Got mine 2 weeks ago and been using it since. Have used Able Carry Daily Plus before but i needed some extra litres. The Evergoods is even more comfortable compared to Able to wear for my body. Just love it and happy i finally found it in x-pac. Living in rainy parts of Sweden so x-pac is a must. Your review of this bag is best out there. Keep up your great work man! Cheers!
I am not a soft goods engineer, but it would be nice if Evergoods (and others) produced two versions of a bag like this, one with the elaborate laptop locker, the other without or with just a simple device sleeve for those who travel without a laptop or who do but still would be happy to give up the locker for a lighter bag with more useable space. They might be surprised at which sells better.
100% agree. I would love to see bags like this with a simpler version. I love the design and style, but the laptop compartment takes up so much unnecessary space and room when you're not using it.
@@Kikuyo2 That would be a good alternative. Both great bags, but different packing styles, all the Bellroy pockets share space with the main part of the bag.
The Bellroy is nice but has real disadvantages pointed out in the review on this channel. The best alternative I've found so far is the MEC Outpost 35l. It's well made. The downsides are that it is a bit bigger, has no outside pockets, has just one bottle pocket 0:43 , and still has an external laptop compartment, though it is minimalist in comparison and therefore doesn't waste as much room or add as much weight.
I picked up a CPL28. I noticed laptop padding has stitch lines like origami fold lines. The padding can pop out to create volume in the laptop compartment. Or collapse down to minimize laptop compartment and maximize storage compartment! It's a nice design feature that I didn't know about until I had one in my hands.
Seems like a very nice bag, although a bit of a pity that it’s not truly personal item sized at 26L. But good to know it can fit sideways underneath many airplane seats! I really appreciate the thoroughness of your reviews, especially the packing peanuts and pics of the bag in overhead bins and underseat. Great review!
I've taken the CTB26 fully packed on multiple flights including Southwest, United, Alaska, Frontier, and Jet Blue and have never had an issue with it being used as a personal item. Even had a few times where an airline attendant had to visually confirm my personal item size when I went to print out my ticket. Haven't done an international with the bag yet, but it will at the very least easily pass as a carry-on bag.
Thanks! I've had this same experience many times. A bag that doesn't technically fit in the sizer box may fit easily under the airplane seat. I think this is because the under the seat dimensions, and the sizer box dimensions, are not related at all. Some seats have blocks stiking into them, some are unusually small, and some unusually large. One flight only had 3 under seat sections in front of a row of 4 seats. And sometimes you're in an exit row and can't even put your bag under the seat. In my mind, the sizer box is only important in terms of getting charged extra by the airline. If your bag is over the size you may or may not get caught and charged, but that's a calculated risk. Most airlines don't care, but some do. Most of the time you will be able to fit your bag under the seat, but sometimes you can't, and it's not usually the size of the bag that determines that.
@@OneBagTravels Hello, I have finally traveled one bag over the last weekend with the CTB26 in OD Green. The bag was fully packed out, and I was still able to fit under seat in a budget airline to Indonesia. The weight was at 6.9kgs and I didn't even need to weigh the bag at the airport. It was so easy to live out of the bag. When I was out walking around the city, I repurpose my Alpaka Tech Case Mini which I keep my charger, travel adapter and cables, to a sling and the Peak Design Packable Tote. Now I understand why the CTB26 is so highly rated and it's one of your workhorse. Thank you for your hard work in reviewing this bag
The bag looks very nice. My trip to Jordan and Egypt in 2008 was very different packing. I could only manage to take my camera gear onto the cabin - 7kg of glass. My Osprey Sojourn 60L had sleeping bag for my desert camp in both Egypt and Wadi Rum. In the desert I just flipped the wheels up and dragged the bag around. The Osprey finally gave up the ghost after loaning to a Young'un on their first solo trip overseas to South America last year. Not only bags but my gear has slimmed down. I still prefer a camera but lightweight options over just a phone.
The extra weight for a good camera is worth it if good photos are important. I mostly use my DSLR for videos and generally don't carry it with me on international trips.
