Synik 22 speculations

[Pna]

Hello!
Glad to be back here...
After a long detour, looking for a new daily bag (I don't know why I didn't *first* look at Tom Bihn!;), after studying many options, I suddenly had the revelation of the Synik! (22, because I guess the 30L is too big for such a use).

Great look, the organization I was looking for (without ever really finding it anywhere else), slim profile, and, moreover, after getting to know Ballistic material (my Side Kick and my Tri-Star), I just discovered unexpectedly... Parapack! Which seems (?) to fulfill another wish, which was to find a relatively "smooth" clean looking material. Because I find that beautiful, classy, and, in a more practical way, because, well, i'm a bit OCD and i like to clean sometimes (or more often!) my bag with wet wipes :) (and this is a pre-covid concern !).

Anyway, I know there are no Synik available at the moment, but I'm waiting, and I take the opportunity to think about it ;)
Here are some of my questions, feel free to give me your opinion on one or the other !

Do you confirm my impressions of the Parapack? (smoother than the Ballistic and good looking)?
It seems to "shine" a bit, isn't it too obvious ?
I would like some help in choosing the interior, I don't know at all which is the best choice between the 210 Ballistic and the 420 Parapack..

I saw in the description page that the maximum device dimensions for the laptop compartment is exactly the size of my computer (Macbook pro late 2013), I hope it's not too tight (including the side access)?

Does a large iPhone fit in the small front pocket (very important question;)?

What are the best organization options for the outside pockets (I did a bit of searching and saw that the SK doesn't fit in the lower front pocket, and that the HLT1 is more suitable. Could some Tom Bihn pouch as toilet bag would go here?)
What about the other side pockets? (Cubelet or whales ?)

Any idea how long the bottle pocket is? I wonder if I could put my apple keyboard, or my little synthesizer in there. (a lot of questions, I know ;)
If the Synik suits me, I might consider, later on, replacing my Tri-Star with the 30L.

Thank you so much for your help!

[Pna]

Well, now i'm torn between 30L and 22L. With always a preference for the 22.
It's unfortunate that I can't find pictures to see the difference between the parapack and the ballistic. I would like to know if the parapack is not too "shiny". The "materials glossary" page doesn't help to realize this.

[G42]

There are some opinions in this thread

https://forums.tombihn.com/questions...ack-synik.html

perhaps @bartleby can chime in as he has several items in Parapack

You can also contact Tom Bihn and ask for swatches of the materials... they are usually a couple inches square, so not the same as a full bag but good for colour and sheen initial impressions

[bartleby]

Well, now i'm torn between 30L and 22L. With always a preference for the 22.
It's unfortunate that I can't find pictures to see the difference between the parapack and the ballistic. I would like to know if the parapack is not too "shiny". The "materials glossary" page doesn't help to realize this.

Hi @Pna ,

don't know whether you've seen my review of the Synik 30 as there are some comparison pics of Navy Parapack and Navy Ballistic 525. In my opinion Parapack doesn't shine "more" than Ballistic but differently. As you can see, the filaments of Parapack are much finer than the Ballistic ones. Thus, Parapack also looks and feels finer perhaps a little silkily.

Hope that helps!

[Pna]

Hello @G42 and @bartleby (great name!), and thanks for the links! That helps, indeed...!
I read your review and looked at the pictures. It's very informative for sure! The pictures are beautiful, bartleby, this blue color is superb. I would have liked to see the parapack in black and I found somewhere a website where I could see some pictures.
Ok then,for the parapack, it would surely be this material that I will choose, and it will also make me to try something different from the Side Kick and Tri-Star materials.

[moriond]

Hello @G42 and @bartleby (great name!), and thanks for the links! That helps, indeed...!
I read your review and looked at the pictures. It's very informative for sure! The pictures are beautiful, bartleby, this blue color is superb. I would have liked to see the parapack in black and I found somewhere a website where I could see some pictures.
Ok then,for the parapack, it would surely be this material that I will choose, and it will also make me to try something different from the Side Kick and Tri-Star materials.

