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Cabin Zero ADV Pro 32
Cost: $155
Capacity: 32 liters
Dimensions: 18.1” x 12.2” x 7.9” (46 x 31 x 20 cm)
Style: Panel Loading
Weight: 2.0 lbs (920 g)
Laptop: 14”
Materials: 500D nylon rip-stop, YKK zips, Duraflex buckles, EVA foam
Origin: Manufactured in Thailand
I’m testing bags while practicing social distancing at the Silver City Ghost Town California this week! The Cabin Zero ADV Pro 32 is great for minimalist, under the seat carry. It’s lightweight at about 2 lbs, or 0.92 kg. It has a laptop compartment and a great capacity of 32 liters.
Materials, Dimensions
The size is great, at about 18 x 12 x 8 inches, it’s perfect to fit everything you need, while still fitting under an airplane seat. The materials are solid. The 500 denier ripstop is lightweight yet strong.
Zippers and Hardware
They use #10YKK locking zips on the main compartment. And a smaller #8 locking zip on the front laptop compartment, and non-locking #5s on the interior pockets. All the adjustors, buckles and hardware are all plastic Duraflex brand.
External Components
Compression Straps
The Cabin Zero ADV Pro 32 has decent compression straps for being such a small bag. With two solid, wide straps on each side of the pack. The do a good job of compressing the main compartment.
However I found that because they are attached below the front compartment, they don’t offer as much compression of the entire bag.
Laptop Comartment
The laptop compartment isn’t huge. It’s listed as large enough for a 14” laptop and this is spot-on. It’s not quite large enough to fit my larger 15” Dell Inspiron. I can get the top part in just barely, but I can’t slide it all the way down. It just doesn’t fit. However the pocket is great for smaller eReaders or tablets. My 8” Fire fits in here just fine, as well as a great fit for the 13” Microsoft Surface Pro X.
I don’t understand the placement on the laptop compartment though. They put it in the front compartment, which is going to throw off you weight distribution. And it’s not as well protected as if it was put behind the backpack straps. The padding is OK. It has a thin piece of foam on the front and back as well as a decent false bottom. This keeps the pack a few inches away from the bottom of the pack. It’s just not as well protected in that location though on the front of the pack.
Organizational Pockets
There are two main exterior pockets, a large front compartment, and a top slash pocket. The top pocket is kind of small, I can fit my cell phone and sunglass in here, but not much else.
The top compartment runs the entire length of the pack. With a top access zipper that folds about half-way down. It’s not huge but it goes down almost to the bottom of the bag. It’s not very wide though, so you won’t have room for bulky gear like jackets. But it has good organization for small items. With a small mesh zippered pocket on the lid, as well as a larger middle pocket.
I’ve been experimenting with flat pouches for my electronics. I have a little nylon square CLC mechanics pouch with all my little cords. These are great for bags like this that have a slim front compartment. They keep your small items organized, without taking up a ton of room, or leaving a big bulky lump in your pack.
Water Bottle
This water bottle leaves much to be desired. While the pocket is wide, with a great addition of a bungee mesh and closure button. The pocket is too short to hold much of anything. The only way I can hold my collapsible water bottle in here at all is because I have it clipped to the top compression strap.
Security Tag
The Okoban Travel Tag is a cool accessory that’s included with the Cabin Zero ADV Pro 32, and sewn in to the pack. It offers protection similar to a luggage tag. You register your unique ID number on the website, then if you lose your pack, the person who finds it can easily locate you through the ID tag.
Carry Options
Shoulder Straps
These backpack straps are exactly what I like to see in a travel backpack. They’re thick and wide made with a perforated EVA foam with a mesh breathable foam on the back. They have a great wide padded yoke on the top. They also have great adjustability. With top load adjustors to keep the bag close to your back, and adjustable sternum strap, and elastic keepers to prevent the straps from dangling.
Stowability
The ADV Pro comes in two sizes with different backpack stowability features. I have the 32 liter version here, it doesn’t have any way to stow the backpack straps. The 42 liter version has a zipper running around the side that you can use to stow the shoulder straps and hip belt away. This one doesn’t have that option, with no way to stow the straps.
Back Padding Comfort
I really like the squishy back padding material. It’s firm, but soft enough to be comfortable. It has some really good ridges that offer great air ventilation. The channels run right down the middle of the pack, with three large air channels, and slats going horizontally along each ridge. It looks a little bit weird, but it’s surprisingly comfortable.
Interior Design and Organization
The opening on this pack is really similar to the one on the REI Ruckpack. Instead of a standard panel or clamshell style opening. It has one long zipper that runs around the side of the bag and scoops around to the top. For me what this does instead of having a standard suitcase style opening. It has a hybrid opening somewhere between a panel style bag and a top loading backpack.
Unfortunately this design runs into a problem opening. Because the laptop compartment is located in the lid it makes the front panel stiff. When you try to open it, the panel doesn’t fold all the way down. Leaving you with a floppy panel you have to deal with that doesn’t really get out of the way.
Packing Style
The Interior packing style on the Cabin Zero ADV Pro 32 is a little bit weird. I have it packed up with two packing cubes on the bottom, and the rest of my gear on top. To prevent gear from falling out, I usually fold the zipper down first, then finish packing the rest of the gear. I find that if you try to pack the bag with the zipper completely open, sometimes your gear tends to roll out when you try and zip it shut.
I have two packing cubes that fit pretty good in here. The bag isn’t completely square, so you have a little bit different room on the bottom and top. The Eagle Creek 12×14” compression packing cube fits well in the bottom of the pack. While the Gonex 10×12” compression cube fits good on top.
The interior of the main compartment has a little bungee compression cord. It runs around the entire length of the interior, connected with two plastic buckles. It’s a great way to keep your gear in place, however I find it doesn’t work well with compressing my packing cubes.
Cabin Zero ADV Pro 32L Summary
This is a great little minimalist pack with a lot of value. Cabin Zero does a good job creating packs made from solid sturdy materials, at reasonable prices, and very low weights. With a base weight of only 2 lbs, this is a great option for an aspiring minimalist traveler looking for an affordable under the seat pack. My only problems with this bag are the laptop compartment. It’s small and in a bad location. And while the scoop opening lid looks nice, it makes the packing style slightly awkward.
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