WOW! Thanks for this review! I too was all set to buy this bag because I like the orange interior. It helps to find things. I am older (65) and plan to use this as my carry on bag for airplanes and cruise ships. I would not like the issue of a difficult zipper to close. I think you just talked me into going with the other AER Travel Pack 3 backpack! Thanks!
The bag has pull tabs on the zippers, but they require two hands to use. I got a bit lazy with my other X-Pac bag and ended up breaking both zippers, which was a shame because I really loved it until that happened. If you're out in the rain a lot, don't forget to add some rain repellent. It's fine for light rain, but in a downpour, it doesn’t hold up as well. Thanks for the video...
I'm considering buying the 35L travel pack 3 in x-pac. Very good review, I decided to hold off until I come up with a solution to the zipper bending down when closing. Now I got a simple idea. What if I snip off the metal zipper pulls and put large loop of paracord directly in the place of the metal pulls. A large knot in the end of the paracord loop to help with grip. Surely that would go over the locking ring and help with the pull!
why do you like the XPAC version more? I'm debating between 1680 and xpac version but am leaning toward xpac due to better water resistance. but I heard 1680 is probably more durable
Thnx wonderful comparison I've actually been having trouble deciding between these 2 bags for a few weeks now and this video helps a lot (there's no other video on xpac for aer bags). Subbed!
100% agree about the zippers getting stuck. AER could add zippers with more clearance that cover over the lock holes so that when u zip up, it doesn’t push down on the zippers. I’ve told Aer the same thing. love the xpac lock, hate the zippers. Also the laptop compartment should also zip all the way down to the bottom to make packing / access easier.
I have the Aer Daypack in Xpac and I love the material. This travel bag is what I'm eyeing to get next. I have other Aer bags with the 1680D nylon. Here's my 2 cents on the comparison. The nylon is very sturdy and is a bit on the heavy side. The surface material more susceptible to lent and dander. Xpac is slightly lighter which makes traveling a bit easier in my opinion. The orange interior of the Xpac is a bit nicer than the ballistic nylon version. While its not for everyone, the bright color contrast allow you to see your things better in dim situations. Much love to your channel. Looking forward to more great videos in the future.
Good review. Can you tell me how the aquaguard zippers hold up over time? Is that rubberized coating peeling off the zippers? Also how does the xpac hold up? Is it easy to clean? Any abbasions?
Thanks for the review! I'm looking to get the City Pack Pro in X-Pac but I had a couple of concerns I hope you'd be able to answer... 1. Have you experienced any bumps/delamination/other blemishes developing on the material (especially along the "X" lines)? 2. Would you say the X-Pac is relatively stiff/less stretchy than the Cordura to the degree it affects how much you can fit into the backpack at maximum capacity?
I don’t have this bag but have a different Aer XPac. No, there are no blemishes. I’ve had mine for 4 years with no issues. The sturdiness I guess would make it difficult to overpack compared to more flexible material but I have not ran into that issue. I also don’t think it’s a big deal because any material would only stretch a few millimeters more, so you’re not really going to see a big difference in capacity.
I have seen so many examples of those bumps forming on xpac in general that I would say yea all laminated fabrics will start delaminating over time depending on use, just the nature of it I guess currently. And yea the fabric has no give and is stiff it might affect packing ever so slightly but if you’re stuffing your bag to max capacity I’d say just size up to something bigger. A bag packed like that isn’t nice to use lol good luck!
I’m thinking about getting this one. I’m on the fence about which one to get; this, or the one with the gray interior. I just don’t know man. Which one do you recommend?
@@gearbreakofficial I ordered the x-pac one, shipment coming in soon. I read a lot of reviews - x-pac is liked by some and not so liked by others. It was the orange interior that swayed me on the x-pac tbh, I will see how it goes.
@@gearbreakofficial Yes, really good. It's not actually 100% water proof, but will keep 90% of your stuff dry. That's good enough for me, when I was caught in monsoon-type weather recently. It's a solid backpack overall and looks high-end. Great storage and decent waterproofing.
Curious to know why you opted for the small version? Also…. how many pairs of shoes would you say fit? I want one to accompany me when traveling for my shoes only. My carry on can’t handle them with everything else I put it in.
I wanted a minimal travel pack that could fit under the seat on an airplane instead of using the overhead. I no longer have this pack so I’m not sure I guess it depends what kind of shoes. Jordans for instance maybe 3-4 pairs if you’re willing to squish them a bit.
Didn’t keep it long enough to break in the zippers but yes I bet they do ease up. The 1680 is definitely more abrasion resistant and will hold up longer. 🤙🏼
Great review. My only question is how much lighter is the xpac vs. ballistic nylon? If the weight difference was substantial enough, I’d consider xpac.
