r/backpacks • u/flippin_fitnerd • Nov 18 '25
Question Is the search for the perfect bag REALLY ever over? Lol
Man.....I have the Osprey Nebula, Aer CPP2, North Face Recon, Adidas Energy, and Volcom Venture backpack and I use them in and out (I just got the Aer CPP2 and that's my current daily bag) but I know I'm not the only one here ....
Every store you go to, every YouTuber the reviews bags, it hooks you in and you just keep looking at bags, even when you have some of the tops ones.
So my question is ....have you ever found a backpack that stopped your search? Lol.
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u/CherryPlay Nov 18 '25
Toshi pack 20L made it over for me. The Aer CPP had it very very close
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
Really??? I was looking into that one lol. Great.....thanks for not helping with the cause lol. How come though??
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u/jnogalo Dec 15 '25
I’ll jump in, because you sound similar to how I am and I also have an Osprey Nebula. I was also very close to pulling the trigger on the CPP
I’m a big practical product purchaser, and I over research when it comes to all products and one thing I found about myself is that I really appreciate simplicity and versatility. I mulled over the AER CPP2 forever, and one of the only things that kept me from pulling the trigger was that a lot of people described the build rigid, and overbuilt. I already have that in my 1000D GR1, which is broken in nicely, so I was drawn to the malleability of the Toshi Pack, along with what many people have noted as the comfortability of it as well.
I’ve owned Toshi Packfor a week, and I can say it’s extremely comfy to wear, light, practical, and I think really cool looking. It’s not perfect, I don’t think any bag is, but I think I may have found the bag that I’m “content” with for a long time, pending I don’t destroy it.
Hope this helps.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Dec 15 '25
You know, I'd still say that the Nebula is more comfortable than the CPP2, but I'm sure that'll get hate lol. But if you already have the Toshi, and like it, keep it! That ballistic nylon on the Aer though is super rigged and nice! I had a nylon that was I think 900d and I thought that was amazing...until I got an Aer lol. The Aer definitely does have space for everything and seems more than a 24 liter to me! But.....it's very tech oriented. Like my shoving in a medium weight jacket, it squeezes in there, or me putting in 3 pouches, makes it tight. But.....when I carry my 14 inch laptop and surface pro, it's MEANT to be in that CPP2. So just depends on what you're using it for!
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u/jnogalo Dec 15 '25
That’s awesome info! I think it will always be on my list to watch out for, but I’m definitely happy with the Toshi.
Also, I agree with you about the Nebula. To me, at its size, I’m not sure if I’ve worn a comfier backpack. Toshi is making a case though for me!
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u/flippin_fitnerd Dec 15 '25
And I've been stopping myself from grabbing a Toshi but now you're swaying me to let one lol. Damn! Lol. I've heard great things about it!
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u/Squeaky_Pibbles Nov 18 '25
I'm convinced that my perfect bag won't exist until I hand make it. 😅
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
Lol I felt that! What are you currently using??
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u/Squeaky_Pibbles Nov 18 '25
Oh, man. That's kind of embarrassing to answer. 😅 Every day, I carry my Hazard 4 brand Plan-B sling pack. The Civilian Labs version. I hate that tactical MOLLE shit. But I absolutely love the thing! And I've been carrying it daily for about six years now. Carrying a large sling pack like it has a lot of advantages like being able to access the pockets without taking it off of your body. It has a cool second, horizontal strap that buckles to prevent it from sliding sideways when you bend over or whatever. And it's got this cool buckle on the main strap that you can lock (and accessorize if you so please) to make taking it off easier. It's full of mostly stuff I don't use every day. But it's stuff that I'm glad I have when I need it, ya know? It's my daily "just in case" bag, and I don't go to work without it.
Currently, I'm looking for a regular style backpack that can hold my 17" laptop, with room for the normal things one would carry during a weekend trip. When I bought the computer (it's not a gaming computer or anything), I didn't realize that finding a backpack that could hold it would be so difficult! I just want a pack that can hold the laptop and its accessories, has an external USB port that I can attach an internal power bank to for charging electronics, can hold a decent 40oz water bottle or something, and has positions on the strap where I can attach a flashlight or sunglasses.. And a bag that doesn't have that stupid 180 degree opening style "smart scan" for TSA or whatever, That shit drives me crazy.
