Read my original article about researching and picking the Aer City Pack Pro.
Why a new bag?
Most of my travel recently has been for my work as a podcast producer, and thus with a camera backpack. I’ve used the Tenba Axis 24L for travel around the world on 50+ flights and it is as close to a perfect camera bag as I’ve ever found. The trouble is, it stores my camera gear in 24/7 and it’s not something I can use for every day carry and personal trips.
This leaves my Aer City Pack Pro (24L) to pick up the slack for everything else.
Where I’ve found my Tenba bag to be perfect as a travel camera bag, the Aer has not been the perfect everything else bag. The materials and build quality on my Aer are phenomenal. The slim pouch and split kit I bought at the same time are also still essential parts of my life (and the slim pouch even saved my hard drives from an almost disastrous beer spill).
Where the Aer falls short for me:
- Horizontal luggage pass-through and no handles
- Clamshell is is not for me
- When packed out, it can look hella ugly
Not everyone will have these issues, so a little explanation.
The luggage pass-through is admittedly niche. When you’re travelling with a roller case, you often want to have easy access to items at the top of the bag. Things like bits and bobs before and after security, or larger travel items you don’t keep in your pockets but want quick access to throughout the airport (e.g. headphones). The Aer has a lovely quick access pocket at the top of the bag, which is precisely useless when your bag is laying sideways on your suitcase. To amplify this issue, it’s also bloody hard to get it on and off the roller suitcase handle, as there’s no side handles on the bag.
Clamshell bags are useful in one scenario; when you pack your bag full of clothes for travel (usually with packing cubes). The rest of the time the zips are hard to find and it’s annoying. I wanted to like it, but I don’t. You might like it, and that’s ok.
The bag mostly looks good, but it’s so boxy. Like you’re wearing a Cordura brick on your back. It’s fine most of the time because I can’t see it, but when catch a glimpse in the mirror and notice I look like a wannabe backpack nerd ninja turtle, I don’t love it.
My options
Aer nail almost everything else (material quality, lifetime guarantee, pocket organisation) but I love shiny new things.
The front runners have been Pakt and Trakke, while closely keeping an eye on Peak Design to see if they launched anything new. I almost jumped at a Pakt but never did. I liked Trakke’s waxed canvas but the bags weren’t as technical as I’d have liked. Many hours of YouTube videos have been consumed in this research phase.
Watch this video for a laugh:
You know the brand I wasn’t looking out for? Aer.
The day of reckoning (my new bag)
I was wandering through the streets of Soho looking like a bag nerd ninja turtle and thought I’d drop into the Aer store to see if they had anything new. Turns out, yes they do, and they’ve fixed almost of my niggles with their new City Pack Pro 2.
Vertical luggage passthrough, handles on the side and a new slim tapered look. Still clamshell, but I understand people do still like it and I reckoned I could live with it. Problem solved, I was ready to pull the trigger.
But then, I paused. And my eyes glanced to the bag sitting proudly next to it. The slender Aer City Pack 2 (16L). It was like the City Pack Pro had gone on a diet. This year I’ve slimmed down, maybe it’s time to slim my bag down.
I unzip. My hands stop before it reaches the bottom of the bag. No clamshell! Pure elation. I locked eyes with the store assistant, he smiled. We knew we’d found the right backpack for me, and for £60 less than my alternative (City Pack Pro is £209).
But wait, there was a hitch. Maybe it wasn’t love at first sight. The City Pack Pro has a waterproof zipper for the laptop compartment - an essential piece of mind for those of us who have to live in the perpetually raining British Isles. The Cordura material used for the Aer bags is typically pretty water resistant, but is it a risk you really want to take? I decided it was. Things escalated and we made it to last base. Checkout.
Thinking back, maybe I hadn’t voiced my concern about the lack of the waterproof zipper enough, because it turns out there is the perfect solution.
Bag nerds screaming at their screens right now “X-Pac bro, X-Pacccccc!!”
Aer makes an X-Pac* version of all their bags, with waterproof zippers AND it’s orange on the inside. THE PERFECT BAG.
We swiftly swap the bags. It was £30 more, making my new purchase £179.
The future
Time will tell if I can handle the 8L drop in capacity, but this bag looks the business and ticks all my boxes. And if not, I think the City Pack Pro will meet my needs perfectly in the future.
Will it be the perfect bag? No, the perfect bag does not exist, but it’s sure as hell fun to search for it.
As for my old City Pack Pro. It’s still a fantastic bag. If my issues don’t matter as much to you, I’ve listed it on eBay for £150 (but auto accepts some offers, so try your luck) here. Grab a slice of James’ history.
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*X-Pac is a 100% waterproof material, made by sailcloth company Dimension-Polyant. It’s used in lots of backpacks. Cordura is a rugged, durable nylon that is somewhat water resistant but not marketed as such.
Note- no links in this article are affiliates. I do genuinely love the brand.