I think I have just about all the Evergoods Panel Loaders and Half Zips, plus the 35 liter Travel Bag. They are my go to bags these days and the 28 liter and below work under my seat so far (I even got away with the 35 liter once, but only because I just walked on with it on a European flight and no one caught me). Anyhow, I just got the CTB26 because the one thing the Panel Loaders lacked was the water bottle holders and I never liked traveling with the Half Zips which have them (I use them only for commuting). So, now I have the water bottle holders and am looking forward to trips with it. I was a little disappointed it was 26L and not 28L, but I figured even though 24L is a bit too small, 26L should be big enough (I usually ended up taking the 28L when it came down to it and usually only take the 24L on short car trips).
I just got back from a 12 day trip to Greece and the islands and the CTB26 is a good personal item carry on bag. However, it is tight in the seats! I didn't have any extra legroom seats (3 flights, 2 long haul, one local), even though I upgraded towards the front of the plane (I was in a group of 20 and we were all in the back to start). The water bottle holders were great for keeping one or two bottles handy, or even a hat wedged in there. I like the way it opens out flat once in the hotel. It has plenty of pockets. I pack too much to begin with, so given that I packed this thing quite full, it is a tight package under the airline seats, but it can be done. Once in flight I pull it out from the seat in front of me and place it sideways under my legs, so I can put my feet under the seat in front of me.
You are my favorite bag channel by a mile, you're crushing it! My one question/criticism if you invite it though is that your video resolution looks really low compared to other channels despite showing as 1080p. Do you film far away and zoom in a bunch out of curiosity?
No I don't usually zoom in, or if I do it's just a little bit for close up shots. My camera, Canon M50 has autofocus and sometimes it has a hard time focusing on plain black backpacks, so sometimes close up shots get a little bllurry. Also it could be my lens, or framerate, I've been running 29.97fps, I might try experiementing with other frame rates and seeing if the quality improves.
Big fan of your reviews. Just ordered the CTB26 in OD Green. This will be my first Evergoods bag. I've been keeping my eye on this, watching (re-watching) reviews casually hoping they'd release another color besides black or orange. I have a few other travel/EDC bags - Synik 30, Techonaut 30, and Greenroom 136 Northseeker - which are *near* perfect in their own ways/what they're designed for. Based on reviews, I'm thinking the CTB26 will solve my critiques of my other bags.
I love the Green, wishing I had waited but still very happy with the black. What's your criticism on the Northseeker, thinking about picking up a Rainmaker next year.
@@OneBagTravels my biggest problem with the Northseeker is the straps. They are wide and have a uniform shape and therefore dig into my armpits which makes them quite uncomfortable - unlike the Tom Bihn and Evergoods bags that have more s-shaped straps. My other minor annoyance is the waterbottle pocket is *very* snug with my waterbottle. Otherwise I absolutely love that bag, aesthetically it's really pleasing to me. And things I thought I wouldn't like - such as no dedicated laptop pocket or having the top "stash" pocket as part of the main compartment function quite well and makes the bag unique. Their bookpouch is really nice, I'll sometimes use it to put my laptop in lieu of the dedicated laptop compartment of the Synik 30.
@@embreys Interesting, I can see the shoulder strap thing, they use really wide straps. They have a ton of customizations, weird that curved straps aren't an option.
Great review! Really appreciate how you show the capacity of the bag using packing peanuts and also your thorough review of the smaller spaces like the laptop and front compartments. I'm curious if you will review Boundary Supply (Errant pro) backpack in the future?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you’re comparing the old CPL to the new CTB. if so, the texture is really changed in the V3 CPL, which is a huge difference in my opinion
Yes, this is the old CPL and the new CTB, and yes, they also changed the fabric on the new CPL as well. I was more trying to show the difference in the old vs new features, and not comparing the CTB to the CPL.
CPL isn't suitable for travelling because it lacks depth like CTB. But if you want to use CPL as a travelling bag, we must changed the way we organize our item. CTB looks bulky even at 26L. Compared to CPL 28.
Just a different travel style. The bags aren't really that different, mostly size and exterior pockets. I took the CPL 24 on a trip to Croatia and it was fine. Warmish weather works well for smaller bags, I don't think I could do that in winter.
Great review as always! I'm trying to decide between this and the cpl24 as a personal item for airlines like frontier or spirit. I know you had some trouble fitting it into your sizer when it is fully packed out, but when it is maybe like 70% full, how well does it fit? Any force or anything required to push the bag in? I bought both the cpl and ctb with the intention to return one, turns out I love them both equally for different reasons, but they're too similar to justify owning both! Such a difficult choice lol
The problem with those bags is the length and the stiff backing. Even empty they are tight in the length direction fitting in the box. Obviously you can just bend it a little, or tilt it and it fits fine, but the more you pack in the bag the harder it is to do that. If you fill it 70% you can probably fit it in the Spirit sizer, but it's still going to require at least some effort, meaning it won't slide effortlessly in the box. Both bags look small so it's kind of a roll of the dice with Spirit and Frontier if they will call you out and how picky they are about it fitting.
