Hello there! This is Alfred from Nomads Nation bringing you a review of the Elecom MNL City Pack 21L (X-PAC) after testing it for two weeks. I will get straight to the point, this is probably one of the best surprises I’ve had recently and I think this is an excellent urban EDC backpack. 

Some background
I knew about this bag more than a year ago, as I regularly watch many different bag reviewers, one of them being Ryuku, a really cool Japanese reviewer. Separately, as a gadget nerd, I was also quite aware of Elecom's presence as a brand, as I use a few of their trackballs. When I noticed that these two things were crossing paths back then resulted in a backpack, I was super intrigued. I still remember there were videos explaining the different design thinking and decisions that went into the bag’s making, which was super satisfying to watch as a bag nerd.

(I did later also see on Ryuku’s videos that he said he and Elecom are no longer working together so I thought to make that clear.)

I didn’t know why there was not much coverage on other western channels, so shortly after it fell off my radar. So imagine my surprise when Aaron mentioned he got it in the office, I had to get it to test right away. 

External features
Externally, this bag uses XPAC for most of the panels. It’s not my favorite but it does give the pack a sleek look and great water resistance. The bottom panel of the bag is ballistic nylon, and is so thick that I feel it’s borderline overkill. I do get the reassurance that its contents are well protected even when dropping the bag on the floor. That bottom panel is quite large and flat, which enables the bag to self stand easily in my testing. 

However, given the quality found on the rest of the bag, I have to dock some points on the zipper pullers. It is the “just some ropes tied together” type which feels a little cheap to me, but they are indeed very easy to grab when operating the bag. 

Looking from the front, the front XPAC panel dominates visually. Together with some kind of rigid material underneath it, I think it may come off as a little “turtle shell-y” to some people. But for me it’s only the middle part of the front so I find it acceptable, and more as a part of the bag’s visual identity. 

Front panel
The front panel uses a fairly uncommon two sided vertical zip design, which immediately reminds me of the Rework Toshi pack. Unlike the Rework, the two sides on the MNL Citypack are separate compartments overlaid on top of each other. The direct consequence is that their capacities eat into one another, and are both better used for flatter items. Had this been a shared space like on the Rework, I think it can probably fit a thin jacket. However I don't think it's a clear cut better or worse choice, personally I have a good amount of flat and small things, so I find it convenient to have extra separation between them as this bag doesn’t have a traditional admin compartment. That said, this layout does require a bit more mental power to use as you need to remember what you put on which side. During my use, sometimes I did swing the back around to open a front zip, only to realize the item I wanted is on the opposite side. 

Laptop compartment 
As for the laptop compartment, it is super well padded, with microfiber material all around. There is an extra space at the top (like the Able Carry Max EDC) to hold extra tech items like chargers, this could work as a makeshift tech pouch for some people who have just a few gadgets to carry. 

It’s worth noting that when opening the laptop compartment only at the top, the laptop pocket feels very snug and protective. But the zippers of this section actually open up to reveal a three quarters opening, the zipper track goes all the way to the bottom on one side. When fully open, the laptop is then less snugly held because the panel hugging the laptop actually isn’t secured on the side where the zippers open (see my picture).

Back panel
The back panel uses a relatively less squishy type of foam that reduces sweat build-up on hotter days, which is my preferred type of structure. 
This may be a hot take, but I actually think a luggage passthrough that places the bag horizontally is a better choice than the one implemented (the current passthrough places the bag vertically) - hear me out. The MNL City Pack is a relatively tall backpack, and one issue depending on suitcase size is that sometimes placing a backpack vertically on the handles leaves the top of the bag actually higher than where the suitcase handle is. Another reason is that this bag has a one-side flat design with the side quick access pocket, which makes it more suitable for horizontal placement than bags with two water bottle pockets on the side. 

Harness system
The shoulder straps on this bag are not that thick, but they use a nice squishy type of foam that makes carrying it very comfortable. What stands out in particular though, is the sternum strap. The strap itself is quite standard, but the position adjustment hardware? Wow. I have not seen this Woojin hardware used on other bags’ sternum straps before - it combines the benefits of the sliding rail design and the fixed point design without compromising usability. I would say this is for sure the best implementation so far and I look forward to more future backpacks adopting it!
Check out my attached photo for that. 

The next unique point is regarding the strap management system on this backpack. This is what I would call the far opposite extreme on the spectrum of “too much dangle, no strap keepers”. This bag’s shoulder straps, each has a two-buckle design that makes it physically impossible to have any dangle, yet they STILL include an elastic strap keeper per side. I know. Crazy dedication to our eternal fight against dangling straps. For once, I would say this might be too much dangle management. Due to the tight two strap design, I found it very difficult to do any adjustment on the fly when wearing the bag out and about. If you are a “set the straps length once and never touch it again” type of user, this is PERFECT. You set it once, you never ever have any dangle. But if you like to fidget and adjust the length from time to time, this design would surely introduce too much friction for you. 

