Replace a Daylight Backpack with a med cafe bag?

[happig42]

I have a Daylight Backpack and I love the size for getting through crowds at like conventions or amusement parks. But I hate wearing it in the heat because my back gets straight up sweaty. Like Soaked. I can often make it work with just uncomfortably loaded cargo shorts. Except for water bottles. I end up having to carry that in my hands which isn't really ideal.

I was thinking about trying a messenger bag like the Med Cafe. But I haven't seen any pictures of it with water bottles. Is there a good way to load it with a water bottle? I'm not a huge fan of messengers for wearing all day long because they can jack up my back.

So to summarize what I'm looking for:
- compact and does well in crowds
- doesn't leave my back wet and sweatty
- comfortable to wear all day long at conventions/vacations
- has space for water bottle

Than you!

Also I currently have a smart alec, Pilot, nightflight and daylight backpack. And handful of organizing pouches and totes.

Edit: would also like to be big enough to carry a standard ipad and kindle paperwhite and letter sized paper.

[G42]

Not sure what else you want to carry with you besides the water bottle, but I use both the Side Kick and Travel Cubelet when I want minimal size and still want to carry my water bottle hands free.
The Nalgene 16oz fits upright inside these bags... you can fit two in the SK and still have room for tissue, wipes, etc.
I use the strap cross body and have the bag to my front, side, or back depending on how crowded it is... unless you are stuffing gold bars in there (in which case, ooooh, share) they can't get too heavy/unbalanced just because of the size limitation, YMMV of course

Oh, and the bottle also fits a Small Cafe Bag, so it really all comes down to how much other stuff you want to carry

TC - 1.7L
SK - 3L
SCB - 6L
MCB - 8L
DLBC - 8L
CP - 10L
DLBP - 16.5L

https://www.amazon.com/Nalgene-Trita..._ei&th=1&psc=1

[backpack]

A Daylight Briefcase might be a good option.

It has a carrying capacity that almost matches the Daylight Backpack, it fits inside sideways.

I usually use an insulated bottle holder which I carry on its own. A Travel Stuff Sack clipped to the side of the Daylight Briefcase would achieve the same result.

The Daylight Briefcase is very light, I got it when I needed more room than Small Cafe Bag can provide, and wanted a solution more streamlined than the ultra cute Co-Pilot and more organization than a Medium Cafe Bag.

I am delighted with it.

[happig42]

So I'm looking for two basic load outs I think. One is to carry electronics/papers etc on weekend trips that I don't want to carry in my nightflight. Other is for vacations where I will be carrying stuff in/standing up all day (water/poncho/snacks/battery packs/maybe change of toddler clothes).

I actually just bought a 16 oz nalgene! its a great size that I had never considered until my last trip and I can even fit it in a cargo pocket in a pinch.

I adore the design of a lot of the smaller pouches but concerned they will come off a little "purse-like" on my 6'2" frame. Does the sidekick end up looking more like a purse or a briefcase? I want something that won't bounce a lot if I need to book it to get somewhere. Part of the reason I liked the med cafe is that it seems to fit the body pretty well. I might steal my strap off one of my other bags because the med cafe looks kinda uncomfortable.

[G42]

Depending on the size of your electronics & papers you may want to consider the Ristretto (9L) as well...

If you're carrying that much and would like to free up your pockets, then the two sizes of Cafe Bags, Daylight Briefcase, and Ristretto are probably your best bets...

SCB - 6L
MCB - 8L
DLBC - 8L
Ristretto - 9L
CP - 10L
DLBP - 16.5L

Besides the capacity of the bags, there's the whole horizontal vs vertical orientation, which is a personal preference thing...

Whether it looks 'bag' or 'purse' is in the eye of the beholder, and my opinion is that steel, cloud, black, original halcyon, and black halcyon make most things pretty gender neutral... you might like the halcyons for this purpose as they are lighter. I think the original halcyon with the white grid is a snazy subtle tech look.

Note that the Cafe Bag shoulder straps are NOT removable.

Here's an old Blog post about the Cafe Bags & what fits
https://blog.tombihn.com/size-cafe-bag-right

[marytattoo]

I have a Daylight Backpack and I love the size for getting through crowds at like conventions or amusement parks. But I hate wearing it in the heat because my back gets straight up sweaty. Like Soaked. I can often make it work with just uncomfortably loaded cargo shorts. Except for water bottles. I end up having to carry that in my hands which isn't really ideal.

I was thinking about trying a messenger bag like the Med Cafe. But I haven't seen any pictures of it with water bottles. Is there a good way to load it with a water bottle? I'm not a huge fan of messengers for wearing all day long because they can jack up my back.