Thanks for your helpful vids. I love that all the pockets have their own dimensions. I still love my blue CHZ26, but have got my eye on this one with the new, more breathable back. Hope the straps are as comfy as my old one that just kind of hugs me :) How was Jordan? Looks amazing
The straps are a similar design to the older style, but they added that smoother breathable fabric to the back of the straps now. Jordan was amazing, such a cool place with so much history.
Able Carry is agreat bag but it's on the heavy side. Personally I prefer Evergoods CTB of these 3 options. Bellroy is really good too but I just like the style of Evergoods.
How would you compare this to the Peak Design Travel Backpack I see there in the background? I have the 30l PD and like it for travel since it fits under seats easily, and can expand to 33l if needed; but am always on the hunt for a better bag. While slightly smaller, this seems to have a better overall layout and feature set
PD Travel Backpack is a great bag but I like the layout on the CTB better. Lots of pockets, easy to pack, looks good but doesn't stand out as a "travel backpack." Peak Design to me seems a little too fancy sometimes, like great for urban environments but almost too nice for backpack style traveling, and laptop compartment can be awkward when it's full because the lid to your bag is super heavy. They do make a 35L version of the CTB, but I wish they had a sweet spot 30-32L version of this bag.
I think it would. The WxL dimensions of the 2L pouch are similar, but it's way deeper. I can't fit the 2L pouch in that pocket only because I can't get it past the zipper, which is only 8" wide. There's plenty of room in the pocket for the 1L pouch, and my guess is you could get that one past the zipper much easier because it's so much thinner.
Thanks for the review. I was concerned about the recommended sizing chart where the company fits bags in a smaller or larger torso range. At 6’2, I do fall in that larger torso range, but the CTB26 is recommended for the smaller range. Do you see this as legit concern when purchasing?
>24" Torso range? I guess I'm not sure why Evergoods would think it makes much of a difference with a pack that doesn't have a hip belt. Usually torso range is from your neck to your hips, and getting the right size pack is super important for heavy backpacking bags where the hip belt needs to fit on your hips properly, or it's going to be uncomfortable and not take weight off your shoulders. I could see this mattering for the CTB35, which has a hip belt, but the CTB26 doesn't. The only issue I could see with this pack for someone taller is the bag would sit higher up on your back, so the bottom of the pack could rest on your lower back more, instead of on the upper part of your butt and could feel like it's "digging" into your back. I don't know how much of an issue this would be here, but I suspect that unless you've experienced this issue before with other packs, it's probably not going to be an issue here.
I'm debating between this and the MLC. I want to use a backpack as an under seat personal item. I like the CTB but it is a lot more expensive than the MLC. Which would you choose?
Mini MLC has more room but CTB is a better built bag. Mini MLC holds a lot, but I'd say it's more utilitarian, it has a boxy simple design that works great, but isn't the best looking pack. CTB looks great, has great packability, and is super durable, but your gear goes into several smaller pockets rather than one giant compartments so packing it isn't as straightforward.
Are the daisy chain loops connected to top dump pocket like in the evergoods half zip? When I use the daisy chain in half zip it tends to drag down the dump pocket from the inside
The interior daisy chains on the inside top of the pack? I don't have the half zip to see what you mean but the daisy chains on the CTB connect to the inside of the laptop panel, not the top dump pocket so it won't pull on it.
Thank you! Love your reviews! Could I please ask ur opinion between evergoods ctb26 vs peak design 30l and evergoods ctb35 vs peak design 45l? Kind regards!🙏🏽🙏🏽
@@j5izalive761 Carry comfort and packing style are the big differences between Evergoods and Peak Design. Evergoods has ~2/3 volume in a main compartment, and the rest in 3D pockets all with their own volume. Peak Design has most of the volume in one large main compartment. Peak Design prioritizes organization and protection of camera gear, and has slimmer shoulder straps to accomodate attaching their accessories. I think this is fine for the 30L size, but the straps on the 45 seem small for the amount of weight you're carrying. For the smaller bags I think it's more about which style you prefer and which bag you like the look of the most, I don't think you can go wrong with either of those.
