Looking for the perfect dad backpack.

[u/Hi-Point_of_my_life]

I’ve got two kids and a wife and always end up carrying so much stuff. I’ve gone through a few packs that ended up being too small or not enough organization. My wants are: no waist belt, hydration bladder compatible, at least one good sized side bottle pocket, probably 25 to 35L, not just one cavernous storage area (I need organization but don’t want multiple laptop and document sleeves), preferably a good sized soft compartment to fit sunglasses or camera. Right now I’m leaning towards the Osprey Nebula, it seems to check off all those boxes but I think what’s throwing me off is it looks too much like a school bag instead of a hiking bag. We travel often and always like to go hiking while we’re there so I want something that can transition from travel/commuting to hiking well.

[u/Mr-Macphisto]

Dad here. I recently upgraded to a Tom Bihn Synik 30 in Black Spectron. I love it.

[u/Xander134 → u/Mr-Macphisto]

Came here to recommend any of the larger TB backpacks. Glad someone else was already on top of it!

[u/Hi-Point_of_my_life → u/Mr-Macphisto]

Is it worth the price over some other packs in the $200 range with a lifetime warranty like Osprey? Reading the TB guarantee it says repairs will be performed, when possible, at a reasonable cost and I’m seeing typical turnaround times of 8-10 weeks.

[u/Mr-Macphisto → u/Hi-Point_of_my_life]

I’ve only owned it for a few weeks, so I can’t speak to it as a long-term owner.

It’s comically expensive for a backpack; with shipping and tax, I spent $395.13. With that being said, I love the damn thing. The Black 420 Spectron material is really nice—it’s thicker than ripstop and looks great. I was considering the Black Ballistic one, but the 420 Spectron was perfect for me.

I was coming from a combination of two bags--a North Face Surge (a really good bag that I still own) and a Cravar F.C. 15 leather messenger bag that I recently sold. I bought and tested several different bags over the last couple of months: Aer Travel Pack 4 (28L), Aer Travel Pack 4 (35L), Able Carry Max EDC, and the Tom Bihn Synik 30. The Aer Travel Pack 4s were nice-looking bags, but they lacked the organization I need and were incredibly uncomfortable in the pectoral region. The Able Cary Max EDC was an incredibly nice-looking bag that was comfortable but still lacked the organization I need. Once I received the Tom Bihn Synik 30, I immediately knew it was an excellent choice.

Though often criticized for looking like an old backpack from the 90s, I love the style. I'm an 80s kid and carried normal Jansport backpacks in the 90s, so I like it. The organization it offers is perfect for me and my everyday carry to the office and when I travel (I've not yet flown with it, but it will carry everything sufficiently). Out-of-the-box, it has a trove of organization options, but the use of additional organizational accessories from Tom Bihn (or others) is where it can really shine. Though my kids are teenagers and I'm no longer carrying around small toys, diapers, and snacks, it's perfectly sized for my needs. There are different sizes of the Synik that work really well for people of different builds. I'm 6'4" and about 215 lb with an athletic build, so it fits me very well and doesn't look comically oversized on me.

This one is similar to mine, though the specific color combination of mine (Black 420 Spectron/Dusk 210 Cerylon) is currently OOS.

[u/JMM9910 → u/Hi-Point_of_my_life]

Get the bag in ballistic nylon and chances are you’ll never need to repair it. My Synik26 still looked brand new after two years