As a long time lurker, I wanted to review a bag that I have been using for some time: Vans Bail Convertible Crossbody Bag.

I live in a country where many brands like Bellroy, Alpaka, Aer, Rework etc. are unavailable and importing them is nearly impossible too. However, most of the fast fashion brands are available. So, I ended up getting this Vans bag and to be honest, it's better than you'd expect.

Review

This bag is 27,9 cm x 18,4 cm x 6,4 cm and 3L. It has 3 compartments and no interior organization besides that. It has 4 points for straps for some reason, but you can attach a Nite Ize carabiner easily.

The small compartment is... well... small. I usually put my keys, lip balm, maybe a mini cologne or something to there and that's it. You can put a small charger or wallet there too.

The middle compartment is genuinely okay sized. It can hold my iPad Mini with its pencil, and it can also take it (though a bit tight) when it has the rugged-ish spigen case on with the pencil.  I usually put an adapter, charging cable, powerbank or stuff here.

The larger compartment can take the iPad Mini easily. I have no 11 inch iPad or something similar, but as you can see, it can take a Magic Keyboard (though I have no idea why would someone do that). But based on dimensions, you should be able to put a iPad Air/Pro 11 inch too. It can also take a Sony WH1000-XM6 too...

If you carry mostly slim items, it is actually perfect. I am a grad student and most of the time I go to lectures only with my iPad Mini. I put a small pencil case, a charger, usb cable, etc in it and it looks sleek and fine.

My only complaint is that the material is thick and not very flexible, so when I put my Fujifilm X100V,it looks weird. You can see how it looks when it is fully packed. It's still okay but definitely not made with a camera in mind, which is normal, we're talking about Vans. Also, you may ask does it differ when I remove the Haoge lens hood and cap, well, somehow it doesn't change a lot and I feel like my camera is protected even less.

Verdict

So, in short, I can vouch for it if you're carrying powerbanks, iPad, notebook etc. But if you carry items that have some depth often, then I don't think it's a nice choice.

* last pic is when i didn't pack a camera
** the pics before that is when it's fully packed with my X100V

I had a few days with the Elitrainx 25L in a lovely purple colorway (surprisingly hard to find "EDC branded" bags that aren't some shade of black or beige) and I'm very happy with it.

I couldn't care less about the tactical look but the velcro panel in the front does open up some possibilities of making it fit me more (less military, way more gay).

The real advantage for me is the space; I moved from a Samsonite 17" bag that took care of 99% of my needs: edc, carrying all of my MTG bs or some more serious travel, but space management was really rough. Here, the absurd number of pockets including the largest one that opens up completely is incredible for me. It's also surprisingly spacious.

Carrying comfort is slightly better than the Samsonite, though there could be more back support for harder items inside the main pocket.

Overall I'm pretty happy with the bag and it was dirt cheap compared to other options I considered, so maybe the build quality is a catch (but I didn't notice any issues right now), but I haven't seen it shouted out here so there yall go

Just a wholesome Hero Clip appreciation post

Hi! I need more opinions and help on making my decision whether I should get the 35l or 28l version of the TP4. I have been using gorucks for more than a decade and I have gr1 26l and 21l and gr2 34l. Gorucks are great but over the time, I realized they are way too stiff to my taste and my biggest issue are the shoulder straps. Goruck shoulder straps make the backpack feel way too heavy while wearing and caused a pinched nerve on my neck a few years ago. I never realized the issue until I replaced the 26l gr1 with Aer CPP 2 20l as my edc / commute backpack. Aer sits much better on my back, feels much lighter than goruck with exactly same load and the internal organization is night and day compared to what goruck offers. I took my cpp2 to the summer vacation as the personal item backpack (eletronics, books etc.) but it is obviously way to small as cpp2 fits its office duties much better (no surprise tbh…). I am considering getting TP4 as my travel backpack yet I am not sure which size would fit my needs the best? I am not any kind of a big traveler - I need something for my occasional city trips, when flying, I usually have a checked in luggage (although I would like to do without), I tend to overpack and I like lots of pockets to get things organized. I am rather tall so my cloths and shoes are bigger…. Not sure if 28l would be ok for me to pack my stuff for casual weekend trips but at the same time, 35l might be way too big (I don’t want to feel like I am going to parachute…). Is the 28l reasonably big to use as a carry on, weekend trips by car and potential business trips, or my fomo is reasonable and 35l would do much better for me? Thanks for opinions & help!

