Western Flyer: The Tardis Effect

[Lodd]

Hi everyone,
I meant to do a quick review of my WF since a few weeks ago. I haven't got a trip coming up anytime soon, so I decided to just do a test pack.



It turns out that this test pack was realllyyyy hard to do. I didn't know what else to put inside!
I started with:

1. 5 tshirts
2. 4 underwear + 4 socks
3. 1 pair of pants
4. 2 dress shirts
5. 1L of toiletries (even though I usually carry less)
6. 1 laptop (Thinkpad x240)
7. Meds/pills
8. Chargers
9. Misc

There was still sooo much space left! I started adding random things:

1. 4 more tshirts
2. 1 sweatpant
3. 1 blazer
4. 1 more laptop (Thinkpad T460)
5. 1 ultra light down jacket
6. 1 massage ball
7. 1 shoulder strap
8. 4 more socks

Roughly spread out


Arranged


Packed up. Total weight 9kg.

And I could still put in a bottle in the front pocket if I wanted to. Or slide a laptop into the rear backpack strap pocket.
It looked just like a slightly larger briefcase, an image I could push further if I replaced the cord pulls with black cord.
I didn't even have to sit on the bag. The zippers closed quite easily. And the dark blue smaller packing cube was only 70% full.
I also expect that I should be able to pack better/more when/if I get the eagle creek specter folder. There's a lot of wasted space in that rear compartment.
Truly amazing.

On a real trip, I'll probably only pack stuff from the first list, while wearing a blazer/down jacket. All the clothes would easily fit into rear compartment and the laptop (Thinkpad X240) and toiletry kit and miscellanous could fit into the front right compartment. Yes, the laptop fits in that compartment when put in sideways. It's just the right height. The front left compartment would be left empty for food/snacks. I'd buy a 500ml water bottle once past security and put that in the water bottle holder to keep myself hydrated on the plane. I probably wouldn't bring a shoulder strap and switch between backpack carry (for longer walks) and briefcase carry (when trying to sneak past the gate guardians). I might bring a basic strap though. I'll think about it.

Great job on this bag Tom Bihn.

[edward.dennihy]

Awesome review! It's insane how much that bag can fit! I feel like I could place my whole wardrobe in there. I have always been curious about the western flyer. Especially since I don't travel with a laptop (let alone 2) Thank you for taking the time to post a review with pics.


I believe I've read that you use the bag as an EDC as well. Any chance you could post some pics of the bag when it is not filled to capacity?

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[Lodd]

Any chance you could post some pics of the bag when it is not filled to capacity?

Sorry for the late reply Edward. And sorry for the quality of some of the pics.





When using it as a daily carry (EDC), I don't carry much in it. The rear compartment is left empty. I usually just carry a laptop, a logitech marathon wireless mouse, earphones, tissues, pens, waterbottle. Sometimes I'll carry a few journal papers or documents I want to bring home and read.

The rear compartment is also left empty because it's a bit harder to access in shoulder bag mode. Flattening the rear compartment halves the space of the bag and makes it behave more like a 13L briefcase (instead of a 26L bag). I also replaced the absolute strap with a strap I stole from another laptop bag. It's much lighter (85g vs 210g) and I don't need the extra support. I only use it in shoulder bag mode when using it as a daily carry anyway (where the weight is less than 4kg). When it's much heavier, I'll use backpack mode. When pretending to look classy, I'll take off the strap and use briefcase mode.

For me the bag looks fine as an EDC bag when in shoulder mode.
Good luck with your bag search.

[Kaadk]

Sorry for the late reply Edward. And sorry for the quality of some of the pics.





When using it as a daily carry (EDC), I don't carry much in it. The rear compartment is left empty. I usually just carry a laptop, a logitech marathon wireless mouse, earphones, tissues, pens, waterbottle. Sometimes I'll carry a few journal papers or documents I want to bring home and read.

The rear compartment is also left empty because it's a bit harder to access in shoulder bag mode. Flattening the rear compartment halves the space of the bag and makes it behave more like a 13L briefcase (instead of a 26L bag). I also replaced the absolute strap with a strap I stole from another laptop bag. It's much lighter (85g vs 210g) and I don't need the extra support. I only use it in shoulder bag mode when using it as a daily carry anyway (where the weight is less than 4kg). When it's much heavier, I'll use backpack mode. When pretending to look classy, I'll take off the strap and use briefcase mode.

For me the bag looks fine as an EDC bag when in shoulder mode.
Good luck with your bag search.

Great Shots! I've always worried that the WF would seem to be twice the size of my Pilot (due to twice the capacity) but your "wearing the bag perspective" shots really help define a better context.

[Lodd]

Great Shots! I've always worried that the WF would seem to be twice the size of my Pilot (due to twice the capacity) but your "wearing the bag perspective" shots really help define a better context.

Yeah, most of the size increase is thickness (8 inches WF vs 5 inch Pilot). With the rear compartment flattened, that becomes more like 4 inches thick. Note also that I'm not that tall at 5' 8" so if you're taller than me it would look a lot smaller.

There's also something that Tom Bihn does with the front of the bag that makes the WF look 2 inches smaller in height and length. I'll try to take personal pictures later on, but for now I'll show you the pic from the product page.



See the seams on the front? Where the whole front panel is sewn? It seems like the front panel is not actually as big as the whole front dimensions. If the bag dimensions are 18" x 12", the front panel seems more like 16" x 10". So the bag looks smaller, even though it isn't. Picture below might help to understand or might confuse you more.

So even though the dimensions are quite rectangular and don't waste any volume, the bag itself looks tiny, since the eye looks at the front panel and assumes the bag is that size. Brilliant optical illusion. I suspect this might also add to durability, since the seams are not at the corners where pressure is applied? Don't know, not really enough of a bag person to know the stress points.