Sides
The MNL City Pack only has a water bottle pocket on one side, which may not be enough for everyone; but the good news is that the other side houses one of my favorite features on EDC backpacks - the small side quick access zipper pocket. Also featured on the Fyro Citta and Aer City Pack Pro 2 20L, this pocket is just extremely convenient in day to day use. I put my wallet and keys in here normally for easy access, and it is plenty big enough for other flat and bigger items like a passport or a large phone. 

The side handles on the back are just the right slack for me, I like it better than the implementation on the Rework Toshi pack. They are great to use when handling the bag. 

Organization
Factoring in the two front panels, makeshift tech pouch in the laptop compartment, side access pocket on one side, this pack already has organization for small items for DAYS. And that’s not even it, the MNL city pack comes with the popular wide-mouthed quick access pocket on the top of the bag, with its internal lined with microfiber material. Perfect for sunglasses or my most common use - temporarily stashing my phone when I placed the bag down the top pocket is the easiest accessed location. 

Final thoughts
I am really glad this fantastic pack finally got released in a larger market and I got a chance to try it. It certainly checks almost all my personal boxes for an excellent EDC pack, and given its lower price point compared to some popular options, I think it is a very strong choice for a versatile all-purpose backpack especially for an urban lifestyle. 

As always, if you have any thoughts or questions, let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your thoughts or experience with this bag. 
For another perspective on this bag, check out Aaron's video review here!

Hello everyone! It’s Alfred again with Nomads Nation, this time bringing you a review of the Pioneer Carry Threshold Pack following roughly three weeks of usage around Hong Kong as my EDC bag. 

As per usual, the backpack has been provided to us by Pioneer Carry for review, but all opinions here are my own. 

Overview
The Threshold Pack is a visually differentiating bag design in terms of its shape, and offers a good variety of separated pockets and compartments for organization of daily carry items. Unfortunately, carrying comfort is personally not the best for me, especially around the shoulder straps. Its relatively high price at $375 would also be a tough pill to swallow for some customers. However, its external aesthetic and design might just be enough of a differentiator for some buyers to consider it. 

Design and exterior
The first thing that drew me in for this backpack is its visual design. The Threshold Pack has an overall slim design (width-wise) when unpacked and it tapers to a narrower top which is not a common shape in other backpacks. Its material also allows it to keep a general silhouette instead of easily collapsing on itself when empty. 

It also uses large YKK Vislon zippers which have long tracks visible from the front as a defining feature of the bag. This pattern combined with the top quick access pocket reminds me a lot of the Bellroy Venture Pack from a few years ago, which I really liked. 

The bag does not self stand easily which is kind of expected, given the overall rounded and tapered shape, it does have a flat, large bottom which is what typically enables self standing on other bags, but without packing it intentionally with a boxy item at the bottom, in my usage I couldn’t get it to self stand most of the time.

Organization
Usability wise, this pack is well thought out and suits how I use an EDC pack in an urban setting. It has compartments that make sense for carrying a variety of day-to-day items and does it in a way that is different from many other bags. 

Starting with the outside, there are two extra large water bottle/side pockets. They fit more items than I expected in their depth (for example, the Bellroy Venture Pouch fits entirely in there easily), but then also are not that tall - my 17oz Larq bottle can fit in there but is just tall enough that the zippers cannot close easily (see my photo). While the pockets can still be used with the zippers open, it does look less clean. When I am not using them for a large item (e.g. water bottle), I sometimes wish there were a bit more organization options within them, as they are spacious enough to fit for example a wallet, keys and some earbuds. 

Purely due to how large these side pockets are, I think this is one of the very few bags where actually having both an external and internal side pocket in the same position (on both sides of the bag no less) works, normally by packing out one would automatically make the other unusable. Unless you are storing the largest of water bottles (diameter-wise) outside, the internal pocket directly neighboring the water bottle pocket still remains usable and this helps with organizing the main compartment. 

This brings out a bigger theme: this backpack in particular has a lot of this “two pockets on the opposite sides of some fabric” pattern - one on each side pocket, one each on the front lower and the front upper pockets. While I am not convinced this is the best utilization of space as they don’t always have enough standalone volume to store things simultaneously, it does give you flexibility on where you put stuff (provided you don’t try to fill all of them). 

Access
I don’t usually have a dedicated section about the ease of access but I encountered several distinct issues with this pack so I thought to mention them. The first being its all black interior in many compartments (a few internal walls do use a grey fabric like the top quick access pocket and the main compartment back side), I think keeping the rest also grey would help in finding things in general. 

