Pretty neat chance to see something evolve from concept to production. Not sure if I’m allowed to spill the proverbial tea, necessarily, but I will say a lot of minor fixes made the final product a REALLY intelligently designed organizer pocket for frequent travelers. Sizing was the most important part! The sizes of the final products just feel right in the hand, it's that signature Tom Bihn thoughtful design that I love about their brand.
More details & quick thoughts on the pouch, to supplant the official details on the product page:
1 - Go for the halcyon fabric. It’s incredibly durable and the added pliability makes it easier to get in and out of your bag. If you intend on using the smaller pouch in the side pockets of the larger Synapse/Synik, it is going to be tough to cram in when the pouch is fully packed. You want the halcyon.
2 - They kind of undersell this feature, but the hand grabber loop on the external ‘spine’ of the pouch is super elegant for carrying the thing around.
3 - This thing catches the traveling public’s imagination unlike anything else I’ve ever carried. I used the (excellent) clips on the back to hook it to my seatback pocket, and people were stopping in the aisle to ask me what pouch it was. Even the FAs stopped by to ask me about the pouch.
A few capacity pictures, and a comparison of a fully packed HLT to my Eagle Creek Specter XS cube, which I’ve used for years prior to the HLT. On a side note, the XS tech cube is FANTASTIC - super high quality and great for organizing odds and ends.
NOTE: this is the smaller pouch. I will take a few pictures of the larger model and do some comparison shots in a separate post when I'm back from the next few weeks of travel.
Fully Packed - the halcyon is fantastic.
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I'm one of those weirdos that wipes down my armrest and tray table while flying. All it took was one flight where I got super, super sick and I'm now Mr. Sanitary. |
My in-flight loadout. Not pictured, mandatory Chapstick and a Fisher Space Pen.
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Bihn HLT vs. the excellent Eagle Creek XS Tech Specter Cube
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For details on my load out for inflight, my primary consideration is powering an iPad Pro, MacBook 12", my iPhone and a Nintendo Switch. I do a lot of cross country flights, so power is a must.
In summary: if you’ve been looking for an organizer that fits elegantly in your Synik / Synapse, this is it. I’ve been carrying an eagle creek specter XS pouch for years.. the HLT is a huge quality of life improvement even after 3 flights.
PS: if you're a frequent business traveller and give a lot of thought to simplifying / optimizing travel, you're our type of reader. See our Bihn Synik Review. If you are more of a onebag traveller type, we put up some quick impressions of the VERY underrated Cotopaxi Allpa as well. Lastly, I'm very confident I've found the best mens' travel pants out there. They're simple Nike run pants. Follow us on instagram - @allspoken