Hi everyone,
I posted this write-up for the Trinity today in the TOM BIHN Facebook group. I thought I’d share it here too, in case it helps, since preorder for the Trinity ends soon on Sept. 25, 2023.
Disclaimer 1: As an admin for the unofficial TOM BIHN Facebook group, I reached out to Cindy (the CEO) and Mike (Operations Manager) from TOM BIHN for a free Trinity review unit in exchange for my honest assessment. I have no affiliate marketing arrangement with TOM BIHN. Every opinion I express here is my own and was not shared with the company prior to this posting.
Disclaimer 2: I will call this write up my first impressions, an analysis, an overview. I cannot call it a review since I have NOT had this bag for more than a few days to test. I wrote this up quickly in time before the pre-order ends, hoping it might help towards decision making.
BACKSTORY:
The Trinity! It’s finally here! After several or more years in development by Tom and company, we FINALLY have it …
Super excited to have this one in the collection. Let’s see how it does as my EDC family bag.
Sort of a rant post. But I posted in the B/S/T thread looking for anyone wanting to sell an Alpha one miner evade 1.5 full (currently out of stock, so hard to find). And I’ve had 3 different accounts contact with timestamped photos and all 3 pulled images from >2 year old posts or from online store pages and edited in a timestamp. I reverse image searched and called them out and all 3 then blocked me.
Has this been addressed before? Are bots/people really out here scamming people for <$200 for a bag?
Edit: here are the usernames I’ve ran into so far
u/SecretyTrot71
u/SupportiveProximity
u/Outside-Area5088
Hello all,
Not intended to be vindictive, but I noticed a post the other week about this unknown bag company, Mopak (https://www.mopak.com/). I had tried to message them to ask about their returns policy and got no reply. I just now posted a polite comment on their Instagram asking the same and also about what zips, denier of fabric etc they used, and it has been flagged as spam by Instagram (clearly at their request!). It’s all deeply suspect, especially given how they appeared out of nowhere with a bunch of bags all reminiscent of Bellroy. Would suggest that people give them a pass for now.
I am always on the lookout for new bags/slings. I would love to hear from you!
For me, I have two (one sling and one bag):
1) Fjallraven High Coast Hip Pack - first one is shark grey and second one is an olive green.
2) Aer Travel Pack 3 and Aer Travel Pack 3 small.
The hip pack I just love the organization of and the outer material. I wanted a second one for different outfits. (I guess I am being vain here. Haha.) I enjoy the padded backing, too, though.
The Aer Travel Pack 3 I originally bought in the small size, but i later on bought the larger one for business trips and longer trips. I loved the small bag, but I had to lug around too much crap for work and needed space to bring stuff home with me. But I love the rugged materials on the bag (Cordura on both), and the padding all over. I own the hip belt for both the larger and the smaller one, and I find they help a lot with weight distribution.
Feels like this should be said aloud but whenever we get a new bag, keep those extra silica packs that come in the shipping box.
Helps to keep the bag fresh while stored away in inventory and during shipping. They absorb any stray internal humidity and thus doesn’t let any bacteria cling and form their own little home inside.
When you’ve got a bag thats not in use, might as well do the same and toss a few silica packets into the pockets of bags and slings. I even throw a few into pouches i’m not using atm.
Doesn’t necessarily keep that new bag smell but will keep it just as fresh.
Theoretically should only need 3 pieces for any cold weather situation (with multiples of the base layer depending on how much laundry you want to.)
Coming from a mountaineering bg, this always came secondhand to me, but it was nice to see it laid out in a simple graphic and applied to general travel, which I hadn’t thought of before.
Let me start by saying I am in no way affiliated with Target or Open Story.
With all the high-end bags that get promoted on this sub, I think it’s important to remind people that you don’t need to spend $200+. For many people, that’s an additional expense that takes away from the fun they are able to have actually traveling.
The cheapest is to use a bag you already have, of course. However, if you want a travel-specific backpack, it is possible to get one on a low budget.
I was in Target today, not even looking for anything travel-related but happened to walk by their travel section and this bag was on the end cap.
Open Story 35L Travel Backpack for $50.
