Originally Posted by
crackjack
Man, wish I had known to pick up a replacement Mother Lode Convertible last year… this one has been my go-to for roughly 10 years, but some of the YKK zippers have corroded; the one to the backpack straps compartment just gave way today.
(Not sure what caused it… the laptop compartment zipper also facing this somewhat, though less so. Also, funnily, the ‘eBags’ branded zippers seem to be holding up ok, just scratched up.)
I’ve looked at the Samsonite replacement, but am not really convinced with the new material they use, seems to be not as robust, not sure how it would manage the 15kg+++ I sometimes carry in the current one.
Maybe I’ll need to look at a Tom Bihn 45L… or something similar, those prices are eye popping vs the <$100 I paid for the Mother Lode in the mid-2010s.
Unfortunately, the newer eBags (Samsonite) is not close to being robust like the original. But they're lighter and the compartments are still basically the same.
There's no comparison with Tom Bihn. There zippers are magnificent 👍 And the material too. The best backpack I have is the Synapse that I have packed out for a to go bag. The prices will only keep going up. Just buy a tom Bihn before they go even higher. I say this because I purchased a Montblanc briefcase in 2020 and now the prices doubled! I'm keeping it now, as I had planned to get rid of it.😯