket Fatigue. (noun) A frustrated condition where the friction in using pockets contributes to items being placed in different pockets after each use, leading to extreme disorganization. Symptoms include needless unzipping, swearing, not being able to find a transit card, and storing foreign currency behind pens for some reason. Do you suffer from pocket fatigue? Ask your doctor about organization pouches.

What I do is use a Tom Bihn organizer pouch for my work essentials (USB keys, dongles, whatnot). That organizer pouch I pack near my laptop and take out with my laptop when it's time to be productive and/or post to the Internet about luggage. I have another pouch for my non-work daily carry: phone charger, medications, lip balm, whatever.

Then, loose in my bag, I'll carry (if relevant) an umbrella (always in its own pocket to avoid getting other stuff wet in the rain), jacket (same), sunglasses, etc.

For the synapse, I would store my sunglasses/jacket in the bottom outside pocket. I'd store my work stuff inside the bag, my daily carry stuff in a side pocket, and an umbrella in the waterbottle pocket. Perfect. Then the beauty of having your daily carry stuff in an organizer is that you can move it seamlessly between bags, depending on your needs.

The wisdom of a bag like the Synapse is that you get all those big pockets, where you'll actually keep stuff (often inside of other little bags), instead of a thousand tiny useless pockets. More pockets are good, especially on the outside of the bag, but only if they're big enough to actually put stuff.

Oh, and one more protip: Always buy bags with bright liners. It makes it easy to see where stuff is. The dark liner is the mark of an amateur baggist.

[Cristina]

I don't have a Synapse. But here's my take on pockets, for my use patterns -- which I think are pretty reasonable.

You know what I hate? This crap:



What? Who? Seriously? That's how people imagine this bag will be used? Is there some alternate universe where you keep like 3 loose business cards against your pens? Is this someone's reality? How's that dedicated Cliff bar compartment? Do you never have a larger snack than that? "Oh, well I would like to carry these nuts, but they don't fit in my backpack's snack compartment, so I guess I'll just get this juice box instead."

No one lives like that. And... is that foreign currency back there? At the bottom? Is that where you reach to pay 3€ for your coffee? Is that your so-called organization?

Cuz I don't think it is.

Having impractical pockets, where nothing is easy to access, contributes to pocket fatigue.

Pocket Fatigue. (noun) A frustrated condition where the friction in using pockets contributes to items being placed in different pockets after each use, leading to extreme disorganization. Symptoms include needless unzipping, swearing, not being able to find a transit card, and storing foreign currency behind pens for some reason. Do you suffer from pocket fatigue? Ask your doctor about organization pouches.

What I do is use a Tom Bihn organizer pouch for my work essentials (USB keys, dongles, whatnot). That organizer pouch I pack near my laptop and take out with my laptop when it's time to be productive and/or post to the Internet about luggage. I have another pouch for my non-work daily carry: phone charger, medications, lip balm, whatever.

Then, loose in my bag, I'll carry (if relevant) an umbrella (always in its own pocket to avoid getting other stuff wet in the rain), jacket (same), sunglasses, etc.

For the synapse, I would store my sunglasses/jacket in the bottom outside pocket. I'd store my work stuff inside the bag, my daily carry stuff in a side pocket, and an umbrella in the waterbottle pocket. Perfect. Then the beauty of having your daily carry stuff in an organizer is that you can move it seamlessly between bags, depending on your needs.

The wisdom of a bag like the Synapse is that you get all those big pockets, where you'll actually keep stuff (often inside of other little bags), instead of a thousand tiny useless pockets. More pockets are good, especially on the outside of the bag, but only if they're big enough to actually put stuff.

Oh, and one more protip: Always buy bags with bright liners. It makes it easy to see where stuff is. The dark liner is the mark of an amateur baggist.

Thank you! Card slots in bags drive me CRAZY. This has been true ever since I got my first grownup handbag when I was... 14? I didn't use them then, and I don't use them now. Am I supposed to take my cards out of my wallet to use a bag?* No thanks. Even worse on a backpack, and on a travel backpack, a crime.

External Synapse pockets are SO wonderful. I have sometimes wished for a Tote bag that was basically two front S25 panels sewn back to back.

"amateur baggist"


*unless it is an evening bag and it is the size of my palm

[GrussGott]

What? Who? Seriously? That's how people imagine this bag will be used?

No one lives like that.

What I do is use a Tom Bihn organizer pouch for my work essentials (USB keys, dongles, whatnot).

I have a Deuter Giga Pro that's very similar to that bag and I VASTLY prefer it's organization to the Bihn model, so I'm your person lives like that and finds much use out of it. With that bag I can grab just about anything by feel and location without getting out the bag. The Pilot is much closer to this model and thus my daily carry and flight bag of choice.

The problem with the bihn Plethora of Pouches model is you end up hooking a bunch of pouches to a few o-rings making the items extremely difficult to get:

(1.) Oh crap my pouch is hanging down and stuck!
(2.) Wait, was it this pouch or that pouch?
(3.) Oops the pouch can't be stowed here because the o-ring is over there
(4.) Ok, it's this pouch, now I gotta fish it out, unzip it, then re-zip it, and re-stow it ... until I need the next item
(5.) I'll just grab that thing I need by feel ... never ever.

