





Need help deciding my Endgame bag
I’m between 3-4 bags and truly can’t decide so i’m hoping you all could give me some insight/opinions to help sway my decision or even an alternative i am possibly not considering.
Sorry in advance for formatting - doing all of this on my phone.
My current EDC/Travel Pack is the Nomatic Travel pack 20-30L (last photo). I researched for two years before pulling the trigger on this thing and it mostly does everything i need it to do. I have found that the structure is slightly too rigid at times but not the end of the world for me. But the biggest factor i’ve been struggling with is that extra set of gym shoes for daily carry and that extra set of more formal shoes for work/family travel.
Use cases for my End game bag:
Daily work EDC - i commute to work everyday with my bag and tech gear.
Daily gym bag - being able to go straight to the gym from work and separate my smelly shoes from my main compartment. (do i just settle for a shoe pouch like peak design?)
One bag travel bag for 3-5 day trips - i travel quarterly for work and it is business casual. I often travel with two pairs of shoes(one on me and one in my bag). My wife also likes to do 3 day weekends and trips once or twice a year.
Main features i am looking for:
Moderate internal organization - not a huge fan of giant caverns that require packing cubes and tech pouches.
- Quick access to tech
- Shoe compartment or storability for smelly shoes
- Fits underseat on Majority/Most Domestic US airlines
BONUS features:
• Expandability
• Can fit a suit jacket when strategically folded (5’10” male)
• Two water bottle pockets (for mine and the wife’s water bottle)
This brings me to the three options i am between:
Matador Globerider 35
Pros:
• Tech organization is less than nomatic but just enough for what i need and really good quick access for tech and laptop.
• Kangaroo pouch is a great all purpose dump pocket and solves the smelly gym shoe problem in a round about way and also doubles as an extra water bottle space.
• Upgraded Capacity(from nomatic travel pack) is probably perfect for any situation
• Professional look
• Probably the best harness system of all of these bags
Cons:
• Seems to be very debatable whether this will fit under seat on a plane.
• Shoe compartment work around with kangaroo pouch may prevent under seat stowability(again am i just being an idiot and do i just get a dedicated shoe pouch/bag?)
Nomatic Travel Bag 30L
Pros:
• Dedicated ventilated shoe compartment
• Good tech organization
• Capacity and overall layout is similar to what i’ve already been working with.
• Marketed to fit under seat on plane
• Also doubles as a duffel
• Professional look
• Would likely fit my suit jacket and dress shoes the best of all of these bags?
Cons:
• Harness/back panel being so minimal is a little concerning for walking around town when traveling with the wife.
• No external water bottle pockets
• Also capacity. The rigidity of how nomatic makes their bags makes it feel like a tighter pack and makes packing feel a little more limited at times.
• Do i really sidegrade to another nomatic bag and give up certain features just for a shoe compartment?
Bagsmart blast pro 28L-38L
Pros:
• Dedicated shoe compartment
•Expandability
• Internal organization customizability
•Marketed to fit under seat in plane(although may not in 38L mode)
•Kind of the perfect mix of capacity for EDC/Travel.
Cons:
•Honestly it’s hard to find any besides that there isn’t a ton out there on this specific model with the updated internal organization and i just don’t know it this bag will be reliable or if it is going to be/feel too cheap.
•Maybe not structured enough to keep a laptop safe?
•Not as professional looking.
Tropicfeel Hive 22-32L
Pros:
• Kangaroo pouch in front can hold shoes or other things like jackets
• Additional pouch on bottom specifically for shoes
• Modular system for added on capacity items.
• Might be a sweet spot for capacity for all use cases
• Two water bottle pockets
Cons:
• Harness system is not the best
• Again, not a ton of reputable reviews on this bag/system.
• Marketed as cabin sized so not sure/unclear if it would actually fit under seat or not. Dimensions seem to be within most underseat specs but with all the modulars added on it most definitely will not fit under seat.