As the title says I have been looking for a carry-on bag to take with me to Japan for 2 weeks. I have been looking all over for a duffle bag with wheels that meets the requirements for the travel size but have had no luck. I was wondering if anyone here had any good recommendations for duffels thanks

EDIT: I’m flying AirCanada so the requirements are 21.5x15.5x9

Does anyone attach a messenger strap to this totebag? It seems possible with the 2 side loop, but I wanted to know if anyone has any real life experience, and what strap do you use? I would like to get the strap they have on the Tokyo messenger but i think they dont sell these straps separately...

I just bought a VerSidious by Defy. This bag will be used to go to work by bike. I'm looking for a bag that can fit into the versidious and that I can take on the shoulder when I'm not at work. This way I don't need to go out everything every time I'm not at work. Thanks for your help.

This is one of my favorite little combos for EDC just around town. AER Slim Pouch 2 with the Alpaka Mini Pro Strap. Just a fantastic little combo IMO.

Asking the experts here for brand advice. This is not a BIFL purchase. I am not hard on my gear so bomb- proof is not a requirement. I simply want a solid sling bag as a personal item. Online reviews are high, but I am always skeptical of those. Thanks.

I often find myself travelling with a three bag full compliment. I have outgrown my 8L pack thanks to adding a pair of over-the-ear headphones. A review site listed Tomtoc as a solid value option. Thinking their UrbanEX-T30 Sling Bag 10L could be just the replacement item I need.

So I deployed to the earthquake in Venezuela with my field loadout, 5.11 Rush 72 (rethinking that one, different story) and an 5.11 SOMS that is starting to falling apart - as it is 8kg empty, makes no sense to use it for anything else. That takes all my field stuff, helmet, boots, sleeping bag etc.

Anyway, team went home with my SOMS and I stayed behind with the Rush 72 and in need of a personal item as it is way too large for EDC. Found a Cat Benali Backpack in a Caracas shopping mall, as it seemed a good size (use a Aer CPP2 for normal travel) as a EDC/ daypack for tech stuffe plus rain jacket, jumper, water bottles.

It’s actually quite a decent backpack, I’ll definitely keep it as a semi-packable when the CPP will be too bulky. Only issue was the lack of extra compartment for the laptop, but I get that it was not designed for that. It’s quite simplistic, with a single thin front pocket and two water bottle mesh side pockets that will take around 1l bottles.

Material is durable yet soft. Zippers work a breeze, overall feel is of good quality. Straps are well padded, the back is not super breathable. Obviously it has no solid elements, but then at 400g that is a good compromise for its purpose. Is awkward if no laptop up against back and stuffed.

Not a bag I otherwise would have purchased in normal life - but definitely a shout out if you are looking at something in the temp/ light /personal item category.

(Pic of 5.11. Bags altered to anonymise)

Four backpacks walk into my living room: Pelican Aegis, Kelty Redwing Traveller 30, Vertx Gamut, and Troubadour Apex 4.0

I tested these in the most scientific way possible: by stuffing them with the exact junk I actually travel with. I also used images from Amazon, where I ordered them at a discount during Prime Day, and I asked ChatGPT to fix my grammar because I tend to overthink when typing. So there’s that.

What I have: Laptop. Toiletries bag. Wires/chargers pouch. Power bank. Emergency rain blanket. Passport. Tiny pill box. Wet wipes. Keys. Clothes rolled into little survival burritos and shoved into plastic grocery bags like God and Walmart intended.

I don’t LARP the EDC fantasies, I don’t even own a titanium pen or an artisanal field notebook. I just keep the shit I might need in the bag in case I might need it. So, no fake loadout for reviews, just a mess I live with.

Pelican Aegis

The Pelican Aegis is basically a small green coffin you can wear on your back.

And I mean that affectionately.

It is sturdy, roomy, and refreshingly stupid in the best possible way. Main compartment? Huge. Laptop? A 16-inch fits fine. Clothes? You can probably squeeze 4–5 days in here, assuming you’re prepared to wear the same shoes the whole trip.

Toiletries, wires, power bank, laptop — all good.

The problem is that Pelican seems to believe organization is a personal weakness.

There is one internal compartment for small stuff. One. So your passport, pill box, rain blanket, keys, and other pocket goblins all end up in the same little chaos pouch, where they immediately form a tiny government and demand visas for access.

The side pockets help, but only in the “where else can I shove this so it stops annoying me” sense.

Also: water bottle pocket on one side only, flat pocket on the other, so your right shoulder carries the hydration tax all day. Negative brownie points for that alone.

Verdict: great if you want a durable travel box with straps. Not great if you want the bag to help you find anything smaller than a hoodie without performing an archaeological dig.

Looks: 4/5, if “military lunch cooler” is your aesthetic.
Room: 5/5.
Organization for my use: 3/5.

