My obsession with bags has grown strong over the past few months. This mainly due to the fact that I have been working 45+ hours a week, the addition of a new puppy, my membership at a new crossfit gym, and the addition of school starting up. My days are filled to the brim with activities and objectives and the right gear will always help me reach my goals. I have been using my newly acquired GR2 34L as my go to crossfit bag along with my main ruck for those lake side workouts. My 15L Bullet also from Goruck is serving as my daily work bag and is doing a great job. In the time between work and working out, I found I needed a bag a bit smaller then my GR2 and bigger then my 15L Bullet. I love both of the bags although I like to stay organized and leave my crossfit items in the GR2 and my daily work items in the Bullet. My quest for the perfect edc/day bag started again. I had originally used my GR0 as my dec bag but recently sold that to upgrade to my GR2.

After a few nights of searching for another American made company with the same standards as Goruck I found Tom Bihn. Tom Bihn was founded in 1972 by Tom Bihn. Tom has been making and designing bags since the age of 10. Needless to say he knows what he is doing, and it shows. When I found Tom Bihn and learned that all their products are hand made in the U.S., backed by a lifetime guarantee, and made with the best materials, I was in. Like I have said before it is rare to find a company like Tom Bihn in today’s day and age.

The search for my new daypack led me to the Synapse backpack line. This pack comes in a 25L version and a smaller 19L version invarious colors. I chose the Synapse 19 in Coyote and Steel. The first thing I noticed about this pack was that it is built from the same tough, abrasion resistant, badass 1000D Cordura as most of the Goruck packs. I had almost no experience with this fabric before my first Goruck pack and I am now addicted. Not only was the Synapse pack built with the Cordura but accompanied by #8 Water Tight YKK zippers, and padded EVAZOTE Foam shoulder straps.

The pack itself does not scream “Tactial!” Like many of the other day packs I have looked into and I love that it about the bag. I will be using this bag for EDC including school, day hikes, dog park trips, dog walks, mall trips, and whatever else I do day to day. The last thing I want to do is carry around a huge tactical pack built like a tank all day. (That is what my GR2 is for.) I wanted a good, clean looking backpack that had a elegant but built to be abused and used feel to it. Some of the packs you see around especially in big name retail stores now days look like a bunch of belts strapped to a sack, which I doubt can be very practical and I just cannot see myself dealing with that day to day. Just the look of this pack had me hooked, let alone the use of grade A materials.

Enough of the build up.. now finally on to the pack itself. The Coyote color is perfect and I think goes with the YKK watertight zipper’s black outline great. The inside Steel color is also handy as it helps me see inside the pack and exactly where smaller items are instead of the normal black inside. On the front and center of the pack is the classic looking Tom Bihn logo.