So to summarize what I'm looking for:
- compact and does well in crowds
- doesn't leave my back wet and sweatty
- comfortable to wear all day long at conventions/vacations
- has space for water bottle

Than you!

Also I currently have a smart alec, Pilot, nightflight and daylight backpack. And handful of organizing pouches and totes.

Edit: would also like to be big enough to carry a standard ipad and kindle paperwhite and letter sized paper.

I carry 2 stainless steel travel mugs in a #3 SS every. One mug (16 Oz) is for coffee and the other (29 Oz) is for water. On the rare occasion I don't seal the lids appropriately, they leak. And, the other items in my bag are perfectly safe. The SS doesn't leak if there's a liquid "accident). I often add to the SS a few snacks such as oatmeal cookies and cheese sticks. So, SSs might help. My travel mugs are by Contigo.

Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk

[MarkWebb]

A Daylight Briefcase might be a good option.

It has a carrying capacity that almost matches the Daylight Backpack....

Per specs on the related Bihn pages, the Daylight Backpack is 16.5L, the Daylight Briefcase holds 8L. Initially I, too, thought the Briefcase held more, but the Daylight Backpack actually holds slightly more than twice as much, and I confirmed this by trial packing.

I DO like the configuration and organization of the Briefcase vs. the Backpack, BUT given the great difference in sizes, I don't see how the Briefcase could ever replace the Backpack in terms of sheer volume.

A side note: the Medium Cafe is just as big (small?) as the Daylight Briefcase- both are 8L. But even though they hold the same volume, the Medium Cafe is easier for me to pack because it is slightly thicker - a 16.9 ounce typical Trader Joes water bottle fits fine in the Cafe, but "prints out" as a slight bulge in the very narrow Daylight Briefase. So, my Daylight Briefcase is reserved for business casual meetings where I need a thin and light laptop and a letter-sized pad for note taking, and I use the Medium Cafe as my around-town bag. The Daylight Briefcase in black Cordura (or better yet, in the new Black 525d Ballistics fits right in, in a business conference room. The Cafe is for - no surprise here - Starbucks.

[AHesting]

I have a Daylight Backpack and I love the size for getting through crowds at like conventions or amusement parks. But I hate wearing it in the heat because my back gets straight up sweaty. Like Soaked. I can often make it work with just uncomfortably loaded cargo shorts. Except for water bottles. I end up having to carry that in my hands which isn't really ideal.

I was thinking about trying a messenger bag like the Med Cafe. But I haven't seen any pictures of it with water bottles. Is there a good way to load it with a water bottle? I'm not a huge fan of messengers for wearing all day long because they can jack up my back.

So to summarize what I'm looking for:
- compact and does well in crowds
- doesn't leave my back wet and sweatty
- comfortable to wear all day long at conventions/vacations
- has space for water bottle

Than you!

Also I currently have a smart alec, Pilot, nightflight and daylight backpack. And handful of organizing pouches and totes.

Edit: would also like to be big enough to carry a standard ipad and kindle paperwhite and letter sized paper.

I regularly carry my MCB with a wallet, Kindle Paperwhite, knitting project, and one or two Zojirushi mugs (24 oz?) with room to spare. I will even sometimes carry my 32 oz. Kleen Kanteen growler in it. I think it would very easily fit what you carry.

[kmw]

So to summarize what I'm looking for:
- compact and does well in crowds
- doesn't leave my back wet and sweatty
- comfortable to wear all day long at conventions/vacations
- has space for water bottle

If it helps any, I happily carry Cafe Bags to all-day festivals and sardine-packed concerts for exactly these reasons.

[Lia]

I've been considering the Pilot exactly for this because of the middle water bottle pocket. Is it too big?

[aedifica]

I've been considering the Pilot exactly for this because of the middle water bottle pocket. Is it too big?

I'm not sure which post you're referring to, but if it's kmw's post at #9, you might want to consider a Co-Pilot instead of a Pilot. I think the Co-Pilot would be a great festival bag! I really like the water bottle pocket.

[Fever39]

I'm not sure which post you're referring to, but if it's kmw's post at #9, you might want to consider a Co-Pilot instead of a Pilot. I think the Co-Pilot would be a great festival bag! I really like the water bottle pocket.

I don't own a co pilot but i think this deserves a real thought*. I personally think if they offered the large cafe bag, that's what i would have recommended from the sound of what you carry and how comfortable you want to be. Sometimes you do not want to buy the bag based purely on the volume listed because that's like the maximum, fully packed up. I underpack the large cafe bag and use it as my main bag during summer because i do sweat a lot and backpacks get annoying then. I'd also try and invest in those Zojirushi mugs since they are slim, come in lightweight variants and saves me a lot of headache with the leak concerns/temperature . I used to carry a contigo everything too [still do for just water for gym days]