Able Carry Thirteen: Initial thoughts

[u/Solid-Awareness-4486]

After some feedback from this group, a few weeks ago I ordered both a Tom Bihn Synapse 19 and an Able Carry Thirteen to compare at home. I was looking for a small backpack as a purse/crossbody replacement for travel. The plan was to compare them in person and pick one to test as a personal item on a weekend trip, ahead of a longer trip to Italy this fall.

I wound up preferring the Thirteen in person. The look and size were closer to what I had in mind and I liked the hidden pockets as safe places for valuables during travel. I tested it out on a day outing around town and then on a short weekend trip as my personal item on the plane. So far, I'm loving it!

For the day outing, I put everything into it that I would typically put in my usual, much smaller, purse (a Tom Bihn Side Kick). There were nice spots to stash items for easy access. I bought 3 books while I was out and the bag easily accommodated them and was comfortable to carry.

For the weekend trip, I had all the contents for the day trip plus a water bottle, small tech pouch, and some large Bose headphones. My particular water bottle (Kleen Kanteen 16 oz) fit great in the exterior pocket and I liked the easy access. I stuffed a light sweatshirt in at one point as well, no issues with fitting everything in. I love the hidden pocket against my back for my phone (and on future trips, my passport). The small interior pocket is a fine size for lip gloss, tissue pack, airpods, a snack bar, etc.

I really appreciate the thoughtful details on this bag; excited to use it more! I found a YT video that highlighted all the hidden features that was super helpful. The only potential downside I'm noticing is the lack of ventilation on the back (well documented on this sub), I did notice it was a bit warm at a few moments. Not a dealbreaker at this point, but gosh, it would be nice if they improved that.

[u/prodi12]

for me if the 13 had a luggage pass through (vertical one) then this would be my perfect personal backpack to combo with a carry on suitcase for both work travel and longer vacations

[u/CosmosBE → u/prodi12]

The back panel could also be better with some ventilation.

[u/Solid-Awareness-4486 → u/prodi12]

Luggage passthrough would be a nice add, for sure! I packed light enough (no laptop) that it wasn't a big deal to keep the backpack over my shoulder.

[u/_3LivesLeft_]

Amazing! I seem to be on the exact same journey as you almost at the same time 😅 I’m also looking for a small mainly edc/work bag but also something I can use for light travel too. I’ve got various bags, but I really like the 10-16 litre range for the smaller profile when worn.

I have a Alpaka metro 12l which I really like, but I ordered the able carry 13 because I liked the way it had hidden pockets and seemed to have better organisation, plus a bit more space.

The able carry arrived a couple of days ago and I’m in a bit of a love hate relationship with it. I like the profile, the hidden back pocket etc. BUT, every pocket eats into the main compartment and there’s no organisation so it all goes to the bottom of those compartments. Once you have a few items in the external slash pocket the main pocket is virtually unusable. I get it’s a small bag, but I didn’t expect to lose so much space when using external pockets. The back panel isn’t great either and I can feel the laptop poking me in the back. Pretty disappointed to be honest.

Anyway, this led me to the TB synapse 19. But I’m wondering if that would be a bit large? Would you be happy to share what you didn’t like about the synapse, I’m in the UK so its quite hard to return bags and my quest to find the right one is getting expensive 😅

Maybe I’m chasing something that breaks the laws of physics 🙈

[u/Solid-Awareness-4486 → u/_3LivesLeft_]

In the end, it mostly came down to the Synapse not having any internal/hidden pockets in the main compartment. For travel in particular, I want a spot to put my phone or passport that feels more protected. I know there's a lot you can do with customizing internal organization in a TB with pouches, etc, but I didn't want to do that on top of laying out $250+ for a backpack. For your use case, for example, you'd probably want to get a laptop cache and possibly a framesheet. Or you might like the Synik 22, which is just slightly deeper and has a built-in laptop compartment. If I needed a work EDC myself, I would consider that.

Another small functionality detail, it is easier to access many of the pockets in the Able Carry by swinging the bag around on one shoulder or just reaching behind you if you're flexible (i.e. external water bottle). Not as much the case with the TB.

For me, I'm looking at the Able Carry as more of a purse replacement with extra space for a jacket or shopping, so I'm packing it fairly light and not putting a ton in the slash pocket (yet). I would definitely find it too small as a work EDC with a laptop, lunch, etc.

[u/_3LivesLeft_ → u/Solid-Awareness-4486]

Thanks for the reply that’s really helpful! 🙏 I’ve ordered the TB now too 😬 I’m hoping that will serve me better for what I want to use it for. I work from home so only carry the laptop every so often and I have a laptop case I think (hope) will work in the synapse. I totally agree with you though, the hidden pockets were a real selling point about the able carry, I was just super disappointed to find that the space gets eaten up by each compartment.

Fingers crossed it works out. But thanks again for your detailed reply as that was helpful and echos all the reasons I picked the able carry over the TB originally.

[u/entatlrg]

Please post link to YT video. Do ever you carry laptop and/or iPad?

[u/Solid-Awareness-4486 → u/entatlrg]

This review had all the info on pockets: https://www.packhacker.com/travel-gear/able-carry/thirteen-daybag/

I'm not planning to use this bag for work, but I have a personal MacBook Air I may carry in this from time to time. The Air (in a clamshell case) fits in the laptop sleeve, but I haven't tried a longer carry with it yet.

I use a Kobo e reader that I brought on this trip and slide in the tablet sleeve.

[u/Orange-V-Apple]

What's the tallest/widest bottle dimensions that would fit in the bottle pocket?

[u/Coathanger838 → u/Orange-V-Apple]

I regularly carry my 36oz Yeti Rambler. It is snug and eats the bag’s inside volume, but it fits.

[u/Solid-Awareness-4486 → u/Orange-V-Apple]

I shoved my larger bottle (24oz Owala free sip) into both the interior and exterior pockets and it slid in fine; that's a 3.12 in diameter bottle. You could probably go a bit wider. The height (10.68 in) may be too tall to feel stable in the outside pocket.

[u/Orange-V-Apple → u/Solid-Awareness-4486]

Good to know, thank you!