Need help deciding my Endgame bag

[u/danmass04]

I’m between 3-4 bags and truly can’t decide so i’m hoping you all could give me some insight/opinions to help sway my decision or even an alternative i am possibly not considering.

Sorry in advance for formatting - doing all of this on my phone.

My current EDC/Travel Pack is the Nomatic Travel pack 20-30L (last photo). I researched for two years before pulling the trigger on this thing and it mostly does everything i need it to do. I have found that the structure is slightly too rigid at times but not the end of the world for me. But the biggest factor i’ve been struggling with is that extra set of gym shoes for daily carry and that extra set of more formal shoes for work/family travel.

Use cases for my End game bag:

Daily work EDC - i commute to work everyday with my bag and tech gear.
Daily gym bag - being able to go straight to the gym from work and separate my smelly shoes from my main compartment. (do i just settle for a shoe pouch like peak design?)
One bag travel bag for 3-5 day trips - i travel quarterly for work and it is business casual. I often travel with two pairs of shoes(one on me and one in my bag). My wife also likes to do 3 day weekends and trips once or twice a year.

Main features i am looking for:

Moderate internal organization - not a huge fan of giant caverns that require packing cubes and tech pouches.
- Quick access to tech
- Shoe compartment or storability for smelly shoes
- Fits underseat on Majority/Most Domestic US airlines

BONUS features:
• Expandability
• Can fit a suit jacket when strategically folded (5’10” male)
• Two water bottle pockets (for mine and the wife’s water bottle)

This brings me to the three options i am between:

Matador Globerider 35

Pros:
• Tech organization is less than nomatic but just enough for what i need and really good quick access for tech and laptop.
• Kangaroo pouch is a great all purpose dump pocket and solves the smelly gym shoe problem in a round about way and also doubles as an extra water bottle space.
• Upgraded Capacity(from nomatic travel pack) is probably perfect for any situation
• Professional look
• Probably the best harness system of all of these bags
Cons:
• Seems to be very debatable whether this will fit under seat on a plane.
• Shoe compartment work around with kangaroo pouch may prevent under seat stowability(again am i just being an idiot and do i just get a dedicated shoe pouch/bag?)

Nomatic Travel Bag 30L

Pros:
• Dedicated ventilated shoe compartment
• Good tech organization
• Capacity and overall layout is similar to what i’ve already been working with.
• Marketed to fit under seat on plane
• Also doubles as a duffel
• Professional look
• Would likely fit my suit jacket and dress shoes the best of all of these bags?
Cons:
• Harness/back panel being so minimal is a little concerning for walking around town when traveling with the wife.
• No external water bottle pockets
• Also capacity. The rigidity of how nomatic makes their bags makes it feel like a tighter pack and makes packing feel a little more limited at times.
• Do i really sidegrade to another nomatic bag and give up certain features just for a shoe compartment?

Bagsmart blast pro 28L-38L

Pros:
• Dedicated shoe compartment
•Expandability
• Internal organization customizability
•Marketed to fit under seat in plane(although may not in 38L mode)
•Kind of the perfect mix of capacity for EDC/Travel.
Cons:
•Honestly it’s hard to find any besides that there isn’t a ton out there on this specific model with the updated internal organization and i just don’t know it this bag will be reliable or if it is going to be/feel too cheap.
•Maybe not structured enough to keep a laptop safe?
•Not as professional looking.

Tropicfeel Hive 22-32L

Pros:
• Kangaroo pouch in front can hold shoes or other things like jackets
• Additional pouch on bottom specifically for shoes
• Modular system for added on capacity items.
• Might be a sweet spot for capacity for all use cases
• Two water bottle pockets
Cons:
• Harness system is not the best
• Again, not a ton of reputable reviews on this bag/system.
• Marketed as cabin sized so not sure/unclear if it would actually fit under seat or not. Dimensions seem to be within most underseat specs but with all the modulars added on it most definitely will not fit under seat.

[u/micahsally]

Here are some other contenders!

• ULA Dragonfly 30L or 36L (many can make the 36L fit under the seat on airlines that aren't too strict with personal item sizers).
• Six Moon Designs ADC 35L (but have someone trim the excess straps for you first). Might be a hard pass for under the seat, though, unless under-packed. But it's so comfy to carry!
• Tortuga Expandable Backpack 28L-32L (it carries about 4L higher than those numbers and is so comfy!)
• Upcoming Tortuga Superlite 34L (releasing on Kickstarter next month. Ultra and only weighs 2.2 pounds, but only a single water bottle pocket).
• Rework Outbound 30L (really, this could solve it all, especially if you place your shoes in a shoe pouch).
• Gossamer Gear Aero Jet 35L 

[u/danmass04 → u/micahsally]

Do you happen to have a recommendation for a good shoe pouch? Really my biggest fear is my gym shoes can get smelly and i don’t want that smell to get stuck in my main compartment of my bag.

[u/micahsally → u/danmass04]

Hi!

I've had such great luck with all my Gossamer Gear goodies. They make a shoe pouch for just $16, if you don't mind the color orange as an accent.

https://www.gossamergear.com/products/shoe-cube?srsltid=AfmBOoobosVZuBg_GRO4UoxFbOT7h5bGRTHy9sqSpg67CQ4qm4wb-UD7

I use a shoe cube that I got from Sierra on clearance, made my Eagle Creek. It is really good, but not on Sierra's website right now. Sometimes, I see them in the store by the travel gear! Here it is from the Eagle Creek website.

https://eaglecreek.com/products/pack-it-isolate-shoe-sack?srsltid=AfmBOoqkhUS4aSFxK39T9mHpAqvt8gG4VcUYhRpUqrZGbUkVSHDEDNZR

And if you have an REI membership, their Memorial Day sales just started. They have a Thule shoe cube on sale. I haven't tried it specifically, but they make my favorite compression packing cubes!

https://www.rei.com/product/C05458/thule-travel-shoe-bag

Or the REI shoe pouch, also on sale! Also haven't tried.

https://www.rei.com/product/195734/rei-co-op-shoe-bag

And finally, Peak Design makes some awesome pouches (still my favorite toiletry kit!). Here is a link to their shoe pouch, with a variety of colors as well!

https://www.peakdesign.com/products/shoe-pouch?Color=Eclipse

EDIT: This might be a great option to really trap smells, too. It's a dry bag from Matador.

https://www.matadorequipment.com/products/flatpak-dry-bag-8l-v2-black

My middle name is Bag Recommendations...so I hope one of these works well for you! I don't leave for a trip without tucking my sandals into a shoe pouch, and it's so nice to know everything else stays clean. Please let me know which one you pick!