The front magnetic pocket is a favorite of mine on this bag, ironically I didn’t even notice it for the first few days of use, due to the bottom of the top quick access pocket slightly covering up its opening. The magnets are also stronger than I thought, so I had no doubt the items stored internally are secure. For the usage of this pack, I mainly stored some wipes and tissues out here for quick access. 

I am not sure if it is a part of the design, but I find that when the main compartment is half unzipped to around the height of the water bottle pockets, the top pocket tends to flop over, opening the bag like a half zip style. For top-down packing this is convenient, however I have experienced at least two accidents with it! I forgot I left the top pocket zippers open, then when I opened the main compartment to half zip, everything inside the top pocket fell out. This has happened to me twice already: my earbuds the first time, my phone the second, and neither was a short drop to the floor (I do accept it is probably user error, but I have not run into this on other bags with a similar “half-zip flopping over” feature, like the Rework Toshi).

The laptop compartment has two main segments divided by a panel of fabric, and this was another point of confusion for me (see my picture). In most bags I’ve used, this kind of two-section setup has the actual intended laptop sleeve with a false bottom on the side near your back, and the other side being a larger dump area for other gear or a second laptop. On the Threshold Pack it is the direct opposite - the pocket with the false bottom is actually the part further away from your back, and I definitely had my laptop on the unpadded side for a few days before I found out.

Comfort
Regarding the harness, I would not consider this backpack to be on the more comfortable end of the spectrum unfortunately. The shoulder straps are thin and use a very dense type of foam that does not really compress. This makes the harness feel rather rigid in actual usage, combined with how close the top of the shoulder straps are sewn, I sometimes get a feeling of getting cut by the straps on my neck when wearing the pack higher. To me this backpack is definitely more suited for someone who wears their bag lower on the back. The lack of dangle stoppers is also disappointing given the price at $375 at the time of this post’s writing. 

The snap button on the sternum strap did make me wonder whether there is a more elegant way of adjusting its position, but it does echo the design language of the bag such as the luggage tag attachment on the side of the bag. 

Similarly, the top handle is a bit lacking in my opinion. It is very thin and not padded at all, with a design where the fabric folds back on itself partially that had me do a double take on whether it was somehow sewn backwards (see the photo for what I mean). But given it is a smaller sized pack I don’t think the top handle being unpadded is a deal breaker. 

Special mention: these large zippers
I find the zippers on this bag to be quite difficult to operate one handed. Whether it’s the water bottle pockets or the main compartment, most of the time I fail to close a zipper with one hand, which is a point of inconvenience for me. I think it might have something to do with the rigidity of the fabric and the zippers themselves.

As these zippers are relatively uncommon, I did pay extra attention to them during my usage. The metal zipper pulls are on the small side, but I found them fine to grip in actual operation. The larger plastic zipper teeth, however, tend to be more obviously felt when taking things in and out of the bag. When my hand passes over the zipper tracks, often I feel like I would hit them and get a scratchy feeling. Obviously this is fairly minor and the zipper teeth are rounded, it is not painful, but it just translates to overall more friction in general usage for me. 

The zipper teeth and therefore the adjacent zipper tape being larger than other bags also prompted me to think whether this would affect its weather resistance. Luckily Hong Kong has been getting hammered by summer rainstorms recently, so I was able to use the pack in moderately heavy rain (still, with an umbrella) a few times. What I found was that under some amount of rain exposure, the inside seams of the zippers do seem to get wet faster than other bags with smaller, non-PU-coated zippers (see my photo of how wet the bag actually got externally). While YKK states that this variant of zippers is equally weather resistant to a non-Vislon, non-aquaguard type, my theory is that the zipper tape area is larger and makes it relatively easier for water to seep in through the seams.

Final thoughts
I have not really paid attention to this kind of bag which many call a “Tumi” style normally. But since I have used the Threshold pack, I did notice this kind of bag design a lot more in the wild. I think it stands apart from the techy aesthetic so it should appeal to another segment of the market given the high quality materials and intentional design. 

However, given the relatively high price, on top of compromises on several key criteria that I really care about, such as comfort and access, I think perhaps a v2 could have potential in fixing many of these issues to create a more well-rounded product. 

As usual, if you have any experience with this bag, comments or questions in general, let me know in the comments.

Our video review is not live yet, I will update this post when it is so you can get another perspective on this bag!

Hi everyone, it’s Alfred again, back from a 5-day work trip to Paris testing the Osprey Transporter 26+6 Travel Pack to give you my thoughts based on my real travel usage. 
Being a major player in the travel pack market, my biggest impression of Osprey is their ever-popular Daylite line, notably also an expandable pack, which made me quite excited to try out the Transporter, which seems to be a more travel-focused option in their line up. 