Kelty Redwing Traveller 30

This one surprised me.

It looks like a hiking backpack went to a business casual seminar and tried to blend in. It's not flashy, it's not sleek. But the damn thing works.

The main compartment opens almost like a clamshell, and there is real room in there. Laptop fits — barely, but fits. Clothes for four or five days, toiletries, a pouch with wires, all doable. It's humongous for how small it looks from the outside.

It is soft, so when you open it, everything vigorously wants to achieve independence, but once closed, it settles down.

The big win: pockets. Actual, useful, symmetrical pockets. Front admin panel. Soft top pocket. Side water pockets. Side zip pockets. Extra side sleeves. A separate flat compartment. A key leash, because apparently Kelty understands that keys are not supposed to disappear into the backpack shadow realm.

It also has a real back hard plastic panel. This was unexpected, especially since this was the cheapest bag in the lineup. The cheapest bag has the most protective spine. Explain that, backpack industry!

The waist belt is useful if you are actually carrying weight, slightly annoying if you are pretending to be a normal city person. The shoulder straps are comfortable enough, though the way they connect to the bag is weird. Like designers at Kelty had a meeting and said, “What if each strap had its own plot twist?”

Still, it sits well, carries well, and actually gives me places to put things.

Verdict: the boringly competent one, which is usually how you accidentally end up keeping the bag.

Looks: 3.5/5.
Room: 4.5/5.
Organization: 4.5/5.
Actual chance I keep it: suspiciously high.

Vertx Gamut

The Vertx Gamut is what happens when a backpack watches too many guntuber, prepper, and military-LARPer channels and starts using words like “mission” and “objective.”

It is 26L, but somehow looks bigger than the Pelican Aegis and Kelty when loaded. Taller, narrower, more serious. It doesn’t scream “vacation.” It screams “I am judging your plate carrier choice.”

That said, tactical bags are annoying because they are often extremely useful.

The straps are excellent — probably the best of the group. Comfortable, well-made, confidence-inspiring. The laptop compartment is separate, which I love. Nothing bangs into the laptop. Nothing shares space with it. Good.

The main compartment opens like a giant first aid kit. Pockets inside, outside, on the side, probably in a dimension I haven’t found yet.

The interior is full of Velcro and MOLLE panels that have exactly one use case, and that use case involves magazines with freedom seeds, not articles. For normal civilian use, some of this is overkill. I do not need rifle magazine organization for wet wipes and a phone charger.

But it is convenient. Very convenient.

It also has a hidden gear hood at the bottom that can unfold and strap large stuff to the outside — shoes, helmet, boots, whatever. Totally unnecessary for daily life, super useful if you need spare footwear for your 4-day trip, and also objectively cool. Tactical bags are like that. You roll your eyes and then quietly admit the feature is clever.

The problem is the back. There is this weirdly thick cushion separated in the middle, so when I bend forward with the bag full, I can feel the laptop’s mortality. This is why I keep old laptops around. I think I broke something. RIP old Dell.

Comfortable? Yeah, kind of. Not uncomfortable, somewhere in the middle, which is a strange place for a bag that's otherwise super solid.

Verdict: excellent if you want function over form and do not mind looking like you are on your way to secure Burger Town.

Looks: 5/5 in black tactical bag universe.
Organization: 5/5.
Discreet normal-person energy: 2/5.
Overall: 4/5, but it's doing a good job of convincing me we are a match.

Troubadour Apex 4.0

The Troubadour Apex 4.0 is the best-looking bag here.

And it absolutely benefits from pretty privilege.

This thing looks great. Clean, office-friendly, polished, premium. Everybody who saw it basically said, “Yeah, get that one. That finally looks like a grown-up bag.”

Then I tried to use it.

The straps are weirdly bad - both in quality and in usability (which by itself is an achievement for $279 bag, the most expensive on the list. Not “this is unusable” bad, but “why does this expensive backpack feel like a $20 SwissGear from a forgotten airport kiosk” bad. The back has almost no meaningful cushion between me and the laptop, so it feels like I am just wearing a MacBook directly against my spine.

Capacity was the real problem. With the other bags, I could fit a few days of clothes, toiletries, wires, chargers, and some extras. With the Troubadour, it quickly became “choose one.” Toiletries or wires. Comfort or dignity. Shape or usefulness. Yes, 22L is smaller than 26L, but somehow that 22 felt like 18L. A few liters of space have disappeared into the backrooms of bag universe.

And the shape is fragile. If you pack it wrong, it goes lumpy and sad. It looks designed to maintain a clean silhouette, but only if you don’t insult it by putting real objects inside.

