Tom Bihn Guide’s Backpack Review #AlpineLegend

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• published: 13 May 2017
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Here’s a review of the Tom Bihn guide pack. Incredibly well built bag with classic alpine master outdoor styling. Really really well built. Really really fun bag to use. THIS BAG: https://www.tombihn.com/products/the-guides-pack?variant=16409789831 MY PODCAST: FizzleShow.co BUSINESS TRAINING: Fizzle.co TWITTER: twitter.com/chase_reeves FACEBOOK: facebook.com/chase.reeves YOUTUBE: youtube.com/user/chasereeves ---- MATERIALS: Exterior and lining: 420d HT nylon Classic Parapack Bottom: 1050 denier HT ballistic nylon Dri-Lex® Aero-Spacer® mesh upper back Closed-cell foam back EVAZOTE® foam shoulder straps Tough Duraflex® and Nexus buckles #8 and #5 YKK zippers CONSTRUCTION: Made in USA 100% finished seams SPECS: Dimensions: 21.5" x 12.5" x 9.5" / 550 x 320 x 240 mm Volume: 1900 cubic in / 31 liters Weight: 2 lb 8 oz / 1130 grams Side Pocket: Weight: 6.4 oz / 180 grams Volume: 165 cubic in / 2.7 liters (ASTM Standard Measure) Dimensions: 12.2" x 6.3" x 3.75" / 310 x 160 x 95 mm Lead's "Admin" Pocket: Weight: 11.8 oz / 335 grams Volume: 165 cubic in / 2.7 liters (ASTM Standard Measure) Dimensions: 12.2" x 6.3" x 3.75" / 310 x 160 x 95 mm Removable 1" / 25 mm waist strap included .375" / 10 mm padded and contoured backpack straps with .75" / 20 mm removable sternum strap ---- FROM THEIR WEBSITE: Our top-loading internal frame outdoor pack. A couple of years ago, I set out to revisit some of the designs from the extensive experience of my youth: I wanted to see what features and materials were still useful, and which were better off left in the past. Now that I've come back up for air, we can finally share with you the initial results. Functionally modern, yet aesthetically grounded in our 40+ years of outdoor-equipment design, The Guide's Pack is a daypack for hiking and mountaineering; it will likely be as at home on city streets as on alpine trails. It's a top-loading backpack that closes with a drawstring and top flap pocket. The drawstring runs through eight #00 spur grommets (made specially for us in the U.K.) and cinches tight with a cord lock. The top flap pocket fastens down with two 1" side-release buckles and nylon webbing straps; it's actually three pockets in one: the main pocket has two stealthy mesh pockets on its underside. One mesh pocket is sized for an iPhone, the other fits even larger GPS units, though of course you get to put whatever you want in there; the larger mesh pocket has an O-ring so you can tether your keys, multitool, or an Organizer Pouch. If you're sitting somewhere and have the bag on your lap, you can covertly slip a hand under the lid, with the bag still buckled up tight, and zip open one of those mesh pockets to retrieve your phone or what-have-you. The main compartment of the top pocket is pretty much open space ready for you to move in: generously sized, it can accommodate a hungry-hiker-sized lunch or foul-weather gear — I put a large first aid kit, warm gloves, extra knit cap, and my StenLight in there, and there's still extra room. It closes with a #8 YKK coil zipper with a rain flap. Inside, there are two O-rings so you can rein in small stuff that might otherwise escape — important if you're out in bad weather. In the dark. And you're tired. And hungry. And cold. But I digress . . . The main compartment, as I said above, closes with a drawstring and cord lock: a foolproof closure, unlikely to ever fail. Inside this rather large main compartment goes extra clothing, more food, camera equipment. As you load it up, remember to keep the center of gravity low for off-trail scrambling and high for groomed trails, though for such a small pack you may not notice much of a difference. Two more O-rings to attach more stuff are there if you need them, but easy to ignore if you don't. If you'd like to carry a laptop in The Guide's Pack, we'd recommend first putting it in a Cache or Vertical Brain Cell, as there's no built-in compartment for a laptop in the pack.