I've never actually done a product review with photos before, so I thought it would be fun. Please be patient with my rambling at times.
I've carried some sort of carry bag every day for the better part of 6 years. I've gone through several bags during that time and decided to splurge and get myself a quality American made bag that will hopefully last through the abuse I put it through.
My bag is with me every time I leave the house, it is always at least in the car. I've tried different variations of backpacks, briefcases, messenger bags and a one strap slinger. Backpack carry is by far my favorite as it is the most comfortable. Sometimes, my bag is loaded up with stuff, depending on my adventure and I find two strap carry to be too comfortable to pass up.
My bags go through hell. Between living in Florida (sun beaten, rain) and various outdoor activities (hiking, fishing, occasional trip to the beach), they tend to wear out quickly.
Some of you may already be familiar with Tom Bihn products. I will be doing this review as if you're new to the company and their products.
The bag in question is the Tom Bihn Synapse 25, the 25 being the storage capacity which is 25 liters. They make a model called the Synapse 19, 19 liters. Approximately 2/3 the storage capacity of the Synapse 25. I went with Tom Bihn over say, Maxpedition or 5.11 as I much prefer low-key discreet vs. tacticool. Your mileage and preferences may vary. Good thing we all have so many options to choose from.
If you're interested, you can look at their entire product lineup at:
http://www.tombihn.comWhen I first got the bag, I honestly thought it was on the small-ish side for my needs however this bag is deceptively cavernous. Carrying it the last 2 weeks, it constantly amazes me with it's ability to always hold "just one more thing".
In most of the pictures, there will be either an LM Rebar, LM Style CS or a Victorinox Compact just to give some sort of size comparison.
The bag's exterior is made of 1000d Cordura, the interior being made of 400d lightweight ripstop Dyneema. The color combo I chose was black exterior/steel interior.
The front of the pack features a 5 pocket admin panel.
The back of the pack is made of a breathable material that doesn't cause me to over-sweat, which is a miracle for me. There could be a 1 degree change in room temperature and it will cause me to perspire, so this is a huge plus.
The straps are contoured and very comfortable. Not pictured are the removable waist strap and sternum strap. I decided to do this review on a whim while doing an overnight shift at work. If anyone would like to see the straps, I will provide them upon request after I get home and can take pictures.
The fact they're removable is a bonus in my opinion as I rarely used them on previous packs that featured them and I hate dangling straps all over the place.
Let's go through the built in pockets and organization. This bag has plenty of it.
First, let's look at the bottom pocket. This pocket is surprisingly roomy. Big enough for me to roll up and stuff a size XXXL light jacket into. Eventually, it's the pocket that will house a FAK.
Notice the "O-Rings" inside the pocket. This is to clip Tom Bihn organizer accessories to, although any form of clip or carabiner would work when attaching accessories. More on accessories later.
Let's move onto the left side pocket.
In one of the organizer pockets of the left side pocket is a Victorinox Compact. Again, all of these pockets are surprisingly roomy. In here I use a Tom Bihn stuff sack size 2 that I keep some random toiletries/meds in.
Let's look at the right side pocket.
In the mini pocket is my LM Rebar for size comparison. In this side pocket, I keep a Tom Bihn organizer pouch with my LM bits and adapter in it. The pocket the Rebar is in, I tend to stuff my car keys into.
There's two pockets at the top of the admin panel. Let's start with the bottom of these two pockets.
I keep my LM Style CS clipped to the O-Ring provided in this pocket. I use this pocket for quick access items, such as my wallet and cell phone.
Let's look at the most top pocket of the two top pockets.
This picture should give a hint to something; it's deep. How deep you ask? This is actually my favorite pocket of all. Observe...
My 1 liter Nalgene bottle...
Disappears...
As the pocket absolutely swallows it.
As you can see, the bottle completely disappears. It's weird, this bag is designed with each compartment having it's own fabric for space. In other words, stuffing this water bottle in here doesn't take away from space in the other pockets; this is a common fault for lower end bags that I've purchased in the past.
Eventually, if you over stuff the bag, it will start to expand into the main compartment, but it doesn't do it easily.
Speaking of the main compartment...
As you can tell by the Rebar in the picture, this is a roomy main compartment. Big enough, that one day after work last week, I had to go to a friend's that was out of town to dog sit for him until he got back in town the next morning. This compartment was big enough to hold: my lunchbox, pair of sandals, boxers, socks, pair of shorts, travel bag of toiletries, my coffee tumbler and my tablet. My jeans I wore to work that particular day, I rolled up and stuffed into the bottom front pocket after I arrived to his house and changed. I was also able to fit my sneakers into the main compartment after swapping them out for sandals.