Agreed. I wish the laptop compartment was removable to cut down weight if you're trying to go slimmer. They make a simpler pack, the Panel Loader Classic in 20L, I would love if they recreated this simpler style but in the design of the Civic Travel Bag. Simmed down and lighter, it would be perfect.
I’m not sure if every backpack does this, but it looks like the zippers don’t completely close when pushed together unless pushed to the bottom of the bag. Do you find that to be an issue?
I think it's more the large zippers, especially if you close it on a corner. They do come together, but the zipper mechanism is huge so it looks like there's a gap. When you put them together on the corner, the bottom will touch first and leave a small gap on the top looking like they're not together.
Did you find the CTB 26 to pack and carry as well as the Thule Aion 28? I've been enjoying the Aion 28 and its large (and expandable) bucket, but the CTB definitely seems like a better bag if you are taking a laptop.
Laptop is better on the CTB because of the separate compartment. I like how the Aion packs but expanding zipper makes it stick out a little depthwise, where the CTB is wider, which I think makes the packing a little more straightforward.
I actually like the expansion zipper and didn't find it too cumbersome when I had it expanded. Certainly helped when packing and then compressing after zipping everything up. Do you think you can pack the same amount of items in the CTB26 as you can with the Aion?
@@OneBagTravelswhere did you get that? As far as I know those haven’t been released…..yet. I know the v1 CPL was released in UR but I don’t believe there was a UR CAP1/2 yet. Maybe it’s burgundy?
I only have two of their bags but no I haven't had this issue. The back has a framesheet and good structure so shouldn't bend, there's nothing sticking out on the bottom of the pack to dig into your back. Have you had this issue with Evergoods bags?
Ok last things first, good choice of coffee, worth the extra bag, and sure thing thanks for the informative review for me it cant get better, you cover all aspect, so i would like ask you i am thinking of one bag for all, so i guess this one is good one but if the comparison between PD EVERYDAY BACKPACK 30l vs TRAVEL BACKPACK 30L VSEvergoods Civic Travel Bag 26 VS blackember CITADEL 25 - MAX,,,,,, ps i read ALL comments down to see you one question about PD but not a sufficient answer for me, also i discovered a new one like Samsonite Bleisure 17.3" 34/39L,, and sure thing there is your new video with all your favorite bags that makes me more confused ,,,, So maybe let me put my question as follow,,,,,,, if you have the budget of 300$+- ... you want to gift your brother a bag to use every day, business, travel, and have the versatility to use for as camera , somewhat weather proof because why not at this price range and turn head in style and make me thankful for when wearing what would you advise me! or gift me with an answer please help ohhh forget to mention the nomatic MCKINNON CAMERA PACK 25L
Since you bring up Nomatic, why not include their new Navitator Travel Backpack, it's $400 but looks nice, or the Able Carry Max, Aer Travel Pack 3 Small X-pac, Bellroy Transit 28, Hemiplanet Travel Pack 24 😳. Lots to choose from, I can see your struggle, I've been doing this for 5 years and I still can't decide on my favorite pack 😆 For the ones you mentioned, I like the Evergoods CTB, but I don't think it's going to turn any heads. Blackember Citadel is probably looks the nicest for business travel, has water resistant zippers and fabric, could be a good option if used with a rolling suitcase (unless your brother can pack that small). Peak Design bags look good and are probably a better option for camera gear because they have structure and camera inserts, the Everyday Zip is a nice hybrid of a travel pack and camera bag, it's moderately water resistant looks nice, and is a good value for the price. I haven't tried the McKinnon Camera Pack but it looks nice, kind of a hybrid between Peak Design Everyday and Travel Backpack. Bleisure I haven't tried either but it gives off Tumi vibes, but less expensive. Could be a decent bag but I don't think a Samsonite bag will turn any heads either. Hope that helps!
There’s also the Tortuga Travel 30l, Heimplanet Travel 28l v2, Minaal Carry on 35l, and Matador Seg 28l is a stretch (their Globe Rider 45l is nice but too big and their laptop doesn’t fit a 16” even though they say you can, it’s super tight and can’t put any thin sleeve on it but other than that, it’s a nice soft goods travel pack). You might also consider Shimoda Urban Explorer 25/30l or Wandrd Travel Line 35l but those are more geared towards camera gear but can be used in office environments.