The website lists the xpac as .2 lbs lighter. It’s going to be hard to tell the difference in weight in the real world especially once loaded up. I would only look at the xpac for added weather resistance and a different look. Hope this helps
The small definitely is enough for typical EDC load outs! But at 6’4 I think a longer bag would suit your frame better, the full size most likely is the way to go. And it could double as your max carry on bag.
My bad I didn't realize there was a longer video. I think you should definitely post more with your car too. Some road trip with the bags and what you carry
Totally agree about the zippers, just returned a GORUCK X pac bag for that reason…I wanted to try AER X pac, ill pass. I cannot stand aqua guard zippers on main access parts of a bag... its a way bags can cost costs and get away without having rain flaps over the zippers which I would prefer. You shouldn't have to fight a zipper that much. Most people who buy bags like the use packing cubes, pouches and such so having the Aqua guard zippers are redundant.
Ive heard the ones on the new GoRuck xpac packs were exceptionally bad. In my experience there are more smooth and less smooth aqua guard zippers but it’s hard to know what you’re going to get and how long they’ll take to break in. Not to mention that lamination will not last as long most of these bags are designed to and will start peeling over time. Totally agree with you about the pouches thing and rain flaps. Although rain flaps can have draw backs as well depending on the pack material. My favorite would be a standard reverse coil with DWR coating as evergoods does it, if anything over time you would probably just need to reapply DWR to the zippers.
I never tried it but you should be okay for most airlines that have 18x14x8 size it is slightly larger than that but I doubt you would be stopped walking in most of the time
I like how there’s no artificial lighting in this review, it really pops the product out. This is a really helpful review! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
WOW! Thanks for this review! I too was all set to buy this bag because I like the orange interior. It helps to find things. I am older (65) and plan to use this as my carry on bag for airplanes and cruise ships. I would not like the issue of a difficult zipper to close. I think you just talked me into going with the other AER Travel Pack 3 backpack! Thanks!
You’re welcome! I’m glad it helped you on your decision.
This is incredibly helpful. Glad I came across this because I couldn't quite put my thumb on what made the x-pac different. Thanks for doing this!
The bag has pull tabs on the zippers, but they require two hands to use. I got a bit lazy with my other X-Pac bag and ended up breaking both zippers, which was a shame because I really loved it until that happened. If you're out in the rain a lot, don't forget to add some rain repellent. It's fine for light rain, but in a downpour, it doesn’t hold up as well. Thanks for the video...
Solid review because it’s definitely something not a lot of other people are discussing.
So glad you reviewed this- literally couldn’t find anything anywhere about the xpac!
✌🏼I knew it had to be done
Thank you so much for this video! This was just what I needed to make a decision about which version to buy
I'm considering buying the 35L travel pack 3 in x-pac. Very good review, I decided to hold off until I come up with a solution to the zipper bending down when closing. Now I got a simple idea. What if I snip off the metal zipper pulls and put large loop of paracord directly in the place of the metal pulls. A large knot in the end of the paracord loop to help with grip. Surely that would go over the locking ring and help with the pull!
Yup I actually did this on an aer travel pack 2 I had a while back, worked great!
Thanks for the honest review. I was on the fence for the Travel Pack Small variations.
I've had the TP2 in 1680D, I upgraded to TP3 X PAC and it's totally worth it! Almost a perfect travel bag in my opinion. ❤
Yea solid option for sure especially for the price!!
why do you like the XPAC version more? I'm debating between 1680 and xpac version but am leaning toward xpac due to better water resistance. but I heard 1680 is probably more durable
Thnx wonderful comparison I've actually been having trouble deciding between these 2 bags for a few weeks now and this video helps a lot (there's no other video on xpac for aer bags). Subbed!
First sub!! Thank you 🙏🏼 I’m glad you found the video helpful!
100% agree about the zippers getting stuck. AER could add zippers with more clearance that cover over the lock holes so that when u zip up, it doesn’t push down on the zippers. I’ve told Aer the same thing. love the xpac lock, hate the zippers. Also the laptop compartment should also zip all the way down to the bottom to make packing / access easier.
Yea it’s a shame! Otherwise solid bag
I have the Aer Daypack in Xpac and I love the material. This travel bag is what I'm eyeing to get next. I have other Aer bags with the 1680D nylon. Here's my 2 cents on the comparison. The nylon is very sturdy and is a bit on the heavy side. The surface material more susceptible to lent and dander. Xpac is slightly lighter which makes traveling a bit easier in my opinion. The orange interior of the Xpac is a bit nicer than the ballistic nylon version. While its not for everyone, the bright color contrast allow you to see your things better in dim situations. Much love to your channel. Looking forward to more great videos in the future.
Thanks for adding this information. Glad you enjoyed, more content soon!
Good review. Can you tell me how the aquaguard zippers hold up over time? Is that rubberized coating peeling off the zippers?
Also how does the xpac hold up? Is it easy to clean? Any abbasions?
