The Premise
I’ve recently returned from the now annual Summer trip to Barcelona and Budapest, which while somewhat more hectic than usual, proved to be an interesting trial for some travel philosophies that may be utilized on a longer trip later this Fall.
After a frustrating experience with Icelandair last Summer -getting stung by an “oversized” bag fee while boarding after a layover – I opted for a packing solution that guaranteed no issues with the bag sizer at the gate. I managed to pack everything in my trusty Timbuk2 Wingman, which I’ve had and used regularly for the last decade. Effectively, it is a rectangular duffel bag, with deployable backpack straps, and some quality of life pocketing on the front panel. I’ve found that it easily holds the equivalent of a standard carry-on size roller bag, but with smaller (and squishier) dimensions. The trade-off, of course, is that it is decidedly less pleasant to carry through airports than a bag on wheels, due entirely to the insufficient harness system.
However, the other bag that was packed inside of the Timbuk2 ended up being a pleasant surprise. I think I’ve taken a different small, daily carry sized pack every time we’ve been to Spain, and this time I tried the Aer Go Pack 2.
Aer Go Pack 2 Thoughts
Pitched as a “packable” daypack, the Go Pack 2 is rated for 20 liters, with some basic interior pocketing, and some generous exterior pocketing.
Let’s get the negatives out of the way – the interior is bare-bones at best. There are two dump pockets on the front panel, a “laptop sleeve”, which has almost zero padding, and a very tight stretch-mesh pocket on the outside of the laptop sleeve. There’s a quick access pocket on the top of the bag, but the pocket itself just kind of dangles into the interior and gets in the way, particularly when it’s full. Most of these issues become apparent when the bag is heavily packed, and it makes all of the interior pocketing difficult to access. This was painful on a nearly three day side trip to Budapest, which completely maxed out the Go Pack 2. Basic things like removing the iPad while stuck on the tarmac aboard a cramped, at capacity RyanAir flight became arduous, unpleasant experiences that had me wishing I’d brought a bag with better interior access. A final complaint of a less functional nature: this bag looks lame when it’s packed out. Just an awkwardly sized blob.
Negatives aside, this bag has a number of redeeming qualities, some of which were rather surprising. The straps are great, and the contouring is effective. I never had any comfort issues with them, even when packed quite heavily 1. The quick access pocket on top is generously sized, with zippers that are easy to operate.
The true winning features though are the three open top external pockets. The two side water bottle pockets are big enough to carry large bottles, if that’s what you’re into2, but if they’re empty, or not heavily packed, they remain nicely blended into the overall shape of the bag, and don’t draw attention. The front dump pocket is a great size, and can handle a jacket, or whatever you want to quickly put in there. It was frequently used during quick grocery stops on the way to the climbing gym, to toss a few things in, and move on. I would often toss items in, and then when I had a moment, reorganize them into their more appropriate locations. The one potential change here would be a couple of small drain holes – if it were to rain, this pocket would just fill with water.
The Debrief
Overall, an interesting and thought provoking trip, from a packing and travel standpoint. Lessons were learned – Namely, I think I consistently over pack clothes. I could pare this down by a couple of shirts and pants, and be far happier for it. Next trip, I’m going to cut back significantly, and if I run into any issues, I’ll just buy clothes.
Having a more comfortable pack to navigate airports and public transit is also a priority. Thus far, the best experience I’ve had with this was using the cTactical CT21 3 on a 3 day international trip. However, I suspect this is not quite enough space for longer trips…
Lastly, a small but game changing packing hack that I found out about: Rather than curling belts into a “disk” shape, and packing them that way, my father-in-law packs belts by placing them around the interior perimeter of the suitcase. This is genius. They take up significantly less room, and are in better shape when you remove them.
Footnotes
- Side Note – the straps and overall comfort likely benefited from the custom kydex back panel that I cut and kept in the laptop sleeve… ↩︎
- I am not, I find carrying water bottles to be arduous and annoying and aesthetically undesirable. At best. ↩︎
- Effectively a GoRuck GR1, with much improved quality of life features. ↩︎