Love the Icon, but it needs ...

[Bogiesan]

... more o-rings! Only one! Aaargh.

Icon v2.0 should have at least four o-rings. EDIT: How about 6 or 8?

Thank you.

EDIT: Never mind. Umm, found 'em. My thanks to the designers who hid them so well making a bit of a game of them.

[teresapoet]

I agree that the Icon could use more o-rings, but it sounds like you haven’t found all four yet. There are two in the main compartment and one each in the front and back compartments. They’re significantly harder to find than in other bags. I wish there were two each in the front and back compartments and more on the front side of the main compartment (next to and/or between the pouch pockets).

[Bogiesan]

ah-HAH! Found them! Treasure hunt. Appropriate edited made in original post.

(Hangs head in shame)

Thanks you, poet.

[DQBunny]

I agree that the Icon could use more o-rings, but it sounds like you haven’t found all four yet. There are two in the main compartment and one each in the front and back compartments. They’re significantly harder to find than in other bags. I wish there were two each in the front and back compartments and more on the front side of the main compartment (next to and/or between the pouch pockets).

I would also love a second o-ring in the front compartment as well.

[aedifica]

I agree it needs more o-rings, even once one has found all the ones that are there! I'd like the o-rings in the main compartment to be higher up, too. I'm curious what the design tradeoffs were that led to them being as low as they are.

[bchaplin]

I've been using the Icon for two weeks now. It IS really great.
I am ok with the number of o-rings (though more never hurts).
But what I would really like:
(1) Make it and the back pocket zipper a few millimeters wider. That's all it would take to allow an iPad Mini or paperback to slot in there.
(2) Add a top handle. Sometimes it's easier to pick it up that way. It could even be the same color as the zippers to keep going with the crazy-colors theme, which I kind of love.
Thank you for listening.

[SparklingBlue]

I got mine today and I came here to say I’m really missing a couple of D rings on the outside. I would use a carabiner (the keychain kind, not the climbing kind) to hang my reusable shopping bag off it. I wonder if this is a mod I could do myself. Hmmm.

The sides seem like they would fit a couple of pockets well too that I could stick my eyeglass case into or a small water bottle.

[Bogiesan]

I'm looking at our two Icons now, hanging from coat hooks, and thinking what the designers must have gone through to arrive at the current production version. Based on the factory videos and philosophical posts from the TB organization, I assume the team is very happy with the messenger-inspired shape, overall capacity, clean perimeter lines, elegant zipper curves, and how the numerous parts are cut and then come together on the bench for construction. I imagine the Icon could be improved but I'm also figuring the team tried lots of weird things, tested most of them, and, for whatever economic or aesthetic reasons, discarded some on the way to this version.

There may be a v2.0 next year but we won't need one. We've already got ours!

[bchaplin]

I agree, @Bogiesan, that the Icon is a marvellous example of the kind of innovation and playful spirit of the Tom Bihn team. Hey, yours even defy gravity!

Hopefully they will take our suggestions in the spirit in which they are offered, as it's impossible for me to carry something every day and not come up with "ideas" for tweaking it. That said, I've already received compliments on mine, and the one day I switched to something larger because of what I needed to take to work, I missed it!

And I'm already dreaming up other color combos. I think that Grey with UV zippers would be amazing.

@SparklingBlue, you could take an S-biner from NiteIze and attach it to one of the zipper pulls, to hang something like a reusable shopping bag. Though for me, having something bouncing around like that would be annoying. My solution has been to fold a slim nylon bag into one of my Mini Ghost Whale pouches, and I keep it inside the Icon's main compartment. (I usually prefer the Tom Bihn Shop Bags, but I'm not willing to give up that much real estate in the Icon.)

[teresapoet]

I got mine today and I came here to say I’m really missing a couple of D rings on the outside. I would use a carabiner (the keychain kind, not the climbing kind) to hang my reusable shopping bag off it. I wonder if this is a mod I could do myself. Hmmm.

The strap of the Icon comes completely out of the adjustment side, so you could easily slide one onto that strap if you find one the right size. It would also be a non-invasive/reversible mod.

And I'm already dreaming up other color combos. I think that Grey with UV zippers would be amazing.

Ooh, I would love a recycled Nebulous/Ultraviolet Icon!

[SparklingBlue]

@SparklingBlue, you could take an S-biner from NiteIze and attach it to one of the zipper pulls, to hang something like a reusable shopping bag. Though for me, having something bouncing around like that would be annoying. My solution has been to fold a slim nylon bag into one of my Mini Ghost Whale pouches, and I keep it inside the Icon's main compartment. (I usually prefer the Tom Bihn Shop Bags, but I'm not willing to give up that much real estate in the Icon.)

That’s a good idea, thanks! I’m quite used to the bouncing around as I’ve long had a reusable bag attached to the outside of my daily bag - I use a ChicoBag Vita. It’s very soft so it doesn’t bounce distractingly like something heavy like keys would.

[moriond]

That’s a good idea, thanks! I’m quite used to the bouncing around as I’ve long had a reusable bag attached to the outside of my daily bag - I use a ChicoBag Vita. It’s very soft so it doesn't bounce distractingly like something heavy like keys would.

Hi @SparklingBlue,

There's an easy hack to add a connection point to the strap of the Icon so that you can suspend your ChicoBag Vita:


I've outlined it in this post (#204, dated today, 12-20-2019) in the Share your Bag Hacks /Creative Uses thread.

Frankly, having something hanging from a zipper and bouncing around would annoy me, too.

HTH

moriond

[ClicketySnap]

I agree with the requests for at least one o-ring higher up. I'm finding that all of the current o-ring placements require some digging around to find my keys, even when they're on keystraps. Just one o-ring located more conveniently along a zipper would be an ideal keys-on-keystrap placement.

[SparklingBlue]

Oh thank you! Also, you have my exact Icon and Chicobag!

Editing to add: To anyone who notes that the Chicobags come with carabiners - they’re plastic and they break quickly. If you want to use that as a connection point instead, get any multipack of metal ones off Amazon for a few dollars and use those instead. If you don’t want to just throw away the ones on the ChicoBag, use them to hang something light around your house that won’t get lost when it breaks.

[celtical]

YES to Grey with UV zippers!!! It would be amazing with the new stealth label ;-)