Thanks for the review! I'm looking to get the City Pack Pro in X-Pac but I had a couple of concerns I hope you'd be able to answer...
1. Have you experienced any bumps/delamination/other blemishes developing on the material (especially along the "X" lines)?
2. Would you say the X-Pac is relatively stiff/less stretchy than the Cordura to the degree it affects how much you can fit into the backpack at maximum capacity?
I don’t have this bag but have a different Aer XPac.
No, there are no blemishes. I’ve had mine for 4 years with no issues.
The sturdiness I guess would make it difficult to overpack compared to more flexible material but I have not ran into that issue. I also don’t think it’s a big deal because any material would only stretch a few millimeters more, so you’re not really going to see a big difference in capacity.
I have seen so many examples of those bumps forming on xpac in general that I would say yea all laminated fabrics will start delaminating over time depending on use, just the nature of it I guess currently.
And yea the fabric has no give and is stiff it might affect packing ever so slightly but if you’re stuffing your bag to max capacity I’d say just size up to something bigger. A bag packed like that isn’t nice to use lol good luck!
Much appreciated man!
I’m thinking about getting this one. I’m on the fence about which one to get; this, or the one with the gray interior. I just don’t know man. Which one do you recommend?
I think if you really want the added weather resistance go with the xpac version, if not save your money and get the ballistic one!
@@gearbreakofficial I ordered the x-pac one, shipment coming in soon. I read a lot of reviews - x-pac is liked by some and not so liked by others. It was the orange interior that swayed me on the x-pac tbh, I will see how it goes.
Awesome, congrats! I’m sure you’ll love it. ✌🏼
@@gearbreakofficial Yes, really good. It's not actually 100% water proof, but will keep 90% of your stuff dry. That's good enough for me, when I was caught in monsoon-type weather recently. It's a solid backpack overall and looks high-end. Great storage and decent waterproofing.
Yea anything with zippers will never be monsoon proof haha I’m glad you liking it! 🙏🏼
Curious to know why you opted for the small version? Also…. how many pairs of shoes would you say fit? I want one to accompany me when traveling for my shoes only. My carry on can’t handle them with everything else I put it in.
I wanted a minimal travel pack that could fit under the seat on an airplane instead of using the overhead. I no longer have this pack so I’m not sure I guess it depends what kind of shoes. Jordans for instance maybe 3-4 pairs if you’re willing to squish them a bit.
What a good review thanks!
Thanks for watching!
did the zippers break in over time or are they still quite stiff? debating between the x-pac and 1680d. also, do you think the 1680d is more durable?
Didn’t keep it long enough to break in the zippers but yes I bet they do ease up. The 1680 is definitely more abrasion resistant and will hold up longer. 🤙🏼
SWEET STI, dude!
Thanks 🙏🏼
Great review. My only question is how much lighter is the xpac vs. ballistic nylon? If the weight difference was substantial enough, I’d consider xpac.
The website lists the xpac as .2 lbs lighter. It’s going to be hard to tell the difference in weight in the real world especially once loaded up. I would only look at the xpac for added weather resistance and a different look. Hope this helps
@@gearbreakofficial Yes it does! Thank you!
Large or small in your opinion?
Great video. Does the small fit your needs for everyday use, or have you considered the full size? I’m 6’4 and can’t decide which one to get.
The small definitely is enough for typical EDC load outs! But at 6’4 I think a longer bag would suit your frame better, the full size most likely is the way to go. And it could double as your max carry on bag.
NGL there are better reviews out there but you got me in with the subie 💙
My bad I didn't realize there was a longer video. I think you should definitely post more with your car too. Some road trip with the bags and what you carry
Thanks for subbing and for the suggestion!
Thanks for the video man, really helpful
No problem! I’m glad it helped you
Totally agree about the zippers, just returned a GORUCK X pac bag for that reason…I wanted to try AER X pac, ill pass.
I cannot stand aqua guard zippers on main access parts of a bag... its a way bags can cost costs and get away without having rain flaps over the zippers which I would prefer.
You shouldn't have to fight a zipper that much.
Most people who buy bags like the use packing cubes, pouches and such so having the Aqua guard zippers are redundant.
Ive heard the ones on the new GoRuck xpac packs were exceptionally bad. In my experience there are more smooth and less smooth aqua guard zippers but it’s hard to know what you’re going to get and how long they’ll take to break in. Not to mention that lamination will not last as long most of these bags are designed to and will start peeling over time. Totally agree with you about the pouches thing and rain flaps. Although rain flaps can have draw backs as well depending on the pack material. My favorite would be a standard reverse coil with DWR coating as evergoods does it, if anything over time you would probably just need to reapply DWR to the zippers.
Any problem bring it as personal item on airlines?
I never tried it but you should be okay for most airlines that have 18x14x8 size it is slightly larger than that but I doubt you would be stopped walking in most of the time