Overall thoughts
The Osprey Transporter 26+6 Travel Pack is a spacious, easy-to-pack travel companion that does not look visually huge but can hold more than one expects. It definitely has the ability to support one-bag travellers without looking like a big fridge on your back but at the same time is deceptively easy to accidentally overpack if your travelling method has size or weight limitations. It was a comfortable carry even in hotter weather, and is a good self-standing backpack with a solid build and materials. 

My usage
I mainly looked at this pack from two angles: a potential one-bag travel candidate, and also pairing with a suitcase. For my trip this time specifically, unfortunately I had to carry a large amount of tech gear for my work so one bag was not an option (but more to cover below). I used it on travel days with a suit case and a cross body sling (using the Alpaka Flight Sling Pro this time), and used it on a few days out in the city as well. I was really lucky to have visited Paris in between two big heat waves, but the temps were still in the low 30s (~high 80s in F) and it was a good test for the bag’s carry comfort in hotter climates. 

I tested the Blue Flame variant this time, certainly a color that I do not see often on bags. I initially thought it is a refreshing take as it is rather uncommon, but as the trip went on it did feel a little bit on the loud side to me compared to more “boring” navy blue alternatives. (I see there is an all-black option, I think that would be the choice for travellers who prefer to be more low-key). 

To also address it right off the bat, in my trip I did not get to test the +6L expandable capacity of the bag as it was actually plenty big enough for my items. I think having the option to expand gave me peace of mind though.

Size and capacity
My main thought is that the bag does not look big from the outside, but can fit a lot more than what I expected. From my usage it mainly comes down to two factors: it is slightly wider than a lot of bags with a similar liter number, but shorter in height (so visually it does not feel tall - as a result I verified it does NOT hold the full length of a baguette diagonally! See my cover photo of it protruding); secondly, most parts of the bag uses a tough but thin kind of fabric without many layers of internal padding, it feels a little rubbery/plasticky by hand compared to other ballistic nylon due to the coating. In addition, it brings the bonus of keeping the bag structured even when empty.

For my own testing, the gear needed for a regular five-day trip for me would include one large and one small packing cube of clothes, one tech kit, and one dopp kit. These fit easily in the bag’s main compartment with room to spare, even without the expansion engaged. There is still room for a laptop in the back compartment and miscellaneous gear in the front pocket. For an advertised 26L base capacity, I don’t think I can say the same for some other bags with a similar number.

Based on the positioning of this bag as a product, I expected it to easily slide under an airline seat. But to my surprise, even though I did not fully pack it out, it was not able to fit my flight seat in terms of the thickness. I do think that my particular seat on that flight had a lower clearance though! Having tested it more at home, my conclusion is that you need to be quite conscious of how much thickness you pack the bag with if you aim for it to be an under-seat personal item, because it CAN very easily exceed that height without even being close to fully packed - but from another angle, this says even more about how much capacity this bag has. I didn’t have a measuring tape on me to check how much clearance my particular flight seat had; but when test packing at home, I easily exceeded 20cm (which seems to be the usual under-seat clearance number), even getting over 30cm on the thickness dimension without the pack even looking like it’s packed to the brim. Refer to one of my pictures above of the bag I took during a car ride, the thickness shows the most when viewing from top-down. 

Carry comfort
In terms of carrying comfort, the bag is quite comfortable, although I do think loading it completely full will make it a tough carrying experience.The straps have some (but not substantial) amount of padding (around 12mm), but I think Osprey’s design is focused on keeping the back panel and the straps breathable so that the bag is comfortable to use even in hot environments. It does make sense to me considering they even call it specifically a “AirScape™ backpanel”. It’s not like I did not sweat while wearing it in the sweltering 30 degree summer, but it did help in ventilation and kept my back from being completely drenched. 

From just my subjective feeling, if the Transporter is completely fully packed out, the weight of the bag can get to a territory where in other bags load lifters would be justified. But since not everyone’s use case would involve maxing it out, I do see the merits of leaving them out in the design. 

Organization & other features
First things first, I have to say it: no dangle stoppers! Come on Osprey! The shoulder straps and the sternum strap both do not have strap keepers and I had to use my own for the trip.

Now, onward to my trip experience. This time I packed a lot of tech gear, as I mentioned, including one large 16-inch thick laptop and one smaller 14-inch laptop (with a sleeve), in addition to a portable monitor. As you would expect, these would not all fit in the back compartment, so what I did was fit the two laptops in the laptop compartment (which was still a snug fit - says a lot about how spacious the section is); for the main compartment, I put the portable monitor (also in a sleeve), a jacket, and some other tech gear in it. 

