Daylight Backpack — a delighted surprise

[kuroe]

When I first looked at the photo of the daylight backpack on the website, I was a little hesitant as the bag looked a little “dumb”. Still, the weight and the simplicity got me, so I ordered a red one.

Oh how so wrong was I. The actual bag looked VERY smart with its sleek and clean design. It seems to me the bags are not “photogenic” enough! But then, this is a very nice surprise, and I love the bag too much I cannot stop using it even after I finished my trip. I continued to use it for work.

It works really great. It looks really small, but I can pack:

1. A bottle of water (500ml)
2. A laptop (13”)
3. A jacket
4. Hand cream, lip balm, small mirror, etc
5. A book
6. Some snacks
7. My phone
8. Wallet

AND it still feels easy on my back because it’s very light, and continues to look smart because it is not bulky. Wow. I’m now very tempted to order another one with a colour more low profile for work.

Well done Tom Bihn and the production crew. I am blew away.

[Vertandor]

I didn't get the fuss when it was first launched, but it's versatile, small-looking-but-plenty-room-enough backpack. I love mine

[LordAnubis]

Yesterday I realised I can fit a whole pilot into the daylight back pack. A ballistic one that was reasonably stuffed. Then I could get another understaffed small a45 packing cube in there. And there was space on the top for more stuff too. It can certainly pack a lot of stuff!


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[TRD]

I adore the DLBP. I think it’s the overlooked jewel of TB.

[linh.n]

I've considered this, but the straps have always held me back. Does it dig into you if your bag is fairly weighted down? not trying to carry bricks, but a laptop, water bottle, and my camera can get a little weighty.

[Petros.Kyrillos]

I am new to the TB bags. In the last two months I ordered a quite few items. The daylight came as one of many accessories to the Synapse 25 and Areonaut 45 products. After I received all of the products I was immediately surprised how it felt on my back. I loaded it with some stuff and compared it with Synapse. I feel that in many ways it is better than the more expensive option. It feels great,looks great, weight almost nothing and you would be surprised how the straps sits well on your shoulders. By the way my model is made from the halcyon material and I can't comment on the ballistic versions as one might find it too stiff or more heavy, but I don't know.

[backpack]

What colors did you all get?

[LordAnubis]

My wife uses the deep blue/grass and I just got my mars red/cloud. Mars red is an amazing colour!!!


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[b1gsky]

I actually find the straps really comfortable, even when the backpack is loaded... My new DLBP is in Aubergine/Cloud and I love it. I had one in Original Halcyon before that and it was awesome, but I really like the 525er fabric so far. It gives more structure to the bag when it’s fairly empty (which mine often is).

[TRD]

I visited England last year and took a medium rolling suitcase. 1/3 clothes, 1/3 American snacks for one friend’s family, 1/3 snacks for another friend’s family. (Nutter Butter and Goldfish crackers are a hit abroad. Who knew?).

No joke I was able to tetris 1/3 of the contents of a rolling suitcase into a DLBP. Both times I went to meet up with those friends I packed the DLBP and they were astonished at how much it held. Without smooshing things. It was flat to my back and so light I didn’t even need a waist strap. Oh how I wish I’d taken photos. The capacity of the DLBP is wonderful, it’s easily my favorite bag, I have one with me whenever I travel.

[eaglemom]

Here is a question for everyone - with no padding etc on the back, doesn't it get hot to carry? Of course everyone is different, but to me the only thing holding me back for ordering is worrying about how hot it will be on my back.

[moriond]

Here is a question for everyone - with no padding etc on the back, doesn't it get hot to carry? Of course everyone is different, but to me the only thing holding me back for ordering is worrying about how hot it will be on my back.

Hi @eaglemom,

You might want to read some of the comments in the middle (page 14) of the Daylight Backpack thread. Start reading from post number 198, where @monkeylady wrote:

I am seriously considering the purchase of a Daylight backpack for carry in hot, humid climate conditions.

I'll excerpt some comments to give a flavor of the responses -- but you can click on the arrow to the right of the quoted segments to read the original posts.

I do agree with @Janine. The Daylight is better suited to humid weather (I would know, I'm in Singapore where it is HOT HOT HUMID all freakin' year round). Because the back is floppy and flexible, it won't stick to your back as much. The Synapses' padding is, by contrast, a constant weight against your back, and if your bag is loaded up, there is no surer way to soak the back of your shirt! (Speaking from experience here.)

Or, here's @eWalker's comments:

I have been using the DLBP in an island 2 degrees bellow the ecuador, so hot & humid is the rule around here, except when is hotter & sticky damp.

That reference given, there is a DLBP feature that is very nice for our kind of climate and that at first I gave no importance, and sets it higher then the PCBP, the removable waist belt.

When I received the DLBP, I thought it to be useless... hey... who needs a waist bag in such a lightweight backpack thought the naive novice TB bagger.

But decided to not remove it... as I t tried various straps lengths, the belt went from waist to chest belt but during the experiments, I found that whatever position you may find comfortable, the waist strap is fantastic to use in a hands free one shoulder single strap configuration, because it keeps the DLBP secure and slightly to the side, reducing the contact area and allowing the back to breath better.