For these reason I use very few pouches and GREATLY prefer the organization in the Pilot and S25

My vote is much more Pilot-like built-in organization.

[Ilkyway]

@bouncing I smilled at your vivid expression against that highly organised bag because I am a sucker for these sort of „outbursts“ where going a bit over the top is the means to hammer the point home ;-)

But than there are all sorts of people out there. Have you ever peaked into the planner communities? They have stencils and stickers that are the same size as buisness cards. Or the preapers: I bet they have battery packs or a compass or what ever to fit thouse snack pockets.

I used to go through bag size sicles: my bag would be full of EVERYTHING I ever might need and than I would realise it is too full. So I took a very small bag and only filled it with the essentials. Blissfull lightness! But than I would be out and about not hacing a waterbottle... so gruadually I would go through bigger and bigger bags untill I was back at where I started.
With organisation it was/partially still is the same. I would strive for EVERYTHING in their dedicated place and pouch for easy finding and a non chaotig bag. But zippers and pouches have weight too.

Now my bagsize is defined: S25 or SA. And they are either full or half empty depending on how well prepeared I feel I need to be. And my shelf of puches keystraps and Freudian Slips gives me all the organisational levels I feel I need at any given time.

Ilkyway

[atrandum]

I really love all the pockets of the S25. When I went traveling, I stuffed everything to the max. All the pockets served a purpose but it got to the point where the back started bowing and got that egg shape. So I'm really excited for the internal frame.

I haven't been able to use the S25 successfully as a daily carry for one main reason. And this is going to be blasphemous I know, but I hate that the S25 doesn't have outside side pockets. I don't need it to be for waterbottles since I love the middle water bottle pocket, but I need one for my phone.

Women's clothes don't have any pockets, and while I'm out and about, I use my phone constantly. Having an outside pocket is an essential for my backpacks, because I need quick access to my phone without having to take the bag off my shoulder.

I'm contemplating sewing a pocket to the outside of my synapse but am nervous for obvious reasons. I know that having one will drastically improve the utility of the backpack for me though. With it being the most expensive backpack I've ever bought, I really want to use it as an everyday carry.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[Cristina]

I really love all the pockets of the S25. When I went traveling, I stuffed everything to the max. All the pockets served a purpose but it got to the point where the back started bowing and got that egg shape. So I'm really excited for the internal frame.

I haven't been able to use the S25 successfully as a daily carry for one main reason. And this is going to be blasphemous I know, but I hate that the S25 doesn't have outside side pockets. I don't need it to be for waterbottles since I love the middle water bottle pocket, but I need one for my phone.

Women's clothes don't have any pockets, and while I'm out and about, I use my phone constantly. Having an outside pocket is an essential for my backpacks, because I need quick access to my phone without having to take the bag off my shoulder.

I'm contemplating sewing a pocket to the outside of my synapse but am nervous for obvious reasons. I know that having one will drastically improve the utility of the backpack for me though. With it being the most expensive backpack I've ever bought, I really want to use it as an everyday carry.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

I have had great results adding a matching Side Effect onto the S25 waist strap for my phone, wallet, and camera.

I have considered getting a vertical strap pouch for my phone but I haven't found one that wasn't enormous (oh, the days before phones got so huge!!).

[Cristina]

I have had great results adding a matching Side Effect onto the S25 waist strap for my phone, wallet, and camera.

I have considered getting a vertical strap pouch for my phone but I haven't found one that wasn't enormous (oh, the days before phones got so huge!!).

Edited to add an excerpt with photos from a post about adding side pockets:

I attached one side of my Side Effect to a webbing loop on the 1" padded hip belt on my S25. I used a 1.5" gatekeeper clip which works great because it lets the SE hang lower so the top is more level with the strap. Then I attached the other side of the SE to the strap by putting the gatekeeper clip around the strap which is thinner at that point.

I hope that explanation makes sense? If not see pics below.




What I love about this setup is that the SE is on my side and I can still use my padded hip belt.

This SE now lives on the S25 and I use it for all day park trips. I am really happy with it. Can't wait for an internal frame to come back in stock to improve the setup even further!

[rbc3585]

I'm contemplating sewing a pocket to the outside of my synapse but am nervous for obvious reasons. I know that having one will drastically improve the utility of the backpack for me though. With it being the most expensive backpack I've ever bought, I really want to use it as an everyday carry.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

you could try something like this Timbuk2 phone case https://www.amazon.com/Timbuk2-3-Way.../dp/B00UC4JXB6 I used one on my S19 and it worked pretty well, only problem is I discovered I absolutely cannot deal with how loud velcro is (thank god TB doesn't use any). If that isn't a problem for you though it might be a good option. And if anyone knows of any cases that are magnetised or elasticised or something instead, hit me up!

[AVService]

you could try something like this Timbuk2 phone case https://www.amazon.com/Timbuk2-3-Way.../dp/B00UC4JXB6 I used one on my S19 and it worked pretty well, only problem is I discovered I absolutely cannot deal with how loud velcro is (thank god TB doesn't use any). If that isn't a problem for you though it might be a good option. And if anyone knows of any cases that are magnetised or elasticised or something instead, hit me up!

Nutshell Case and they are from New Zealand too.

Nicely made from leather and magnetic closures