One unexpected finding was that this layout caused the luggage pass-through to be very difficult to use. Upon testing further, I concluded that over-stuffing the laptop compartment (even though it has the capacity), caused the space originally available for inserting the luggage handle to be much reduced - the luggage passthrough section of the back panel could not separate as much from the actual bag, creating a really tight fit for the luggage handle. But I'm sure for the absolutely majority of the use cases out there, this won't be a problem. I do like the full-sized luggage pass-through that is literally half of the back panel, it feels very sturdy and gives a lot of confidence in terms of longevity compared to one strap of nylon on some bags. 

There is little small-item organization to speak of on this bag. Most of them are in the front compartment. I relied on a few smaller pouches to organize my items, as well as the usual sling on the body when traveling.

Given the water bottle pocket on the Transporter is a full-sized one using a nice elastic mesh, I found it great to use. However, the positioning of it diminished the use of the side handle of the bag on the opposite side. Normally, when I need to use the side handle of a bag, it's usually when the bag is placed sideways, which means the opposite edge of the handle would be flat as it is lying down on the ground. On this bag, the water bottle pocket is there, making it pretty much never suitable for placing down sideways as long as a water bottle is in. In my opinion, the bag is not really designed for any intentional sideways access (unlike for example the EG CPL series), so maybe even a second water bottle in place of the side handle would be a solid choice in terms of practicality. The bag IS already wider than others though so one water bottle on each side might introduce new problems! 

The main compartment uses a less common layout and access method, as it is a sideways clamshell opening. With this design, when accessing the compartment via zippers from the top the zipper cannot go down much past the top edge on one specific side. But all in all it took me less time than expected to get adjusted to accessing it when wearing the bag out and about. With this being pretty much the only drawback, I did appreciate the bag’s ability to open like a book and allow me to pack things very easily. The overall thickness of the bag also made it a good self-stander (helped by the more structured fabric choice). 

Final thoughts
From my testing, Osprey does really live up to its reputation being such a popular brand! The one single stand-out thing to me is just how much you can pack into the Transporter 26+6. Especially coming in at a good chunk under $200 (right now I see it listed at $175 on the website), it has excellent value and provides a lot of versatility for different styled packers for a variety of travelling styles.

As usual, let me know if you have any questions or comments about the Osprey Transporter! 

Also check out this link if you want to watch our video review on it for Aaron's perspective. 

Hey ya'll, Aaron here, Fyro/NN founder.

Just wanted to let you know our flagship Levo 36L is FINALLY back in stock!

https://fyro.co/products/fyro-levo-backpack

This one's been out of stock for months, which has been super frustrating, but it's a very common struggle for new eCommerce brands.

You can grab yours now and it will ship out before June 29th.

Genuinely appreciate everyone who's been patient on this. This community is the reason we keep doing what we do!!

Hi everyone! Alfred with Nomads Nation is back this time bringing my thoughts on the new Evergoods Civic Access Sling 1 hot off its recent release.

Unlike my usual testing, this time I only got a week with it due to my travelling schedule; but rest assured, as a literal pocket reliever sling I probably have actually interacted with it more times throughout the week than some backpacks in 2 weeks, and I definitely have some thoughts based on my usage. 

(The bag was sent to us by Evergoods for testing; but all opinions here are my own)

Overview
As usual with all their products, Evergoods brings their top quality game with the CAS1, I tested the black ballistic nylon version. Having used both, I liked the CAS1 more than the CAS2 mainly from its design and external look. With its size at 1L, it sits squarely in the pocket reliever category, but definitely enough for most people’s immediate pocket needs plus just a little bit more.

Build quality and feel
From handling the sling, despite its small size, EG has put in all their usual suspects: 840D ballistic nylon, a wide and smooth feeling shoulder strap, beefy buckle, and of course, how can I miss it - the absolute monstrosity of strap keeper which is just a chode of rolled up nylon. I am simultaneously shocked and also fully expected that they brought back the ol’ “roll-it-up-and-wrap-it” approach to the extra nylon strap, straight from the CAS2. Surely there is a more elegant way of handling the dangle right? 

Despite the amount of material used (from a practicality point of view, such strap width and buckle can be overkill for a sling this size), the sling felt lighter than expected on my body while wearing it. It might be because the capacity itself limits me from overstuffing it with heavy gear. With the ability to wear it tightly around the torso, I think this is a great sling for travel or if you need to be active and run around with it on. 

Whether it is worn tight or loose, in front or behind, I never felt like the CAS1 got in the way and it does live up to the streamlined design and “body-hugging” fit that EG describes. Naturally the CAS2 is physically larger, but it just felt more bulky and protruding compared to other 2L slings, especially with that flat top design. (I’m not a hip pack guy but I do think the CAS1 would work well as one)

Organization
Unlike most other slings on the market, the CAS1 has a singular compartment - no front or back zipper or compartments - only the main one. It opens up to 2 sections, divided by one panel, and the panel opens up via YKK zipper to an inner pocket with 2 more small slots within. 