In the main compartment there is strategically placed O-Rings. These are designed to hold what Tom Bihn calls a "cache", a neoprene sleeve designed to hold a tablet or laptop, multiple sizes are available to fit your needs. I haven't invested in one of these yet, as my tablet is in an Otter Box and haven't felt the need for this particular accessory.
My absolute one and ONLY complaint about this bag is this...
Not sure if you're able to see it, but in the side pockets, there's little holes in the corners. Just big enough to squeeze your fingers through. I call it a design flaw, but when talking to a Tom Bihn staff member over e-mail, apparently it's really hard to sew corners on this particular admin panel design. Again, I call it a design flaw, but I'm not a seamstress so I'll take their word for it.
I discovered this when I had a couple of loose highlighters suddenly appear at the bottom of the water bottle pocket. This reveals two things; #1, with the finger sized holes in the bottom of the two side pockets, loose items are able to drift into the water bottle pocket. #2, this also means that the water bottle pocket I love so much is not water proof. If my bottle cap wasn't screwed on tight enough and sprung a leak, it would leak into the side pockets.
Some find this to be a plus. I read a review where one guy keeps a power supply in the water bottle pocket, and runs his charger cords through the holes into the side pockets. When he puts his gadgetry into the side pockets, he can plug them in to charge up.
Speaking of leaks, or lack thereof...
Check out these zippers. These are called YKK Aquaguard zippers and are designed to repel water and keep them out of the bag.
The other day when leaving work, I put on my light jacket (stuffed into the bottom front compartment) and walked to my car in the parking lot.
It was absolutely down pouring... all contents inside the bag were completely dry. Obviously the zippers do their job.
I mentioned earlier about their accessories, the kind folks at Tom Bihn were willing to provide me with a few complimentary. When I e-mailed them about the holes in the two pockets, they informed me it was in the bag design. I expressed my disappointment as I was holding out on organizer accessories due to the cost of the bag.
They offered me a dollar value of store credit to get whatever accessories I wanted to better organize the bag for my needs. Talk about customer service. I was quite shocked and impressed by this generosity.
From left to right: Size 2 travel stuff sack in steel Dyneema, a size small Tom Bihn 5x7 organizer pouch in blue ballistic nylon, and a 3D mesh organizer cube made of black 1000d Cordura.
I use the Stuff Sack to hold a few toiletries and medicines, the Organizer to hold my LM bit kits and adapter and the 3D mesh organizer cube I use to hold my work stationary and some charger cords.
When I received the accessories, I got them based on the advice they would fit into the pockets. When I saw the (size 2) Stuff Sack, I immediately thought "no way this will fit into those side pockets"...
Clearly...
I was wrong.
The ballistic nylon organizer pouch I keep clipped to one of the O-Rings in the right side pocket.
I use the 3D mesh organizer cube for my work stationary, cell phone charger and tablet charger.
One thing I love about this organizer is that it has a hook built into it. I can open the pouch, use the hook to clip it on something at work, and use the pouch as needed while keeping it off my work station.
This is my first time using pouches/organizers for inside of a backpack instead of using the built in organization. I discovered I personally love this, as it makes for easy unpacking of things you don't need. Example, I won't be taking my stationary pouch on a fishing trip.
As a whole, I love the bag. The quality, fit and finish is excellent. Not a frayed thread or questionable stitch anywhere. The lips of each pocket/compartment are quite generous. If you can fit it in, chances are the lips can be pulled right over the item and will zip closed easily.
My only complaint is the one I already stated about the two side pockets. I'm over it and it doesn't bother me anymore, especially since they provided me some complimentary organizers so I no longer have loose items in these pockets that can drift. I at least felt it needed to be mentioned in case anybody decided they wanted to try this pack out.
I plan to purchase other bags/pouches from them in the future. In particular I plan to venture into their luggage line for my fiance and I as we plan to do some traveling around the country after we get married. Tom Bihn specializes in organization and one bag carry-on style of travel.
Thanks for reading and sorry for my ranting and rambling. I'm really into this stuff and can tend to get going at times.
One final picture; the day I received the bag in the mail, I opened the box and looked it over, then tossed it on my bed so I could prepare dinner.
I went to my room after dinner to start transferring stuff over, and some jerk decided it looked like a comfy pillow.
I was nice enough to let him finish his nap on it before taking it back.
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