Aer City Pack Pro 2 Cordura 20L
Here's my take on the City Pack Pro 2 20L: this is an incredible backpack, first and foremost. I have an Aer carry-on suitcase in orange, Travel Pack 3 in X-Pac, City Pack 2 in Cordura, and the Cable Kit 3 in Cordura - so yes, I am an Aer hoor. I picked up the City Pack Pro 2 20L because I am going to be flying Frontier and I wanted a safe personal item that could be my one bag for 3-5 day trips. I debated for a while whether I wanted the 24L or the 20L, and I ended up going with the 20L just to be safer within the 18x14x8 limits. I also like the new side zipper pocket, it's more useful to me than an additional water bottle pocket. And I prefer the new handle. This is a divisive feature, some people really prefer the handle on the 24L but personally I think this new one is nicer. I'll go in order of the photos displayed so I can correlate my review with the pictures in order.
Self-standing: this is the best bag I've ever had for self standing. If it's fully packed out and kind of bursting at the seams, it starts to tip. But if it's comfortably packed with a little breathing room, you can see how it self stands perfectly 90 degrees on my couch.
The new pen pocket: on this bag, it's not the greatest pen pocket for standard size pens. The one in the photo is a Muji which is 5.5 inches long, and as you can see with the pen fully inserted it blocks the zipper behind it. I imagine this is probably a non-issue for the larger Travel Pack 4's, but on this bag it seemed stupid and it was the first thing I noticed. It will get out of the way if you tilt the pen to the side, but at that point I would probably just put the pen somewhere else. Maybe I can find a smaller pen that's compatible. Very minor gripe honestly. But that brings me to the main thing I'd like to see in the next iteration: I think they should implement the full-size front admin panel like the City Pack 2 has. This isn't just about organization, it's big enough to put a thin/light jacket and use it as a stuff pocket.
Side zipper pocket: it is a great spot for keys, wallet, and passport. Not much else to say about it, but I think it's really useful and I love the detachable key leash. I didn't think I'd like that particular spot for my keys, but after using it - that's where they should go.
Packing: along with the bag, I bought a large Aer packing cube in grey and a small one in orange. I chose these over the Peak Design cubes because I like that they have some structure to make it easier to put clothes into it. So here I packed the bag out with the large cube, small cube, and a Minimul Dopp kit. I packed more into the cubes than I need for small trips, but just as a demo to show how much that can fit - and I used the compression. But having some breathing room is optimal and far more comfortable. Photo 1 is the bag optimally packed, photo 6 is with it packed to the brim (but I measured and it's still within personal item limits).
Here's what I was able to fit with it fully packed out:
Large cube: 1 pair of jeans, 2 pairs of workout pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 1 pair of pajama pants.
Small cube: 3 tshirts, 2 tank tops, 5 pairs of socks.
With my MacBook pro 16" in the laptop sleeve and charging accessories, the total bag weight was about 16lbs.
Yes I could have packed more. This packout was a little beyond my comfort preference; however, I could always swap the MacBook for my iPad and save myself a few lbs.
Weather resistance: absolutely excellent. This Cordura nylon is underrated when it comes to this because of the X-Pac and Ultra options. The day the bag arrived it rained, and I took it out for a walk in a moderately heavy rainstorm for about 20 minutes. Everything inside was completely dry, including the top quick access pocket which has a regular zipper (not P.U. coated). Don't be worried about weather resistance with this one. If you think you'll be walking through torrential rainstorms and getting absolutely soaked, have an umbrella or a rain cover (Davek makes cool mini umbrellas that will fit in the bag easily).
Water bottle holder: it holds my Yeti Rambler 26 oz fairly comfortably, and as you can see it will actually hold my Owalla 40 oz with the bag fully packed out. It's not optimal, but it does work.
Comfort: stellar. What else can I say, Aer is top tier and everything I've tried from them feels so nice. Even with the bag fully packed out, it feels great to carry. I'm just shy of 6ft and 210 lbs, so I'm not a small guy. I thought maybe I'd regret not getting the 24L because of my size, but it feels perfect.
I won't actually be traveling for a while, but I'll try to report back once I put some legitimate miles on this thing. So far I've just been going on long walks with it. Pretending like I need it. Not really rucking, not really carrying with a purpose. Just being cool, with my Aer bag. I did a ton of research and went down an endless rabbit hole before finally settling on this backpack, and I feel I made the right choice. So if you were able to make it through this long winded review, bless your kind soul. I hope you were able to get something out of this, and best of luck on your journey of finding the perfect bag for you.