Aeronaut 30, smell + interior zipper "symmetry"

[lumbie]

Hi All,

I have been lusting over Tom Bihn bags for a few months now and finally got a deal on ebay that I just couldn't refuse. I'll probably be buying directly next time to avoid these sorts of problems, but I had a few questions on the Aeronaut 30.

1) According to the receipt picture, the bag was purchased recently. When I received the A30 today, it looks impeccable. However, it smells of a mixture of disinfectant and detergent. Do new bags normally smell? I have been searching, and read forum posts and the FAQ which says to use Mirazyme. I will try that, but I want to make sure that this is not a "new bag smell".

2) The main compartment has 2 zippers inside which allow you to expand the bag into the side pockets. However, it seems that these zippers are not symmetrical. On one side, the zipper attaches to the wall, and on the other side attaches to the bottom of the main compartment. I have attached a picture. Is this normal?

Many thanks

[anna2222]

1. I have ordered a lot of products directly from TB since January of this year and 2 A30's among them. None of them had a noticeable scent except for the standard shoulder strap, which the A30 does not come with. Maybe yours was sprayed with air freshener? I bought a TB backpack off ebay once and it looked brand new but smelled perfumey, so I let it sit out in the sun for a day and it was fine after that.

2. Yes the zippers are designed to have one on the bottom of the bag and one on the side, and they should come together evenly.

Here are photos of the A30 I just received from TB a couple of weeks ago:


LEFT INSIDE ZIPPER OF A30 CLOSED


LEFT INSIDE ZIPPER OF A30 OPEN


RIGHT INSIDE ZIPPER OF A30 CLOSED


RIGHT INSIDE ZIPPER OF A30 OPEN


Hope this helps! TB made some changes in the A30 recently, not sure if it affected the inside zippers though.

[BWeaves]

My new bags direct from TB have never smelled. It sounds like the seller wanted to remove any animal smells that might have lingered when the cat found its new bed.

[melminimalist]

I also once got a brain bag of eBay where the previous owner must've been a smoker. A hand wash and a day in the sun later no problems!

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[lumbie]

@anna2222
Thank you so much for those detailed pictures. Mine is exactly like that, however my picture in the original post is actually taken from the bag opened the other side.

@BWeaves, @melminimalist
Thanks for confirming that there is no new bag smell.

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For those of you that wash your A30, is there a "best practice", i.e. do you open up the zips and wash the bag inside out?

Thanks