Brain Bag vs Synik 30

If you think all the way back to April, I mentioned I bought a new (Tom Bihn) bag and just before that I had talked about how my Tom Bihn Synik 30 was “my favorite backpack… ever.”

So, if the Synik 30 was my favorite backpack then why would I get a new one?

As I said in the last bag post…

my addiction to backpacks is legit

— me

To give a bit of a backstory, when I bought the Synik 30, I was going back and forth between the Synik and the Brain Bag… so the backpack had always been on my mind.

There are some things that made the Brain Bag appealing for a long trip with a 6 year old…

• The bag is a beast, but also compresses
• Reviews mention how comfortable it is under heavy load
• I needed to really pack a lot of items for the long trip to Germany

Although the Synik is a large bag in and of itself, it’s 30L compared to the Brain’s 36L. The 30L of the Synik is split against it’s incredibly useful organization pockets – although great for most use, I thought these pockets might be limiting for a long trip.

The Brain Bag has some organizational pockets, but nothing like the Synik.

So, How’d it Do?

It was awesome. The trip to Germany had the bag overstuffed (to say the least), with highlights including:

• Macbook Air
• Anker Power Bank (awesome, but HEAVY @ 1.5lbs)
• Another Anker battery for the iPhone
• My iPad
• iPad for the Princess
• Puffy coat
• change of clothes for me / Princess
• headphones for me
• headphones for Princess
• pillow
• cables / connectors
• US to EU converter
• pills / cleaners / etc
• miscellaneous normal every day carry stuff

The bag was very loaded, and quite heavy.

As I said, this bag was heavy. But, once on the shoulders, wasn’t so bag. The walk in the airport (in Atlanta) was pretty long, but the bag felt good. When we landed in Munich, there was a very long walk (and bus ride) to Customs, but again, the bag felt fine.

Once we got our checked bags, I could offload some items (but sadly not many) and we continued on to Legoland. During the park, I reduced a lot of the items (don’t need the iPads, etc) and the bag was comfortable throughout the long day.

When we bought a 1.5L water, it went right in the “umbrella holder” of the bag. Anything we purchased, in the bag. The bag truly will eat anything you feed it.

How does it compare to the Synik?

For EDC (every day carry), I much prefer the organization and features of the Synik. The bag just naturally compresses when not fully loaded. Although some reviews/opinions dislike the looks, I personally really like the style of the Synik and finds that it works casually as well as at work/commute.

The Synik 30 truly is my favorite backpack.

I have learned, over time, that how you wear the pack absolutely matters. Without any load straps, you really need to make sure the bag is in the right part of your back. If not, it will feel much heavier and can even become a bit uncomfortable.

But, for a trip where you know you’ll need to be able to carry a ton of stuff, the Brain Bag is a no brainer. Just a fantastic bag.

This said, I did spend sometime cleaning up the cord dangles and the look of the umbrella holder is not my favorite (also hangs too low if you put (let’s say) a 1.5L bottle of water in it).