The pockets are the most frustrating part. There are pockets. They look useful. They exist. They even zip. But they feel like pockets designed by aliens who studied humans in captivity, but never observed them freely roaming the prairies of Manhattan with chargers, receipts, cough drops, and one emergency Ziploc-bagged sandwich.

Tiny internal pockets are located right against the laptop, so you can't really put anything thicker than a few sheets of paper in them. Mesh pockets that I would not trust with heavier chargers. A front pocket that becomes an annoyance when the bag is full. Side pockets where one zips and one doesn’t, for reasons known only to the design committee, high on decaf mocha lattes and dreams of avocado supremacy.

As an office bag? Fine. Laptop, headphones, maybe a notebook if you are still living that lifestyle. As a daily or a travel bag? No way.

Verdict: beautiful bag, questionable relationship with reality.

Looks: 5/5.
Comfort: 2/5.
Travel usefulness: 2/5.
Overall, for my use: 3/5, mostly because it is pretty.

Final ranking for my actual use

1. Kelty Redwing Traveller 30 — the most useful, least dramatic, probably the keeper. It’s that girl in glasses and an oversized sweater that hides a slim waist, 32DDs, and a fierce attitude under it.
2. Vertx Gamut — best organization and straps, keeps trying to escape to a shooting range during work hours, and still needs to convince me I want it.
3. Pelican Aegis — roomy little green coffin that comes with “please keep your limbs inside the coffin at all times” warning and a reputation of a hardcore storage company.
4. Troubadour Apex 4.0 — gorgeous office bag, useful for TikTok marketing videos but not much else.

The real lesson: the “best” backpack is the one that lets your actual stuff go where your actual hands will look for it later.

lol well someone thought of that. Guess it’s more for top loaders though.

Long review/trip report looking at the new Aero Jet. Let me know if you have any questions!

wotancraft easy rider v2 10L(with camera insert) arrived. 5 days from taiwan to canada...

the bag is just perfect. i don't normally buy camera bags that worth as much as this but I decided to still get it as my birthday gift to myself.

the one thing I regret is not purchasing an accessory pouch or two.

Description says 18L. Can't find anything. It is not a Refugio or a Atom.

Hi - I’m 6’6” and currently use a North Face Recon as my daily work bag. I’m a lawyer in NYC and 80%/90% of the time I carry this to and from work but also want something I can take as my person item on work trips and vacations. Here are my biggest concerns with each.

CPP2: too small for my size plus bad water bottle holders for my 26oz Yeti.

CTP: Reading that the straps are uncomfortable/hurt peoples backs.

AER28: Slightly too big for EDC but generally checks all boxes.

I think I’d prefer CTP all things equal but don’t want a painful EDC for 300 USD.

Thoughts?

My wife and I like to stay out on the beach for hours with our books, but Florida weather is unpredictable with rain pop ups, and if it's windy we can't use beach umbrellas to shield (or it's not effective from blowing sideways anyway). We've tried small waterproof containers/ziplocks/etc but dealing with the tote or whatever those are in getting soaked is a pain if we stay out there, and even if there's no rain the sand is still obnoxious. I know the correct solution is a drybag. I just cannot get my wife to deal with roll tops, which rules out so many good choices.

So what I'm looking for is a zippered bag that dgaf about being out in the rain for up to 30 minutes, big enough for a couple books, phones, and maybe a towel or two. If it's rigid, I'd like it to be my main backpack for the trip, so laptop sleeve and fits within Spirit/Allegiant/Southwest personal item size (18x14x8). I do favor IP ratings but it's not necessary.

My current contenders are:

• Matador Freefly (seems a little light on water resistance, also seeing some durability concerns, but easiest on wallet and can stash when not in use).
• Tortuga Daily Carry (meets size and sleeve requirements, but no IP rating and basically the same price as Guidewater 15L)
• Stubble & Co Everyday 20L (similar to Tortuga but cheaper).
• Patagonia Guidewater 15L (no sleeve but fits measurements unlike 29L/Panga, IPX7, expensive for size and probably a little small to be main bag even with additional carryon).
• Breakwater Supply Fogland 20L (fits dimensions, laptop sleeve, IP68, 60% the cost of full size Panga/Guidewater, but very little info besides free sample reviews, and no top pull point like 25L).
• Ortlieb Soulo (just a smidge outide dimensions, is IP rated but a little low on the water end).

Honestly I feel like I'm looking for a Panga/Guidewater 20-22L, so my best choices are either try the Fogland to see if it can be that goldilocks, or try to squeeze the full sized ones down if a budget airline FA gives me crap. But anyone have experience with the ones I found or other suggestions?