The back compartment is flat but full width, ideal for even the largest sized phones, or a passport. The zipper pocket can fit a smaller phone (just fits my regular iPhone 15), and the two side slots seem perfectly sized for earbuds. I imagine when travelling, coins would also fit well in there. However I would note that the zipper pocket has very little depth, after placing earbuds in, it eats up capacity quickly. 

Lastly the main compartment is roomy, larger than it feels for most typical 1L slings - it’s even possible to fit a small umbrella in here. The red key leash gives a great visual contrast, but I feel like keys here would bang against other items, so I am not sure many people would use it (different consideration if you have something like a key cover/case). 

While it looks big, after trying different loadouts my verdict is that this is a “fits more small items than you would think” rather than “fits a larger item than you would think” kind of sling, if that makes sense. Stuffing out each dedicated pocket with gear results in more restricted capacity in other parts, so there’s a bit of irony where if you stuff most gear in the main area, you’d end up trading organization for more carried items. 

If I have one change to make, it would be to add at least 1 more zippered pocket separately, even if it is just for flat items like tissues or a passport. The physical separation requires less mental load to register that there’s a dedicated pocket for something. 

Features
The CAS1’s buckle placement is a strong design point in my opinion, despite the dangle handling situation. It is truly able to keep my back free from any plastic parts when wearing the sling in front no matter tight or loose, making it a perfect companion bag for a 1.5 bag travel set up e.g. with a travel pack. I would caveat this with the strap adjustment would definitely depend on each user’s body size though. For other slings I’ve used, the plastic buckle (sometimes it’s the middle adjustment piece) location usually depended on how I adjusted the strap and can sometimes be on the back. 

At such a small size, I think a top handle is unnecessary and keeps the top clean here. But I do think a small loop on the side similar to the ones on Aer slings/their slim pouch, or even a smaller lash point would bring a lot of benefit for relatively little heft, allowing the bag to be hung on a hook, or bringing along a carabiner. There is somewhat of a slot on the strap but you’d need a fairly large carabiner due to how thick the strap is (see my photos). 

Final thoughts
I think Evergoods came out with a great sling that’s good for both minimal EDC and travel use. Having a slim design yet offering just enough capacity to house everything in one’s pocket plus a tiny bit more is what it focuses on delivering and it does an excellent job at that. 

If you have any questions or thoughts, also let me know in the comments.

If you want to see what Aaron thought about this sling, be sure to check out the video review on our channel!

Hey everyone! Hello from a very jet lagged Alfred coming back from a 2-week trip to Europe after testing the Black XPAC Able Carry Max 32L. In May I visited the Basque Country in Spain for a week, followed by another week in the Balkans.

I had an amazing time and thoroughly enjoyed the food and sights. Check out the absolutely adorable kitties I encountered on my trip!

(The bag was sent to us by Able Carry for testing; but all opinions here are my own)

Overall thoughts
Extremely well built bag, high quality materials all around but whether it has diminishing returns is subjective. It is undoubtedly heavy but its harness system does make a very positive carrying experience. Excellent self standing ability and sleek design, but I prefer a bit more organization options.

My usage
Throughout the trip, my main usage of the AC Max was during any flight days and a full-day road trip tour. On these days, I pair it with a rolling luggage (not on the day tour), and a small Tomtoc vertical sling (Aviator-T37 Travel Crossbody Bag). I typically carry some tech gear: 

• 14 inch laptop
• Power bank and cables
• Over-the-ear headphones
• A pair of AR glasses for media consumption on flights and layovers
• Small Kindle

Other than these, I also bring some travel essentials:

• A Larq 17Oz water bottle
• A jacket and sometimes an extra layer
• Tissues and face mask
• A small umbrella
• Some weather dependent items like sunglasses and a hat

As you can see, I am by no means using this for a full one-bag travel use case, so please keep in mind my views are coming from this particular way of use. Apart from a few instances of helping my companions carry some extra stuff, I did not really get to use the expandable portion of the bag.

