Synik 22 / 30 Questions & Answers

[pott]

Answering the post originally posted here over in this new thread....


This is a difficult question to answer because we don't have an answer. We've discussed it, but no answers yet.

Thanks Darcy! I know I'm super annoying about this :P (I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in person during a factory visit this winter too!), but I truly do appreciate you guys responding and indulging us

[pure5152]

This is not a direct question about the Synik, but I was wondering if there were any plans to add the new seamless + extra-thick Synik shoulder straps to other bags, like the aeronaut?

[smc2323]

What color combos will be available during the pre-order?

[Carolina]

YES!!!!!! Soooo glad to see (from the Pack Hacker youtube review) that the Synik will have a built in laptop compartment!!!!!!! My only trouble now with the Synik will be which one to buy (22 or 30)!!! I guess the easiest solution will be to purchase both!!!!!

[ceepee]

Just watched the video and was wondering if you had considered making the shoulder straps detachable at the bottom end? It looks like you would then be able to tuck the straps down into the luggage pass through. I find stowable straps make sliding a bag under airplane seats much easier.

[Chrissant]

Any chance you can link to all the Synik reviews here as they become available? I'm not sure where we should be looking and it sounds like one or two might be available.

Also - to the lucky few - think video! Would love to see it in motion vs. static pics.

[bendan]

Can the Synik 22 fit 15-inch Macbook Pro:

1. without a sleeve in the laptop compartment?
2. with a sleeve in the main compartment?

[ayazgood]

Another lurker coming out of the shadows....

What is the depth and volume of the main compartment versus the front portion of the bag?

Is the separation panel between front and back flexible enough to allow the back portion to bulge into the front portion to some degree, if the front is not packed out? If so, how much? Was never clear how that worked on the synapse, though I understand it will sort of lay flat if not packed out.

Do you agree with Allspoken’s conclusion that the A30 can hold a lot more, despite the 30 L rating for both? Perhaps it’s just easier to stuff?

Major bummer that it won’t ship until October. :-( The 30 L would be great for my September trip to India!

[kathryn]

Late October
Pre-order Syniks ship.

Well, darn! After watching the video from Pack Hacker I am thinking this bag would be awesome for my mid-October trip, but it won't be out in time. Kinda wishing I'd entered the review lottery now

[bouncing]

Hoping all the zippers are still water resistant on the outside?

[Cristina]

Is the separation panel between front and back flexible enough to allow the back portion to bulge into the front portion to some degree, if the front is not packed out? If so, how much? Was never clear how that worked on the synapse, though I understand it will sort of lay flat if not packed out.

Do you agree with Allspoken’s conclusion that the A30 can hold a lot more, despite the 30 L rating for both? Perhaps it’s just easier to stuff?

I can’t answer all your questions but I can speak to how space is distributed across these bags.

In the Synapses/Syniks there is a piece of Halcyon separating the front pockets from the main compartment and the pockets can encroach on each other. You cannot stuff every pocket full. The bottom of the main compartment encroaches on the chin pocket, and the water bottle pocket encroaches on the side pockets, and the top of the main compartment can encroach on the water bottle and side pockets. This can be useful if you’d rather have extra space in the main compartment and don’t need the front pockets, but if you don’t need the front pockets you probably don’t want a Synapse!

As for the difference between Synik30/A30, here is how I see it. The A30 is a straight-up travel bag. It makes optimal space for packing cubes and other travel stuff.

The Synapses and Syniks devote a significant amount of space to easy access of smaller divisions of things. The quick-access external pockets are the major selling point and they are what sets these bags apart from almost every other backpack on the market.

The Aeronauts aren’t really set up for holding EDC stuff you can grab easily, though popping a Travel Cubelet, Side Kick or Side Effect in an end compartment is certainly easy enough.

The Synapse front pockets are good for EDC stuff like water bottles, sunglasses, my Travel Cubelet, etc. This makes the Synapses and Syniks a bit more versatile; they’re not only travel bags. The Syniks in particular are travel bags you can also use for regular stuff without looking like you’re carrying a suitcase with you. But again, if you’re comparing it as a travel bag with an Aeronaut, all that easy access does come at the cost of a larger main compartment. Your preference will just depend on what you need the bag to do.

Anyway, I hope that helps or is at least interesting!

[STX21]

Well, darn! After watching the video from Pack Hacker I am thinking this bag would be awesome for my mid-October trip, but it won't be out in time. Kinda wishing I'd entered the review lottery now

My thoughts exactly! Was looking forward to using it as a daily carry for my honeymoon in October, but I suppose this gives me an excuse to plan another trip to break it in

[ayazgood]

Thanks, that helps. I suppose the next obvious question is has TB considered grafting a similar laptop compartment onto the aeronaut, and/or providing a 37L version? I test packed an A30, which came out fine, but left no room to spare and didn't feel comfortable (sorry, it got returned). The 45L seems way too big (and floppy when underpacked).

I've been obsessing for a long time now about a simple unicorn bag with hideaway backpack straps , without a lot of organization, that can go from luxury hotel to Himalayan hut, and not feel out of place. The Aeronaut still comes closest in my mind, even with all the new hybrid bags out there, but the size issue and lack of notebook option (which I can usually live without) are still issues. For my upcoming trip, the Peak Design 45 may win out over the A45, despite the PD being overweight, arguably over engineered, and carrying much less than the A45 (the actual carry volume of the PD seems much closer to the A30 than the A45). Decisions, decisions.

FWIW, this forum and TB are great, so hopefully I'll actually buy, keep and use one of TB's bags one of these days!

[Perseffect]

Sharing this thought for no other reason than it keeps playing on my mind.

