As someone who is 5'0" but also an adult, I find backpacks frustrating. Currently there seem to be three categories of backpack:
- wonderfully-short bags that carry a little (10-19L)
- long bags that carry a moderate amount (25-26L)
- long bags that carry a ton (31L+)
I would LOVE to see something with a short (around 16") length, 21-26L capacity, and great pockets.

_eyes:
Suggestion the First: A wider S19. My S19 (16" x 11.4" x 7.9") is the perfect height for my torso length, fits better than any backpack I've owned, and has outstanding, thoughtfully laid-out pockets. It is my preferred EDC now that I no longer carry my work laptop everywhere. However, at 11.4", the S19 is only a smidge wider than the Sprout (11"), a bag that was meant for young children.
Making the S19 10-15% wider, without changing any other dimensions, would take it up to 16" x 12.54"-13.11" x 7.9", and would add a few more liters of capacity WITHOUT lengthening the bag. The S2x would retain the S19's fantastic pocket layout and would still look basically like an S19 (OK, maybe like an S19 that overdid it during the holidays). The S19 tends to draw itself into an even narrower cylindrical shape when full, so widening the bag a little would also help keep a full S2x from looking comically small from behind when worn.
Suggestion the Second: a smaller Brain Bag. My Brain Bag, on the other end of the spectrum, is 18.1" x 14" x 9.1". It is a great bag and has a ton of capacity, but it is BIG. Making the Brain Bag 10% smaller in all dimensions would bring it down to 16.3" x 12.6" x 8.2", with a capacity of maybe 26L. Since the overall proportions would not change, it would still look like the regular Brain Bag, just sized more like a (wider) S19 (looking at the numbers for both of my suggestions, I seem to have a preferred proportion in mind here).
Note that "smaller Brain Bag" is an idea that has been
kicking around here for
over a decade now). Since we no longer have to consider whether or not various sizes of sizes of the Brain Cell will fit in the Brain Bag, maybe we'll finally see something like this?