Let’s be clear that I can’t vouch for the bag, how well it carries, or it’s durability. After a quick inspection, though, it seems to be made fairly well, the material feels good, includes a separate padded laptop sleeve, full suitcase-style opening, dividers for gear and other travel-specific features many people are looking for. …
I was just in a cafe in Malaga Spain and a guy there was ordering a coffee, he looked full one bag and squared away (no loose items). Black one bag (I’ve seen it on here but can’t recall the make) $200-300 worth, so a decent one, but black hero clip, black Tomtoc sling, black vans shoes that look good for walk and a night out. I felt like asking him if he was a onebagger and was thinking we need a signal (like the motorcycle head tilt🤣
Update: it looked like an Aer travel pack 3
So I had to flew with Vueling, which requires your carry-on bag to measure 40x30x20 so I decided to buy the Quechua Escape NH500 23L (the normal version).
What I’m packing (forgot to take a picture): - 3 x Pair of shorts - 1 x Pair of pants - 4 x T-shirts - 1 x Hoodie - 1 x Hat - 4 x Underwear - 4 x Socks - Toiletry: Toothbrush, toothpaste, body gel, deodorant, towel - 1 x External battery - 1 x Phone charger - 2 x USB C cables - 1 x Water repellent cover for the bag
At first I was kinda afraid since the backpack measures are 46x28x22, but even if you almost fully pack it, you can manage to squeeze it enough to fit in case they check the measurements. In the first picture you can see that it surpasses the required height by a couple of cm, but there’s no problem in pushing it down to make it fit. In my case, they did not check the size either on the way there or on the way back.
If we talk about comfort and utility, it has enough pockets, the padding is comfortable and …
Just came back from a 10 day Europe trip and visited: Nice, France (3 days) Munich, Germany (3 days) Luxembourg (1 day) Paris, France (3 days).
I intended to use the ULA Dragonfly before going on this trip but felt it wasn’t going to be big enough. This was my first trip >3 days using one bag and I wanted some room for souvenirs.
So I picked up the Forclaz Travel 500 40L from Decathlon and it was way more space than I needed. However I did like the included rain cover which came useful during the trip and it was comfortable to carry.
I thought I was done buying bags but there was a Decatholon store in Luxembourg…I checked it out and they actually had the NH Escape Rolltop 23L! This bag is currently sold out online (last time I checked) and it was 45€, I couldn’t pass it up 😆.
When I got back home from the trip I wanted to see how well the Dragonfly (listed as 30L) and 23L rolltop would carry the gear I packed. I was surprised that the smallest bag could fit everything I had in …
The GOAT t-shirts, the daybreak merinos got a nice price drop to $69 on the website, and cheaper still if you get 3 or more (around $48 per shirt). I’m blown away that these are even in stock to begin with. They are hands down, no two ways about it, objectively the best t-shirt Outlier has (amongst many other great t-shirts!). Weight, drape, softness, merino goodness, and UPF for anyone who cares.
And Cut 2 is something special. Seriously, if anyone has Navy Cut 2s in Medium, hit me up!
I feel like if Outlier doubled the price, people would recognize and appreciate the greatness of these daybreaks. As the least expensive offering, it’s almost like folks think they are low-end when they are anything but. Scoop these up, you won’t regret it.
Experiment 394 - Strongtwill Zipshirt
A shirt that wants to be a jacket experiment, or is it the other way around? A top with a two-way Excella zipper and two hand pockets in the quietly bombproof Strongtwill fabric.
Now available in Black, Dark Olive, Charcoal, Concrete, Dust Olive and Winedark
Experiment 393 - Warmform Merino Ski
A sweeping lines sweater experiment in the snappy Warmform Merino. A relaxed slim cut with a mock neck and contoured body panelling throughout.
Now available in Grayzoneblack, Doublegray, Blacktannic and Doubleblack
A classic watch cap done up with 3-ply Italian merino yarn for softness and warmth.
I’m thinking about this piece and the listed model - 6’1” 150 lbs, wearing an M. Sounds like maybe they’re cut small. I’m 6’1’ 185 - wondering if I’d drop to XL on this one. Thoughts?
I bought two pairs of strongdarts (one deep ink and the other black). The deep ink fits like an absolute glove, easily my favorite pants of all time. The black is way too tight. Both are size 30 but the black feels like a 28. Should I return the black pair for a different black pair or are there inconsistencies in sizing between the colors?