The things that jumped out to me seeing the pictures/videos of the Synik was that it reminded me of the Empire Builder (bear with me). The clamshell opening, the heavy duty bottom, the more practical ‘look’ of it.

The Empire Builder is to the Pilot like the Synik is to the Synapse.

Just my observation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Darcy]

Max dimensions for the new laptop area on the 30?

Synik 22
Maximum device dimensions for both the external and internal laptop compartment access points:
12.35” x 8.65” x 0.75” / 314mm x 220mm x 19mm
Example devices: the 2015 13” MacBook Pro Retina or the 12.9” iPad Pro (with the keyboard case) will fit in the Synik 22 laptop compartment.

Synik 30
Maximum device dimensions for both the external and internal laptop compartment access points:
14.15” x 9.75” x 0.75” / 359mm x 248mm x 19mm
Example devices: the 2015 15” MacBook Pro Retina or the 2019 15” MacBook Pro Touchbar will fit in the Synik 30 laptop compartment.

Now, here’s where it gets a little interesting:
If you’re trying to fit a laptop that’s on the larger end of what’s recommended as fitting in the Synik 22, you may find that — depending on the shape and proportions of the device — one access point works better for your device. For example: taller and thinner large laptops may fit better through the internal laptop compartment access point, whereas more square laptops (like the Surface Book 2) may angle in better through the external laptop compartment access point.

If anyone here is wondering which size of Synik would better fit their laptop, feel free to emailus@tombihn.com with the make + model or dimensions, or respond here.

Thanks Darcy! I know I'm super annoying about this :P (I'm pretty sure I mentioned it in person during a factory visit this winter too!), but I truly do appreciate you guys responding and indulging us

It’s a fair question and not annoying at all!

This is not a direct question about the Synik, but I was wondering if there were any plans to add the new seamless + extra-thick Synik shoulder straps to other bags, like the aeronaut?

It’s a possibility that some bags (but no bags in particular yet) will get them, but no decisions or plans have been made about that yet. We want to get more feedback on the new Edgeless straps and see if people like them as much as we (and our testers so far) do.

What color combos will be available during the pre-order?

Here’s the full list:

Black 525 Ballistic/NW Sky 200 Halcyon
Black 525 Ballistic/Island 200 Halcyon
Black 525 Ballistic/Cloud 210 Ballistic
Black 525 Ballistic/Coyote 210 Ballistic
Nebulous Grey 525 Ballistic/Island 200 Halcyon
Nebulous Grey 525 Ballistic/Dawn 210 Ballistic
Nebulous Grey 525 Ballistic/Iberian 200 Halcyon
Nebulous Grey 525 Ballistic/Wasabi 200 Halcyon
Deep Blue 525 Ballistic/Iberian 200 Halcyon
Deep Blue 525 Ballistic/Coyote 210 Ballistic
Mars Red 525 Ballistic/NW Sky 200 Halcyon
Aubergine 525 Ballistic/NW Sky 200 Halcyon
Burnt Orange 525 Ballistic/NW Sky 200 Halcyon
Navy Parapack/Steel Parapack
Black Parapack/Steel Parapack
Black 400 Halcyon/NW Sky 200 Halcyon

Just watched the video and was wondering if you had considered making the shoulder straps detachable at the bottom end? It looks like you would then be able to tuck the straps down into the luggage pass through. I find stowable straps make sliding a bag under airplane seats much easier.

Good question and good thinking too! We felt the additional hardware didn’t justify the advantage of that feature on the Synik in particular. And if the hardware was something like a Gatekeeper, we figured people probably wouldn’t use it and would just stuff their bag under the seat.

The way I stowed the Synik underseat on the plane trips I took it on — I set the bag on its bottom in front of my legs, then used both hands to smooth down the pack straps and then tipped/slid it under the seat, taking a moment to adjust the straps so they laid underneath the bag.

Any chance you can link to all the Synik reviews here as they become available? I'm not sure where we should be looking and it sounds like one or two might be available.

You bet! See the first post within this thread. We'll edit/update it as more reviews come out.

Those two reviews are:
Hands on + Extended review over at All Spoken
Comparison video from Pack Hacker

Can the Synik 22 fit 15-inch Macbook Pro:

1. without a sleeve in the laptop compartment?
2. with a sleeve in the main compartment?

1. No, not in the Synik 22, but yes in the Synik 30.
2. No, not in the Synik 22, and *maybe* not in the Synik 30 depending on the sleeve. If it’s one of those minimal plastic cases, it will probably fit, but anything thicker than that won’t.

Is the separation panel between front and back flexible enough to allow the back portion to bulge into the front portion to some degree, if the front is not packed out? If so, how much? Was never clear how that worked on the synapse, though I understand it will sort of lay flat if not packed out.

Do you agree with Allspoken’s conclusion that the A30 can hold a lot more, despite the 30 L rating for both? Perhaps it’s just easier to stuff?

Major bummer that it won’t ship until October. :-( The 30 L would be great for my September trip to India!

If you fully stuff the main compartment of the Synik, it will expand into the front to a degree. However, because of the way the Synapse and Synik are designed and patterened, hardly any space will be stolen from the front exterior pockets — meaning, those front exterior pockets remain spacious and usable.

I’ll have to try packing out my A30 vs. the Synik 30. My intuitive guess is that the Aeronaut 30 would hold more partly because of how it’s configured, but then again I was surprised by how much I was able to fit in the Synik 30 on a trip back in April.

One thing worth remembering re: ship dates — we will have a small quantity of PPB (pre-production batch) bags ready to ship nearly right away to some of those who place pre-orders. See here:
https://blog.tombihn.com/pre-orders#sameday

Hoping all the zippers are still water resistant on the outside?

Yes, all of the exterior zippers (including the exterior access to the laptop compartment) are YKK Aquaguard zippers.