Fyro pack: review after a few weeks' carry
Here's my impressions. Sections:
- Clear wins
- Things to talk about, but mostly wins
- Things to keep an eye on
- How to make v2 the best bag
Clear wins
First, buying things on kickstarter is always a craps shoot. And that's definitely true with backpacks (I have a Taskin One -- don't @ me). This pack delivered what was promised. It feels high quality, it's built very well, design is excellent. Thumbs up.
Next, it carries really well. I've been using it as my work backpack, replacing a series of packs, most recently an old 5.11 Covrt 18. Compared to basically any other pack I've carried for work, this one just feels "high and tight" on my back, and is a good deal easier to carry the load as the weight is where it should be.
Lastly, this is the first EDC/work pack I've had that stands by itself. More on this later on, but I'm not sure I can live without this feature in a future pack!
Things to talk about, but mostly wins
The organization is not pocket heavy, I knew that going in. Three elastic pockets in main compartment, and some organization in the hatch (if you use both water bottle pockets), and a compartment for laptop & notebook. I knew going in I'd be using those pockets for just my most-grabbed stuff, and switching to pouches otherwise. I am actually enjoying the discipline on this -- I've really optimized what goes in the elastic pockets and hatch. This has paid off in interesting ways. Last week I was going to use the pack for a day activity. With my old hyper-organized pack, I'd spend 5 minutes going through the zillion pockets, emptying out what was only needed for work, and filling back up with what was needed that day. Instead, I pull out my tech pouch, secondary work pound, laptop, and notebook, and drop in the pouch with what I need for that day. Work to EDC in like 30 seconds, unbelievable.
I still wish there were a couple more pockets, but the hyper fast switch when I change missions, plus how much I've been forced to optimize the organization that's there, is making me more efficient. I was worried I'd be unhappy eventually with the lack of organization, but I'm finding myself happy with the system.
The Hatch was the next thing. Aaron shows it's biggest advantage, when he swings the pack around front and pulls something out of it. Realistically, I knew going in I am likely never going to do this even once over the life of the pack, so I'm not using the pack's defining feature the way it's intended -- am I just going to have a wasted front organization with a vertical zipper I'm worried about falling down by itself? No, I found an unbelievably useful way to use the Hatch (for me). When I go into work, because the pack stands up by itself, I sit it on the corner of my desk and zip open the Hatch. Super convenient to take things in and out. All the things I need to grab often, that aren't already in my tech pouch, are there in the hatch, so the Hatch is like a second quick-grab pouch for me, I'm in and out of it all day, and the vertical zipper is what makes it work.
Lastly, I swore I'd never buy another pack without a quick-grab pocket, the kind of pocket that many makers put on top of the pack, that just fits a phone or glasses. Fyro doesn't have one. Because the elastic pockets of the main compartment are high and close to teh zippers, I've been using those instead. Not as good as a quick grab pocket, but I can live with it, still fast to drop my glasses in and retrieve them.
Things to keep an eye on
My biggest peeve with the bag is the pull tabs on the zippers. This sounds like a minor nit, but think about how often you're in and out of the bag if you're working out of it. The zippers are a loop that snap together, done this way because when zipped closed, you can unsnap the zipper and snap it around an anchor for extra security. Unfortunately, I find that when I go to unzip the bag, the pull tab unsnaps by itself. When unsnapped it functions badly as a pull tab, looks ugly, and the OCD in me won't let it stay. So very often, trying to get into the bag quickly means unzipping, grabbing what I want, re-zipping, then going back to resnap the pull tab. Oddly enough it's happening less and less, first week I was unsnapping these things like 50% of the time, now it rarely happens, my fingers must have learned how and where to grab them so they don't unsnap.
I also worry a little about whether the elastic pockets will lose their stretch at some point. No reason for me to think this will happen, just something to keep an eye on. I love elastic pockets, but need them to stay stretchy
How to make v2 the best bag
- Change the zipper pulls to have stronger snaps
- Consider adding another elastic pocket or two in the main compartment
- Consider adding a quick grab top pocket, if doing so can be done without some other huge compromise