New Tom Bihn bag
Apr 29, 2009, 7:15 pm
#16
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 126
I used to own an Ebags Weekender...decent bag...I sold it for a few reasons.
Dimensions are 22 x 14 x 9...okay for U.S....but too big for restrictive overseas flights.
Weight....empty if weighs just under 4 pounds. Tri-star weighs under 3. Again with carry-on weigh restrictions, every pound counts.
I found the front organizer pocket a waste. The pockets were okay for small things although I never used them and the front pocket itself was fairly shallow.
For the price, it's okay, if your travels don't take you on airlines that restrict.
Oh, and it holds a ton which may make it easy for people to overpack.
Dimensions are 22 x 14 x 9...okay for U.S....but too big for restrictive overseas flights.
Weight....empty if weighs just under 4 pounds. Tri-star weighs under 3. Again with carry-on weigh restrictions, every pound counts.
I found the front organizer pocket a waste. The pockets were okay for small things although I never used them and the front pocket itself was fairly shallow.
For the price, it's okay, if your travels don't take you on airlines that restrict.
Oh, and it holds a ton which may make it easy for people to overpack.
Apr 29, 2009, 7:17 pm
#17
Join Date: Feb 2008
Posts: 126
I'm probably going to get a Tri-Star.....to save some money, though, instead of buying the accompanying packing cubes, I realize both my Eagle Creek 18 Folder and EC Double Cube will fit in the bag. One in the front pocket, one in the back.
This leaves the middle section for electronics and knick knacks.
This leaves the middle section for electronics and knick knacks.
Apr 29, 2009, 7:25 pm
#18
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: North of 90 S
Programs: B6 Mosaic, WN A-List
Posts: 565
All links keep returning:
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Apr 30, 2009, 1:49 pm
#20
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 11
Thanks. 
Our 1050 denier ballistic nylon is treated with a 1-1/2 oz. per square yard urethane coating that helps prevent water from penetrating the fabric. Most 1050 ballistic nylon is made with three-quarter to one ounce polyurethane coating because less coating = less expensive. It is fairly rare for ballistic to be made with a coating as heavy as ours. The face of the fabric is treated with a durable water-repellent. There are membranes/laminates/coatings that can be less than 120g and still be waterproof, BTW. Our fabric suppliers' labs are always conducting fabric tests for us and we hope to post some water-resistance tests on our site soon.
In our own tests and tests performed by reviewers of our products (one reviewer took a five minute shower with his Aeronaut, which has the YKK Uretek splash-proof zippers, and no water entered the bag) the YKK Uretek zipper has far better water-repellency than a non-Uretek zipper. The feedback from our customers backs that up. I understand it's your opinion that the zipper is purely cosmetic (and it is one good-looking zipper!) but our five years of use of the zipper confirms its value adding water repellency to our products.
Hmm . . . I can't find any reference that backs that up. Probably neither here nor there. I'm an expert on only one bag company.
Hmm . . . I can't find any reference that backs that up. Probably neither here nor there. I'm an expert on only one bag company.
Apr 30, 2009, 1:51 pm
#21
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 11
Our site is up-and-running, but it is hiccup-ing here and there. If anyone gets error messages, keep trying! Sorry for the inconvenience.
[QUOTE=ScottC]Welcome to Flyertalk, Darcy! Great to have you here![/URL]
Thanks, ScottC. Please let me know if I post anything I shouldn't!
[QUOTE=ScottC]Welcome to Flyertalk, Darcy! Great to have you here![/URL]
Thanks, ScottC. Please let me know if I post anything I shouldn't!
Apr 30, 2009, 9:21 pm
#24
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, Rayong, Thailand, USA, Florida, NY and California
Programs: American Platinum Lifetime, Starwood Gold, United, Krisflyer, Delta, Lufthansa, Thai, Int. Avenger
Posts: 419
Hello! Darcy from TOM BIHN here.
Victorinox, to our knowledge, has never used 1050 denier ballistic nylon.
We've been using YKK's Uretek splash-proof zippers for over five years. Our customers (and external reviewers) have tested the water-resistance of these zippers whether on purpose (one reviewer took a shower with his Aeronaut to test the zippers) or not (customers caught in a rain storm), and the feedback has been resoundingly positive.