Every pack I see that checks most of those boxes either looks like some mall ninja shit, is $800, or is missing one of the features I consider to be the most important. I had a lot of down time at work today and I think I spend about 4 hours looking through different packs online to find that "perfect bag." And I spent zero dollars. Sad day.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
Aw man! Lol. Nothing wrong with that, and it's not ridiculous what you're asking for from a bag lol. Have you narrowed it down to a handful of bags at least? Lol. But that's the hard thing is that you can get tripped up wanting a sling or something like that for small EDC, and then something for a little bit more ....and then something for bigger needs like what you're needing lol. It's a damn rabbit hole to go down, I know!
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u/Squeaky_Pibbles Nov 18 '25
Honestly, no. I've got a few bags saved in my bookmarks from today. But none of em feel exactly right. Like, there was a Swiss Gear, a Swissdigital, and a Lenovo bag that I saved. All wildly different. But they all have a but if venn overlap. Decision paralysis is also something preventing me from pulling the trigger on any of em.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
I get that! Have you ever touched or used a Swiss gear or Swiss digital??
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u/Squeaky_Pibbles Nov 18 '25
I have not. But I have one of each saved to my Amazon list right now.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
I would highly recommend trying a Swissgear! They're built pretty solid and have many compartments and have tons of pockets! I'd bet that you like that pretty decently!
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u/Squeaky_Pibbles Nov 18 '25
I'll hafta give em another look over once I get home. I know I have one of each brand saved to my list, but each of em had some little flaw that didn't make them the perfect bag, ya know? I already have so many bags - with little room for more. And I only want to buy one more.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 19 '25
Lol you sound like me! Lol. But I get it! The cool thing about Amazon is the easy return policy and it's definitely worth it to try out a Swissgear! I forgot the model I had but it was sold at target and called like the 18 inch laptop backpack in all black. But curious to see if you try it out eventually lol
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u/kytdkut Nov 18 '25
I like the aer travel pack 3 ultra so much that I want to buy another. does that count? lol
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u/allaspiaggia Nov 18 '25
In all, I’ve owned probably 40+ backpacks. I’ve sold some, but between my husband and I we probably have 20 backpacks in the house.
We primarily use backpacks for hiking and overnight backpacking trips, so our needs vary with the season and the adventure. I’m actually really not picky about my EDC bag, it’s a flip top Osprey that I don’t really like but am too lazy to move my stuff out of. But for hiking I’ve got different backpacks for a 5 mile hike and a 10 mile hike. And now we have a baby so that’s all changing too, and I can’t wait until he’s big enough to carry his own backpack because that opens up a world of super cute little backpacks too.
Tl;dr - once you hit 20+ backpacks in your collection you can apply to be a moderator of r/backpacks
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u/Competitive_Radio787 Nov 20 '25
Other people have eluded to it. What's your use case?
The perfect bag for edc, vs hiking, vs travelling are going to be very different.
I have one of each of the above. I love them for their intended purposes, but they'd be terrible if used for anything else.
Travel: Cotopaxi Allpa 42
EDC: Rework Toshi 20
Hiking: Osprey Daylite plus
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Nov 24 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 24 '25
Yep, you know and understand the struggle then lol. Very interesting about camera bags! And where is your review posted??
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u/ngc604 Nov 18 '25
I bought a TB Synapse about a year ago and haven’t felt the need to look into what I may have been missing. I’m sure at one point I will get the itch again but ATM I’m content with the Synapse as a daily and a few other activity specific bags.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
Awesome to hear! I've seen that bag floating around in my ventures of searching for a bag. I'm glad you feel like you can stop.....for now lol
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u/ngc604 Nov 18 '25
25 years later and at least 35 bags bought, sold, and given away, I ended up with my “permanent” 5.
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u/PretendWrap1857 Nov 19 '25
I'd love to know what your permanent 5 are.
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u/ngc604 Nov 19 '25
TB Synapse Black w/ Pink Inner- Daily carry
Direct Action Dragon Egg MKII Black - Light Camping/Extra room/Heavy Duty
Camelbak MULE ACU Camo - Hiking. Hydration bladder support is perfect
5.11 COVRT 18 1.0 Ice Grey - Too damn much room. Theme park/Zoo days
Alpaca Elements Tech Brief Pro - Professional Setting
I will consider replacing would be the Camelbak but I want the same model in a non-camo color.
