Patagonia Tinamou Tan Hole Pack 32L

I swear I've never had a pack designed like this. Functional and extremely durable. Using it for business as well as pleasure, it needed to be very durable and have a lot of pockets. The durability is awesome, but I wasn't sure if the Blackhole Pack fabric was going to be too clunky and chunky, it absolutely is not. It didn't have a lot of pockets for stashing business essentials, so I was hesitant, but I have found that the top pocket has been the biggest surprise of all. It is bottomless and easily assessable right on top. It's seemingly bottomless, like some kind of magic trick! I can't understand how you did it really. I keep all my travel doodads and necessaries, keys, passport, tissues, chargers, cords, gloves, hats, all the important go-to's in this top ... MoreI swear I've never had a pack designed like this. Functional and extremely durable. Using it for business as well as pleasure, it needed to be very durable and have a lot of pockets. The durability is awesome, but I wasn't sure if the Blackhole Pack fabric was going to be too clunky and chunky, it absolutely is not. It didn't have a lot of pockets for stashing business essentials, so I was hesitant, but I have found that the top pocket has been the biggest surprise of all. It is bottomless and easily assessable right on top. It's seemingly bottomless, like some kind of magic trick! I can't understand how you did it really. I keep all my travel doodads and necessaries, keys, passport, tissues, chargers, cords, gloves, hats, all the important go-to's in this top pocket so I never have to open the main compartment, and I have never found the bottom of it. It's an optical illusion of some kind! Everything goes in the top pocket and the pack remains sleek and compressible. If you own one, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. And the fabric is chunky, but I really like it. It is extremely durable like steel plate but not as rigid as it looks, it is much more pliable and easy to scrunch into small places than it looks. The only problem I guess is for Patagonia. it's most likely the last daypack I'll ever need.

This backpack will be your best friend. It does it all, and it does it capably and confidently. It's light and versatile enough to function capably as an everyday bag, and isn't too big when not packed full. When fully packed, though, it'll hold everything you think you need and more; you could conceivably travel for weeks with only this bag. The materials and quality are exceptional; it feels like it'll last decades. It is of course somewhat organizationally lacking, but the pockets it does have are generally good enough for most uses. The brain pocket alone is the size of a purse, which is extremely helpful.The laptop compartment works really well to hold your laptop and tablet without taking too much storage space, and it's nice to be able to slip them in and ... MoreThis backpack will be your best friend. It does it all, and it does it capably and confidently. It's light and versatile enough to function capably as an everyday bag, and isn't too big when not packed full. When fully packed, though, it'll hold everything you think you need and more; you could conceivably travel for weeks with only this bag. The materials and quality are exceptional; it feels like it'll last decades. It is of course somewhat organizationally lacking, but the pockets it does have are generally good enough for most uses. The brain pocket alone is the size of a purse, which is extremely helpful.The laptop compartment works really well to hold your laptop and tablet without taking too much storage space, and it's nice to be able to slip them in and out without worrying about moving stuff around inside. However, the laptop sleeve is a tight fit for my 15" laptop, and especially if my tablet is also in the compartment, it can be a bit tough to zip it closed; the compartment would benefit from being just a touch wider. Also you wouldn't easily be able to take your laptop out while wearing the bag, which may be annoying if you've got to get to it quickly, but generally it's not a problem. The TSA-approved design seems to have a decent success rate in US airports, but internationally you'll probably still have to take out your laptop and tablet. The front handle is surprisingly useful, and also is good for holding your bag on a suitcase handle when traveling. The water bottle pockets are cavernous and super elastic, and can handle pretty much anything you throw at them; long-term durability, however, may be an issue.The only major issues are the lack of a waist strap and the quality of the back panel. The absence of a waist strap is confounding; for a bag this size it would be extremely helpful, especially when hiking or running to catch a train, and wouldn't add much weight or space. The foam back panel is not raised much at all, and because there is no rigid frame, it smushes against your back and can get very sweaty very quickly. Both of these are extremely simple but significant issues, and hopefully they can be fixed in future designs. The addition of a rigid frame would be nice, as the bag is very large and soft, but it'd probably add size and weight and if you have a laptop in the compartment, it basically works as a frame anyway. It is convenient how wide the top compartment opens, but it would be nice if the zipper went all the way to the bottom of the bag, at least on one size, for full side access. Regardless, it's still easy enough to access the bag without taking everything out as it is. The daisy chains on the strap are another very nice touch, though the chest strap is just a bit too long.Even with these issues, this backpack really excels at doing what it has to do. Its beauty is in its simplicity, and if you just want to carry a lot of stuff without worrying about the durability of your bag, this is the one for you.

The Black Hole 32L backpack is pretty awesome but not fully waterproof. I needed a waterproof backpack for bike commuting that had more than one big roll-top compartment. I had another backpack that wasn't waterproof so I had to have a rain cover, and it was too small to fit my lunch bag and change of clothing in it. I decided to give this bag a try after researching the Ortleib rolltop bike commuter bags and realizing I wanted more compartments than the rolltop bags offer.The Black Hole is aptly named because of its large well-construction it creates a lot of space. It is made with thin, lightweight materials that are durable. I was concerned about the weight since it has so many pockets and features but it is quite light. The side water bottle pockets are ... MoreThe Black Hole 32L backpack is pretty awesome but not fully waterproof. I needed a waterproof backpack for bike commuting that had more than one big roll-top compartment. I had another backpack that wasn't waterproof so I had to have a rain cover, and it was too small to fit my lunch bag and change of clothing in it. I decided to give this bag a try after researching the Ortleib rolltop bike commuter bags and realizing I wanted more compartments than the rolltop bags offer.The Black Hole is aptly named because of its large well-construction it creates a lot of space. It is made with thin, lightweight materials that are durable. I was concerned about the weight since it has so many pockets and features but it is quite light. The side water bottle pockets are versatile and stretch to accommodate rain jackets, large water bottles, or whatever else I need to stuff in them in a pinch. The flip-top lid is the perfect design for me because I put materials that have a bit of weight (bike light, work badge, etc.) to them in there. My last backpack had a flip-over design with a pocket that was inconvenient when weighted. The top compartment is spacious and the zip-around-the-top design distributes the weight and doesn't flip the whole bag over when I open the bag up to access the main compartment. There is also a front slim compartment where I can put heavy items that drop to the bottom of the bag. Lastly, the laptop's full zip compartment along the back of the bag is very convenient and as others have mentioned, I don't have to force my laptop into the bag when it is full.Two things to consider. This bag is very water-resistant, not waterproof. I live in Portland where it rains A LOT so this is a bummer. Also, the 32L is a bit too big. I think the 25L with the great design would have been big enough for me.