Build and material
This bag is extremely well built, maybe even more so than some travel options I tried recently like the Aer TP4. It’s an excellent self-stander due to its shape, and its panels hold up well when I open up the zippers (as opposed to some bags’ flaps or panels that would flop down as soon as you open the zippers by a bit). It does look quite large on me, but from the few tests I did, it fits squarely in all of the underseat compartments (I tested on Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Vueling, TUI Airways), as well as the carry-on limits of Ryanair (I passed by one of their sizers in the airport so I did a test). Personal item is a no go though.The rigid back panel would not let you easily compress the bag height-wise to fit a personal item bin reliably. The overall silhouette of the bag does not collapse even if you don’t pack it fully, I do like this point in terms of its looks but it does come into play when navigating more crowded areas (like this time when I was going through some old towns). One extra point is that, in pre-boarding checks, it’s fairly common now for the flight crew to pre-inspect each passenger’s bags and tag bigger items for the overhead compartment, or even to be sent to the old. I would say that even though I did not pack the bag full each flight (like it can be easily compressed to be much thinner), the overall shape and structure of the bag definitely gives a “big heavy bag” impression to others.

Harness system & weight
By itself the bag weighs a whopping 1.87kg (4.12lbs) which is very heavy in my books. A good number of airlines implement a strict 7kg max weight limit for carry-on items, which would make this bag awkward for one-bag travel because it fits dimensions-wise, but not in the weight department. As I packed this out with some amount of gear on travel days even without a heavy/full load, it did feel heavy when picking up. However the heft is carried by its beefy harness system and back panel very well. From a subjective feel, carrying it by its top/side handle makes it seem heavier than when actually wearing it on my back. However at this capacity number (30L, 32L expanded), I do wonder if it would benefit from extra features like load lifters and a hip belt. This would no doubt take away from its sleekness though. 

Zippers
Great design and quality here. With chunky YKK zippers, opening and closing the bag is a breeze, and I really like that the two key compartments (main and laptop) both have lockable zippers, giving my travels through airports and flights peace of mind. The laptop compartment has PU coated zippers but they are still smooth in my books so I am very happy with it. One characteristic that I notice myself paying attention more recently is the ease of partially opening and closing zippers with one hand. As I am on the go, I often need to carry the bag by one hand and try to open it with the other to retrieve something. Actually not that many bags do well in this aspect but the Able Carry Max passes easily. 

Organization
This bag takes a different approach from many competitors on the market - single-sided internal water bottle pocket, another slim side pocket (which shares space with an inner pocket), very limited amount of unified small-items storage - there are pockets for small things, but they’re scattered throughout the bag. One main drawback that bothered me almost every time I used this bag was the lack of an admin panel, it’s very much a bring-your-own-pouches bag. Although my Tomtoc sling already carries my flat items: passport, boarding pass, phone and cards, this still leaves most of my items just floating in the main or front compartment, making access less straightforward than I would like. 

In my opinion, the 3 slip pockets in the pouch-like compartment next to the laptop sleeve are too restrictive: the two small slots can only fit something like earbuds and cables, and even the big one struggles to fit an international universal charger (those are known to be thick). The pouch-like pocket itself is also just a touch too small to put in my pouches, I tried the Aer slim pouch and the Bellroy desk caddy and neither would fit in there. 

In addition, having used the inner side pocket for my glasses, the outer side pocket’s capacity became extremely tight, I ended up almost not putting anything in there. 
However, the water bottle pocket surprised me, it is deeper than it looks, easily swallowing my 17 Oz Larq bottle. For a whole day I forgot my umbrella was also in that same pocket with the water bottle, and did not even realize to look in there! That said, you know what this means, the more depth is used in the water bottle compartment, the more main compartment space is eaten up. So it’s unfortunately a give-or-take choice when packing. Especially when side pockets on both sides are used, the remaining space in the center might be less than you would expect.

I ended up not using the passport pocket up against my neck at all - partially because I have a sling, but mainly if I am in an airport, I would not want to keep taking off and putting back on my bag to access that slot. When I don’t need the passport, I also don’t prefer to leave it in an unlocked pocket in case I have to place the bag away from me for security reasons. 

Final thoughts
I think the Able Carry Max 32L is a very solidly built bag that actually shines more if you can make use of the 32L and pack it out fully, as it is heavy by itself but remains comfortable even when carrying a heavy load. The organization options are not very aligned with how I prefer to pack, but I think for folks who are used to packing everything into pouches, it would fit right into your packing style.

If you’re interested to hear Stevie’s thoughts on this, definitely check out this video here on our channel. As usual, leave any questions in the comments! 

Greetings! This is Alfred from Nomads Nation, back again to share with you my thoughts on the Sympl Commuter Pack 20L v2.2, Ballistic Nylon version.

One big caveat before I start things off is that the V1 of this bag is actually my favorite ever EDC backpack. Since I've bought my personal one, I have used mine for close to two years now. Whenever I'm not reviewing something with Nomads Nation, that is the bag I always go back to. Although I think barely anyone would be in the situation of owning a v1 and still considering a v2, given my long history with the v1, I would still share some of my thoughts that came to mind when I was testing the v2 throughout the last half month.