@bartleby ’s posts are the best ones I know of for comparing Navy Parapack with Deep Blue 525d Ballistic Nylon. Black Parapack was used for the Synapses for a while in 2014, in the Brain Bag, and in the Guide’s Pack. It’s also been used for the Freudian Slips and some accessories. The problem is that there have not been a lot of recent offerings in Black Parapack (Navy had more availability because the Guide’s Pack continued to be offered in Navy, and it was also used as a Cafe Bag lining), and on top of that there’s the specific question of finding specific images that answer your question about showing off the distinct texture of Parapack.

I was reminded from some of @maverick ’s recent posts that the (now retired) Founder’s Briefcase was made in Black Parapack (although in one of these posts his Founder’s Briefcase is not identified — it’s just in the picture and you have to know what the bag is — and in another picture where he’s using and Everyday Cubelet and a Founder’s Briefcase the latter bag is not well situated to see the material texture. He’s got older picture of this bag on the forums that are better for this purpose, but instead I’m going to point you to the video review of the Founder’s Briefcase in Black Parapack that was made by @itsablur and posted in the blog as Itsablur’s Founder’s Briefcase Video Review

The advantage of using this video review is that you can see the black Parapack fabric of the bag at different angles and lighting conditions, and at good resolution. (You can also see Steel Parapack used inside the bag). The Black Founder’s Briefcase has a very short sequence in the video on the Guide’s Pack Product page as part of the discussion of the Parapack material. But the video I’ve pointed you to will give you a far better feeling for the texture of the material.

I’ll also point you to a YouTube video of one of the Black Parapack Syniks that were part of the initial preorder review distribution for this bag. There’s not much discussion about the Parapack fabric because, as @shoplarry (the forum member who picked this up as a Parapack bag) noted (7-30-2019 @shoplarry )

This YouTube review is a SY30 Black Parapack - he doesn’t say much about the fabric because he is a new to Tom BIHN user and doesn’t know what to compare it to - you can get a good sense of the fabric in this bag - https://youtu.be/r2WZS-E7dUo

Finally, I’ll quote a comment that was made about black Parapack from @maverick ’s December 2013 thread, traveling with the brain bag in black 420d HT nylon Classic Parapack

While he has pictures of his Brain Bag, they more highlight the way the bag fits for airline travel than the texture of the Parapack. However, I’ll quote another forum member, @Trailhiker , who is a Parapack aficionado:

Regarding the 420 parapack material, I'm growing a new fondness for the material. I have the Guides pack in "electric" olive complete with leads pockets on either side and I just got my daughter the synapse 19 in "sexy" black 420 parapack. (As well as 3d cubes and another leads pocket for general travel in "sleek" steel 420 parapack for myself)
So, how does it feel ?
It feels like an expensive men's (or woman's) raincoat.
How does it hold up?
Fantastically, in one word.
I've taken the guides pack on numorous hikes already, and it has been quite resistant in numorous ways. I went on a hike recently in a state park north of Malibu that had a forest fire about a year ago, long story short the pack was rubbed against some carbonized trees and it got all scuffed upon the sides and it came off with a damp towel.
I also had to scurry in one section of the trail under low lying branches where the pack was playing defense to protect my back, all fared well.
It's proven resistant to dirt drops as well.
Lets put it this way, if Batman were to have a fabric sailplane that would pop out of a bag to take him across the desert I'm sure he would have Tom make it for him out of black 420 Parapack.
:-)

[Pna]

Hello @moriond
again so much useful information, thank you! I am impressed by the amount of knowledge and sharing in the Tom Bihn forums each time I visit (or need!) them, out of curiosity or to buy a product.
I watched the Founder's Briefcase video (a very classy bag I think...) and I liked the look of the parapack I can see there.
Before considering buying a Synik, I hadn't paid attention to the existence of this material, I don't remember if it was an available option for the Tri-Star or the Side Kick at the time I bought them (last year), but I don't think so, I guess I would remember, because I would have asked around, and because I'm quite attentive to those details.. I only remember, for the Tri-Star, the Ballistic and the Halcyon, which I don't really like the "square" look of for the outside but I totally love for the inside.

The video review of the Synik 30 gives me a good view of the parapack, and I think I like it very much (although I also really like the 525 ballistic of my Side Kick).

It's amazing how big the Synik 30 looks when it's open, and not so big when the reviewer's holding it next to him. That's why I was hesitating, I think.
I know I'm going to take it in 22L, but then the only regrettable point is not being able to take it on a longer trip!