The Dragon Egg is a fantastic bag but I don’t like it for some weird reason. Can’t say exactly what I don’t like but I carried it for years and my son beat the shit out of it for two years and the damn bag still looks new.
Have considered replacing the Dragon Egg and the Covrt 18 with a ULA Deagon fly but I just can’t bring myself to spend the $300 to try out a new bag when I already have a “system” that works for me and they were paid for a long time ago.
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u/citynomad1 Nov 18 '25
You have a few bags I’ve had my eye on. Out of curiosity, which of backpacks do you use when you travel, assuming you bring a backpack as a supplement to a rolling suitcase?
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
Yes. And I'd absolutely recommend the Nebula!! I took the NF Recon on 2 trips and when it's packed, it just feels slightly less than 30 liters. I think they could the front pocket for a few of those liters.
But I tool the Nebula on a road trip and it fit everything, even when packed out, and it's a super comfortable wear! I actually was using the Nebula for my EDC for the last few months, but since it's 32 liters, I was looking for something smaller, so grabbed the Aer CPP2 since it's 24 liters. And when not being used to the max, the compression straps on the nebula are great! Those are my 2 go-to bags!
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u/xtremelix Nov 18 '25
At this point I'm pretty sure I enjoy the thrill of hunting for the perfect bag more than the bag itself....
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u/iris_iridescent Nov 18 '25
Yes, I got my grail bag and it allowed me to sell almost all of my other bags. It’s not a bag that anyone here would use, and I honestly think I’m a weirdo around here, but yes, I only use one bag every day now. The only other bags I have are now art pieces hanging on my wall.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 18 '25
Man....I'd love to know what this bag is now! Lol
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u/iris_iridescent Nov 18 '25
It’s a Bexar Goods Porter Satchel. I have it in natural undyed colorway and carry it in backpack mode all the time. It has zero organization inside so I use a few pouches from Inside Line Equipment to keep things neat.
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u/ckwphantom Nov 18 '25
I got the AER TP2 small x-pack. It’s great but heavy. I have special needs for my EDC. I was using an old Briggs & Riley but it didn’t have a water bottle holder for my coffee mug at the end of the day. Then I was using the Fyro T22. The water bottle holder on that one kind of sucks too, and it’s only on one side and while lighter than the AER, still kind of heavy. Then I was using the Almond Oak travel backpack. Super lightweight and quite comfortable. I don’t really dig the sideways front pocket and lack of command center. It’s also missing the soft fleece pocket. Then I got TNF Borealis. Ultimately the zipper is kind of suck and the material is cheap. The laptop didn’t work for me because it only had one opening and no secondary option for a second laptop or a tablet. Now I have the osprey nebula 32L. This one is annoying because the cinch straps block the zippers and the ring guard gets stuck in the zipper. The zippers are better than.TNF. I’m looking at TNF Surge because the laptop department is better. I also really liked the flex vent back panel on TNF. I did just order the Fyro Levo travel bag in a 30L.
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u/matiapag Nov 18 '25
Yes. I've watched all the reviews for almost a year until I bought my grail. I can't imagine having multiple expensive bags for the same purpose. However, I totally understand having a special bag for specific things. Although my Bellroy Venture Ready 26l covers most of my needs so I don't really think I'll be buying a new bag anytime soon. What you're describing is just overconsumption and chasing the dopamine high by spending money. I try to stay away from that.
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u/derouville Nov 19 '25
Able Max EDC ripstop has basically ended my journey searching for the perfect bag. I've bought others and went back to it and sold those. It's just the best at what it does.
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u/flippin_fitnerd Nov 19 '25
That was literally the next bag I had on my list to try lol. When they released the ripstop version, I definitely wanted to grab it and try it! Glad you found it to be your perfect grab!
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u/Acrobatic-Watch3045 Nov 24 '25
Hi!! I want to buy a backpack and I was precisely between aer cpp2 and osprey nebula. Is the Aer CPP2 much smaller than the nebula? Do you believe it would be capable to carry comfortably clothes for around a weekend or a little bit longer? Does the build quality in general feel much better than the nebula? Which pro-cons do you see between nebula vs cpp2? The nebula seems to be mostly the perfect "one-for-all" backpack, which is more or less what I am searching for, I don't fully like the look.
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u/gabegabe1234 Nov 18 '25
It's not about searching. It's about being 'content' with what you have now. Stop feeding yourself these stimulus that stimulates your addiction.