I thought I might write a review about my newest obsession….bags. More specifically, bags made by Tom Bihn. I first heard of Tom Bihn after coming across an article in the Gadgeteer about Waterfield Design’s Catch Wallet (love that wallet, btw). The blogger talked about carrying the wallet in a Tom Bihn medium cafe bag. I wasn’t a fan of the look of the cafe bag but my interest was piqued by the comments made about quality and being built to last. I’m always on the lookout for companies that take pride in the quality of their workmanship — to a point where the quality becomes the cornerstone of the perception in the brand itself. Tom Bihn is one of those brands.
First off, let me just start out by saying that I’ve been carrying backpacks for decades now and it is my preferred type of bag for both school, work and travel. I never really had that strong of a feeling toward my backpacks. They all worked fairly well…
Enter the Tom Bihn Synapse 19 backpack.
In looking at the photos on the website, I could tell that the design of the bag was very different than anything that I had seen before. But, I thought the pouch at the bottom would be perfect for my chunky laptop power cord. (I always hated putting the bulky power cord in the main compartment of my current backpack.) Honestly, I bought the Synapse thinking that this would be a similar experience as my other backpacks….boy was I wrong. Instead of me changing to fit the bag, this bag just fit me perfectly – the size, the organization the look and the fit. And if that wasn’t enough, it also gave me smart, customizable options to make it even better.
The bag itself is 19 liters or 1160 cubic inches. Mine is made from a material called Cordura, which is a material that I believe has been retired recently. Cordura a fabric that is abrasion resistant and tough with a matte type of finish. The whole bag has YKK zippers, which are high quality and also have a splash proof guard along the teeth that help protect the contents inside your bag in light rain. The bag is “water resistant” and NOT “waterproof.”
The Synapse has 6 different compartments (5 on the front and 1 which opens the main compartment) and then 1 flap of material that forms a pouch inside the bag. The amazing thing is that the outside 5 pockets DO NOT take away space from the interior. It’s a genius design I have not seen replicated in any other backpack out there. The result is that you get a ton of organization, a very thoughtful design for the pocket placements and what they are used for, and a large main compartment. With all of this, the Synapse holds a lot but stays more low profile than any other backpack I’ve owned. To this day, I am largely perplexed at how the Synapse hold so much and stays so flat. It must have some supernatural & magical design powers that the normal person can’t quite grasp. I don’t know.
In addition to the pocket organization, quality and high capacity/low profile, all Tom Bihn bags makes use of “O rings” that are sewn into the bags at various points. The O rings are for you to clip various organizational pouches that Tom Bihn also sells. Think of the O rings as a place to clip and “leash” other customizable pouches for you to organize your gear. Again, a brilliant system that allows people to fully customize their bags.
Below are some pictures of my Synapse and what I put in it.
My Beloved Synapse 19 Backpack by Tom Bihn
My Synapse
Left vertical pocket of the Synapse 19 Backpack
The left pocket zips down and has spots for pens. I keep a snack bar in there and also my sunglasses. If you look closely above the pen in the back, you can see the “O ring” that I mentioned earlier.
Right vertical pocket of the Synapse 19 backpack
The right pocket also zips downward. There is a suede pouch on the side for a phone or anything you don’t want scratched. I also keep a pouch for a small first aid kit and my hand sanitizer that are both clipped to the O ring.
Deep top pocket of the Synapse 19 backpack
The top pocket is a deep pocket that goes down to where the bottom compartment starts. I keep my kindle in a sleeve in there. You can also put a full water bottle in that compartment.
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Shallow second pocket on the Synapse 19 Backpack
This pocket is directly under the first pocket and is a pretty shallow. Perfect for your work ID and a phone. I keep my work ID and a screen cloth in there. It doesn’t hold much but is still very useful for anything small that you need quick access to.
Bottom GLORIOUS pocket on the Synapse 19 backpack
This bottom pouch is one of the primary reasons I bought this backpack. It fits my laptop power cable and a battery pack for charging my smaller electronics PERFECTLY. This is an amazing compartment. There is an O ring in this bottom compartment too. So I could easily keep my first aid kit down there too.
Inside front pouchy pocket in the Synapse 19 backpack
This is the main compartment. You can see a big pouchy pouch in the front. I store some zip lock and plastic bags on the bottom and then put my moleskine notebook and a gear pouch (mouse and cables) in that pouchy pocket.
Tom Bihn Side Effect hanging from O rings of my Synapse 19 backpack
The inside back is like any other backpack but using the O rings, I attached a small bag (Tom Bihn’s Side Effect) to the back. the small bag holds my wallet and other small items like lip balm and keys and a smaller notebook. My laptop fits perfectly behind that small bag.
Closeup of the O ring and carabiner on my Synapse 19 backpack
Here’s a closeup shot of how I hang the smaller Side Effect bag by clipping a carabiner to the O ring. I do this on both sides and it just hangs here.
Tough shoulder straps with sternum and waist straps on the Synapse 19 backpack
The last shot is of the back of the Synapse. Very tough backpack straps, a removable sternum strap and a removable waist strap. The backside is also fully padded & breathable. Honestly, it took a few weeks to break in the straps but once it is broken in, it is very comfortable.
If I had to call out 3 minor issues I have with this bag – 1) I really, really wish the bottom of the bag had a double layer of cordura (or 1050 ballistic nylon); 2) The shallow pocket is just a hair too narrow and a hair too shallow; 3) This backpack does no sit upright (filled or empty).
So there you have it. My Synapse 19. My beloved backpack.
Warning: Once you get one Tom Bihn bag, it is virtually impossible to not buy another item from them….whether it’s the various small pouches or the other travel bags or laptop bags. You have been warned.
Tom Bihn website – www.tombihn.com
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