In the weather here, specially running urban errands, that makes ALL the difference!

HTH

Here's another excerpted quote -- from @bchaplin in another thread asking about the air mesh design of the Synapse, and experiencing sweat during extremely hot and humid conditions:

I think it can be an issue. I don't wear ANY backpack in the summer for this reason, except the Daylight Backpack for short periods of time. Even then, I'll hang it off one shoulder for a bit or carry it by the top handle if I get too hot.

Perhaps more forum members will chime in to answer your specific question.

Yesterday I realised I can fit a whole pilot into the daylight back pack. A ballistic one that was reasonably stuffed. Then I could get another understaffed small a45 packing cube in there. And there was space on the top for more stuff too. It can certainly pack a lot of stuff!


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Also, in response to @LordAnubis, I suggest that he take a look at @eWalker's July 2014 thread titled DayLight BackPack & Pilot: Perfect Match!! I summarized some of the points made in that thread, with excerpted photos, and also referred to @tangfj's earlier pictures about the Pilot when that bag was introduced in February 2014, in my responses in @saikyo's September 2015 thread titled Pilot fits into packing cube backpack and vice versa

I'll also point out, as relevant to the question on carrying the Daylight Backpack around in hot and humid conditions, that you can always fold it into a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag, and carry it cross-body on a shoulder strap for those times when you're not actually carrying items in the backpack on your back. For example, if you need to carry groceries, or heavy items, during part of your day's travel, but initially start by going to visit museums, there's no need to carry the unloaded DLBP on your back -- you could fold it in thirds and stick it into a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag (PCSB), which would minimize contact with your sweating back. And, of course, you could easily put the PCSB inside the DLBP when you are carrying other items in backpack fashion. See the last few photos of my post #13 answering @bouncing's questions in the Need opinions: Aeronaut 30 Packing Cube Backpack thread. (Short summary, for his 13" laptop carry, I suggested that the DLBP would work better, but I also showed how he could fold up an empty (Halcyon) DLBP into a PCSB, and gave links to another thread where I answered how small folded or rolled Daylight Backpacks and/or Daylight Briefcases could be packed into other sacks or accessories.

HTH

moriond

[Amy]

Thanks for the link to the post about the waist band options, @Moriond. I totally forgot those existed on the DLBP. I have one in original halcyon which I really like. I think what makes it feel cooler than other backpacks is not only the ease with which you can carry it on one shoulder, but the lack of foam padding. The foam traps heat more. Temperature wise, the DLBP feels not much different from wearing a thin windbreaker on your back. It reminds me almost of one of those string backpacks in terms of lightness and breathability.

I have started using the DLBP in places I used to use a copilot or Synapse 19, as a work computer bag. It is the bag I always bring on trips, folded in my A30 or inside my Smart Alec as an inner bag that can be pulled out and used for day trips. I like that it is so floppy and flexible and doesn’t look too backpack-y when you use it as a purse substitute, carried by 1 strap. I have recently worn it at a trade show, holding all my important stuff during setup and tear down. It is so much lighter feeling than the copilot or Synapse 19 and doesn’t get in your way.


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[moriond]

Hi @Amy,

Yes, I also have the DLBP (Daylight Backpack) in original Halcyon, and in the newer (dark grid) 400d Halcyon (should be evident in all those linked posts with photos explaining how to fold or roll these bags into the smallest sizes of stuff sacks and pouches). I don’t have the DLBP in the new 525d Ballistic Nylon (but I have to say the Aubergine and Nebulous Gray combos look amazing). However, my guess would be that the Halcyon, and even the earlier Cordura versions of the DLBP would carry more easily in hot and humid conditions than the 525d Ballistic Nylon versions. This is simply based on familiarity with the 525d Ballistic Nylon fabric in the Synapse Backpacks, Trucks, Shop Bags, etc. It won’t flex as easily, so I’d expect larger patches of the bag to remain in contact with your back in the same hot conditions.

But I’d guess that the most comfortable DLBP to carry when it is hot and humid would be the Original Halcyon DLBP, closely followed by the two current 400d Halcyon options (Black and Nordic).

HTH

moriond

ETA: @eaglemom, you could ask Customer Support to send you sample swatches of the Original Halcyon, Black Halcyon, and whichever 525d Ballistic fabric you’re considering so you can feel the texture yourself. Also, if you call in your request, remember that the Customer Support Staff are also Tom Bihn Bag users, too, so you can ask for their opinions.

[kathryn]

All the DLBP love in this thread makes me smile! I love mine, too, and use it for work and fun travels all the time. It's a deceptively simple bag, that turns out to be super adaptable, capacious, and sleek-looking, as well as (perhaps surprisingly) comfortable to carry.

I do wonder if anyone else who has a 525 DLBP has experienced that when folding to fit in the bottom of an A30 it noticeably creases? I have an original (white grid) black Halcyon DLBC, and bought a black 525, but ended up re-homing the latter with my SIL because I didn't want to deal with getting the crease out upon arrival. I don't think that my grey Cordura one creases in the same way--at least, I know I don't remember it doing so when I last took it on a trip. (I stick to the Halcyon one now, for abrasion avoidance w/ my merino tops.)