The bag was sent to us by Sympl for testing; but all opinions here are my own. Also shoutout to Sig from our team who helped with some extra awesome photos to cover for my inadequate skills.

Overview

As expected of an iteration based on an already fantastic predecessor, I do think the v2.2 improves on almost every aspect that was not ideal on the v1, though I still can't say that it is without any flaws. As usual, I will break it down into points that stood out to me or that I really liked about the bag, followed by the aspects that did not work for me during this testing period.

What it offers to remain my favorite backpack still

Comfort when wearing
In my opinion the shoulder straps are more comfortable than Aer even, they are more plush in terms of cushioning. This is combined with a non-mesh back panel made up of a molded hard foam which I prefer, because it stays relatively rigid and does not contour to my back when out and about. This keeps my back cool when walking with it outside in hotter weather. Very subjective and personal anecdote: in terms of shoulder straps comfort, I would rank Sympl > Aer > Able Carry (as brands that come to mind with similarly thick style padding).

Comfort in hand
This top handle remains the best among its competitors - super thick and cushioned, ample space underneath, does not flop about (unlike the Aer CPP2 20L which I flagged in a previous post). The side handle is also in a balanced, centered position for ease of carry. From my usage, the closest comparison to this side handle design would be EverGoods, but to me the Sympl feels better than Evergoods’ in the sense that it does not feel as sharp on the edges of the handle. Small personal point though - the top handle is made up of a material similar to memory foam, which makes me wary that hanging it on a hook or rod at home for long durations might result in a permanent dent. For this I designed a more flat and full sized holder on my storage pegboard at home.

Admin compartment design
The admin compartment is just everything I need in urban carry. This is again a highly subjective point but it just so happens that the admin division pockets fit precisely the things I normally carry, better than other brands like Aer or Pakt, Alpaka (brands I’ve tested recently that are on the more opinionated side of admin division).

External water pocket
Having the ability to fit a large water bottle, but also collapse to basically flush to the side of the bag is the best of both worlds to me - someone who does not always carry a big water bottle. I used this pocket more for an umbrella than anything. I typically carry a smaller water bottle in the internal pocket. 

Excellent ability to self stand
Even when it’s only packed out in the front or in the back, the bag self-stands rather effortlessly. This makes it great for just placing down anywhere without much thought.

Overall aesthetic
I just really enjoy overall how sleek the bag looks from the outside with its clean lines and overall silhouette. Although the front pocket, if not packed out, can sometimes look a bit frumpy or collapsed, however this remains a visual thing and does not bother me at all in regular use. Another very personal note: as I show above some side-by-side shots of my old v1 and the new v2, I have not observed any deterioration on the PU-coated zippers in my 2-years of use so far.

What did not work for me

To my surprise, a lot of these are from changes made to the v1.

The new ballistic nylon material
I much prefer the polycarbonate version myself. I would preface by saying that I did use the ballistic nylon version in moderately heavy rain, and it held up fine; even the inner seams of zippers were not damp after a short walk. However I think the overall feel of the polycarbonate material is more sleek. I don't really know what's different with their ballistic nylon, but I noticed that compared to other bags with the same material (or with Sympl’s own polycarbonate version), it retains dust or dirt significantly more, even in daily usage. You would probably see that in some of the photos I attached.That said, it was still very easily cleaned by just spraying some water and wiping it down.

Moments of confusion from zipper placement
Due to the conscious design choice of aligning zipper placement for consistent side access, some compartments and their zippers have been placed in positions that are in rather close proximity to another pocket. For example, the placement of the side inner bottle/umbrella pocket near the side handle is basically next to the new top-opening laptop compartment zipper. When I needed to access my laptop, I always went for the wrong zipper. Another example would be the front vertical zipper and the admin panel zipper are also in close proximity, resulting in me often grabbing the wrong one. While I do think this is something that a user would likely get used to after day in and day out use, it was still affecting me after basically daily usage for over 2 weeks. If I have this bag for the long term I would most likely swap out the zipper pulls for a more tactile differentiation.

Zipper lockability
One last thing that I see as a point of future improvement. I admit that this is more relevant when extending the bag to short travel use, it is less of a factor in EDC in the city. The YKK zippers used here don’t offer a dedicated lock hole, and instead require you to sort of jam the lock through a hole shared by the zipper pull. Another adjacent point is the numerous spots of single zipper opening on the bag (front, laptop, side pockets), making it rather difficult to apply locks in this design, especially in an overseas travel context. As shown in the photos, the best I could have tried was to lock it to the side handle which is not really a good solution.

Final thoughts

Despite a few nitpicks, this reminds me why the Sympl Commuter line is my favorite EDC backpack so far! It just checks so many boxes for my preferences.

If you want to know Aaron's thoughts on this bag, you can check out his video here on the channel.