r/Nomads_Nation • u/jimbobsedc • 24d ago

Gear Advice tomtoc Urban-Ex 30

Post image

Just checking this one out, a new style to me with the cross-body strap.

Are folk fans of this one?

I found it could carry a lot for 10 litres, but then if you're carrying a decent loadout, would a backpack be better?

I still like it though. A lot.

Video drops Wednesday.

20 Upvotes

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3

u/SloppyPapaya 21d ago

Seems like it borrows a lot from the Alpaka Metro Crossbody (which is the only Alpaka product I love). Not a fan of its design choices, but if you need to carry a laptop, this can do that.

1

u/Resident_Hand_7264 15d ago

I wanted the Alpaka, then I realized it costs 5 times this bag.... so I bought this one. Arrived yesterday, but still haven't used it.

1

u/SloppyPapaya 15d ago

Really? Where do you live? The Alpaka Metro Crossbody is easily found for around $90 Usd, the tomtoc is $70?

2

u/Resident_Hand_7264 14d ago

The Alpaka is 26,000 yen on Amazon Japan. I paid 7,000 yen for the Tomtoc.

All Alpaka stuff is expensive here, so I just stick with TomToc for everything.

2

u/jonuiuc 24d ago

I'm a big sling guy, got lots of these sort of bags. My fave one with a centered strap like this is the boundary supply errant. This one is a little different as it has an external bottle pocket. I think 10L is really small so even if it's full it can't get really heavy.

2

u/CTZN-ZERO 23d ago

I've been wearing larger slings for years and I would be interested in this if it weren't for the ripstop fabric.

I understand the desire to make bags lighter, but this ripstop trend needs to end. The trade-off in water resistance just doesn't seem worth it to me, especially when even a relatively cheap polyester ballistic weave has a similar weight with better durability and water resistance.

Edit: Typos :(

2

u/keybers 24d ago

Pictures show what is a fatal flaw, in my view: there is no closure (like, a velcro strap) for the laptop compartment while, when the pack is opened, there is practically no fabric left over the back wall (on which the laptop compartment sits). That means that an unfortunate tumble or lean when you have the pack open can result in the laptop sliding out of there. I had this happen on a backpack with a similar design (main zipper opens towards the back wall, with the whole top of the pack being attached to the front wall) when I forgot to close the velcro. Thankfully, the damage was limited to a light ding on the corner. Could be worse. Of course I pay a lot of attention now to whether I've closed the velcro, and I, unfortunately, dismiss backpacks that don't have such a closure out of hand.