An unshielded standard zipper is much less water-resistant than our YKK Uretek zippers. In addition, our 1050 denier ballistic nylon fabric is waterproof - what makes our bags not completely waterproof is that the bags are sewn as opposed to RF-welded. Only bags that are RF-welded - like Ortlieb bags - can be called waterproof.
If any FlyerTalk forum members have questions about the Tri-Star, ask away.
Victorinox, to our knowledge, has never used 1050 denier ballistic nylon.
We've been using YKK's Uretek splash-proof zippers for over five years. Our customers (and external reviewers) have tested the water-resistance of these zippers whether on purpose (one reviewer took a shower with his Aeronaut to test the zippers) or not (customers caught in a rain storm), and the feedback has been resoundingly positive.
An unshielded standard zipper is much less water-resistant than our YKK Uretek zippers. In addition, our 1050 denier ballistic nylon fabric is waterproof - what makes our bags not completely waterproof is that the bags are sewn as opposed to RF-welded. Only bags that are RF-welded - like Ortlieb bags - can be called waterproof.
If any FlyerTalk forum members have questions about the Tri-Star, ask away.
It would be nice to see someone from Travel Pro come on here and defend their warranty (or non-warranty fraud) program.
May 1, 2009, 7:58 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: west of DFW airport
Programs: AA LT Gold 1.9 MM flying my way to LT PLAT
Posts: 11,074
Welcome Darcy! It is great to see a fine company represented here. You have found the mother lode of folks who own entirely too much luggage as we seek perfection.
May 1, 2009, 8:31 am
#26
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Grazie Gold Lounge
Programs: UA-2MM; GalacticXpress-Irridium
Posts: 10,332
. We should start a thread of who owns what.
May 1, 2009, 11:58 am
#27
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Seattle, Washington
Posts: 11
Thanks for all of the warm welcomes! I am having a lot of fun reading the posts here.
This discussion has spurred further research (on my part - Tom and June, our factory manager, are already experts) into the world of fabrics and materials that we use. The U.S. company that makes our custom 1050 denier ballistic nylon has been amazingly helpful. It's so cool that we get to talk directly with the fabric lab. We've been inspired to create a fabric/material glossary on our site - look for that sometime in June.
This discussion has spurred further research (on my part - Tom and June, our factory manager, are already experts) into the world of fabrics and materials that we use. The U.S. company that makes our custom 1050 denier ballistic nylon has been amazingly helpful. It's so cool that we get to talk directly with the fabric lab. We've been inspired to create a fabric/material glossary on our site - look for that sometime in June.
May 1, 2009, 12:09 pm
#28
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: west of DFW airport
Programs: AA LT Gold 1.9 MM flying my way to LT PLAT
Posts: 11,074
May 1, 2009, 4:59 pm
#30
Join Date: Feb 2001
Posts: 325
I used to own an Ebags Weekender...decent bag...I sold it for a few reasons.
Dimensions are 22 x 14 x 9...okay for U.S....but too big for restrictive overseas flights.
Weight....empty if weighs just under 4 pounds. Tri-star weighs under 3. Again with carry-on weigh restrictions, every pound counts.
I found the front organizer pocket a waste. The pockets were okay for small things although I never used them and the front pocket itself was fairly shallow.
For the price, it's okay, if your travels don't take you on airlines that restrict.
Oh, and it holds a ton which may make it easy for people to overpack.
Dimensions are 22 x 14 x 9...okay for U.S....but too big for restrictive overseas flights.
Weight....empty if weighs just under 4 pounds. Tri-star weighs under 3. Again with carry-on weigh restrictions, every pound counts.
I found the front organizer pocket a waste. The pockets were okay for small things although I never used them and the front pocket itself was fairly shallow.
For the price, it's okay, if your travels don't take you on airlines that restrict.
Oh, and it holds a ton which may make it easy for people to overpack.
I'm sure neither of these Jansport bags are the quality of the Tom Bihn.
On the other hand, I found a Weekaway in an awful fabric (brown with pink dots) for $15 at my local Ross store. It is good to see that this category is attracting interest from the manufacturers. I have a similar 20 year old bag from Members Only (!) that will someday need to be replaced. -- Suzanne