I really liked @Trailhiker 's comment, especially the sentence "It feels like an expensive men's (or woman's) raincoat" because I'm quite a fan of raincoats ahah! (and batman, well, that is class).

I'm also very happy to have seen the bag not too fully loaded, which is quite rare. Usually people post pictures or videos of filled bags, but I find it almost more interesting to see what the half-empty bag looks like.
I find that here in this video, it's very instructive and useful for me to see that the bag is not "bulky" when it's not filled.

[Pna]

By the way i found a review on Youtube where we can see the Synik 22 in... (navy) parapack !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjkZPXMSLLI

[Walker]

Not to hijack this thread, but I thought this thread would be a good place to speculate about the Synik 22 Guides Edition.

Right now, the product page shows the Synik 22 Guides Edition in Wilderness Green/Coyote outside fabric. It is not in production. The Synik 30 Guides Edition is In Production in just the Deep Blue 525 Ballistic outside color/fabric.

Question: Are the Synik Guides Edition bags only issued in one color/fabric at a time?

I am hoping for the Synik 22 Guides Edition in Ursa Brown. I am not in a rush.

[G42]

Not to hijack this thread, but I thought this thread would be a good place to speculate about the Synik 22 Guides Edition.

Right now, the product page shows the Synik 22 Guides Edition in Wilderness Green/Coyote outside fabric. It is not in production. The Synik 30 Guides Edition is In Production in just the Deep Blue 525 Ballistic outside color/fabric.

Question: Are the Synik Guides Edition bags only issued in one color/fabric at a time?

I am hoping for the Synik 22 Guides Edition in Ursa Brown. I am not in a rush.

The photos in the product description of something completely out of stock don't mean anything in particular. I don't know how the database pulls them, but to all intents and purposes, consider it random. Note that it can be particularly distressing when it pulls a photo of a fabric or colour that we have been flat out told is discontinued (sob) Though at some point, they must archive all the old photos because they stop showing up.

The 'in production' on the Synik 30 GE and the Synapse 25 GE are probably also just legacy bits in the database that haven't been cleaned up yet, as the TB crew is flat out swamped with trying to make masks, some bags, and ship things out, whilst keeping socially distanced and safe.

With all that being said, 'Guide's Editions' of the bags traditionally has meant that Coyote is the complimentary colour; Ursa was used for the first time earlier this year for all three GE bags; and it may be quite some time before another pre-order batch is made...see this blog post:

https://www.tombihn.com/blogs/main/guidesedition

With the current state of the outbreak in the US, things will probably be 'not normal' for months more. Our favorite bag company is quite small in terms of number of people, they make cool complicated products, and they're making a lot of masks right now...

Oh, and for things that are now seasonal (the wood carrier & Shepherd's clothes for instance), you can see some of the photo weirdness in action... the image for the Shepherd's cloth in the search of everything is the Neela Blue, but within the product page it defaults to the Saffron

I don't have, as a Volunteer Mod, any particular insider knowledge on this...I just have read a lot of the posts over the past couple years including the bits & pieces the TB folks and long-time members drop and have compulsively scrolled through all the items enough to start noticing how it works.

ETA: that was incredibly long winded, sorry! you probably have a fairly long wait ahead of you..

[Walker]

Not long-winded at all @G42 . Very helpful, in fact, and very much appreciated.

I have more Tom Bihn bags (and accessories) than I know to do with (quite embarrassing, really). So I do not mind a long wait for the bag waving at me in my dream color/fabric (the Synik 22 Guide’s Edition, at this time). If it does not come to pass, I will take it as a sign that I do not need to add to my bag collection.

[G42]

Not long-winded at all @G42 . Very helpful, in fact, and very much appreciated.

I have more Tom Bihn bags (and accessories) than I know to do with (quite embarrassing, really). So I do not mind a long wait for the bag waving at me in my dream color/fabric (the Synik 22 Guide’s Edition, at this time). If it does not come to pass, I will take it as a sign that I do not need to add to my bag collection.

You do realize that it was just recently made and now maybe you just need to stalk the swap thread, eBay, TB Ravelry group, and the TB Facebook group, right? Right!?
(not that I am enabling At.All.)