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Timbuk2 Wander Backpack Duffel Review
Cost: $179
Capacity: 40 liters
Dimensions: 22.8” x 15” x 7.5” (58 x 38 x 19 cm)
Style: Duffel Bag
Weight: 3.7 lbs (1.68 kg)
Laptop: 15”
Materials: 420D ripstop
Origin: Manufactured in Indonesia
Note: Wander Backpack has been replaced with the Impulse Backpack Duffel, but it is still available on Amazon.
Overall Impression
The Timbuk2 Wander Backpack Duffel is a hybrid between a travel backpack and a duffel bag. It has the organizational and backpack carry of a travel backpack, but with a large duffel-style opening main compartment. The fabric is solid, the bag holds a lot and has good organiziation, but there are some issues with the backpack carry system.
Materials, Colors, and Size
The main fabric in the Wander Duffel is a 420 denier ripstop treated with a waterproofing material. This makes the fabric stiff, and gives it a plastic-y look with a rough exterior.
And then you can see the thick plastic-coated interior here on the inside. This is going to make the fabric virtually waterproof. But it doesn’t have sealed seams or waterproof zippers, so the bag will leak if exposed to heavy rain.
Timbuk2 isn’t forthcoming about the type of fabric or the material used to water-proof the Wander Duffel. But I suspect it’s ripstop polyester, with a TPU coating. Because it feels similar to the Patagonia Black Hole fabric, just not quite as thick.
Zippers and Hardware
The hardware on the Wander Duffel is solid, with one exception being the backpack carry clasps which I cover in more detail in the “Carry Options” section below.
If you watch a lot of my reviews, you see me talking about YKK zippers. They’re kind of the gold standard for quality. This bag uses large #8 YKK on all the exterior zippers.
One thing I really like about this bag is it has double zippers on all the exterior pockets, except the two small front slash pockets. It makes it easier to open the pockets, easier to find the zippers, and easier to lock them together compared to bags that just use a single zipper.
I did find the zippers to be a little stiff and can sometimes get caught on the inside seam. Especially when coming around the corners of the main compartments. This is due in part to the stiff fabric as well as interior seams that stick out too far on some of the corners.
Security System
They don’t use locking zippers on any of the exterior pockets or laptop compartment. But you can still lock the zippers together. The hole on the zipper pull closest to the slider is kind of small. It’s too small to fit a luggage lock, or my double carabiner lock.
But you can connect lock them together through the top hole using a mini-carabiner lock. It’s a little trickier than using a regular locking zipper because these little paracord pulls get in the way. But you can definitely do it. And if you slide the main compartment zippers to the side you can lock them both together to the top lid pocket with just one flex-lock.
External Components
The external components on the Timbuk2 Wander Duffel are set up like a hybrid between a travel backpack and a duffel bag. It has a ton of pockets, including a top pocket, shoe compartment, two slash-pockets, and a laptop compartment. As well as 4 side compression straps, stowable backpack straps, and three side-carry handles.
On one end of the bag is a huge top pocket. It’s easily big enough to hold a 1 liter collapsible water bottle. It has one small interior mesh pocket, but no other organization. I would probably use a little mesh pouch if you’re storing lots of small items in here.
On the other end of the bag is a huge separated compartment lined with the same thick water-resistant material as the bag exterior. This is a great place to store shoes or dirty laundry to keep it separate from your clean clothes. It’s not gigantic, but you can easily fit a pair of running shoes in here.
Also note that neither of these end pockets have their own volume. So anything you put in here, is going to displace capacity from the main compartment.
There are also two small slash pockets on the front of the duffel. This top one is small and lined with a fuzzy fleece material. Intended for storing electronics or sunglasses. Then the other pocket opens from the side and takes up most of the volume of this from seam. It sticks up a little bit from the top of the bag, but it’s pretty thin. It’s a good place for travel documents, a travel wallet, or small electronics.
The Wander Duffel also doesn’t have an external water bottle pocket. But you can easily fit one in the main compartment. Or better yet, I would recommend using something like this collapsible Vapur water bottle. It fits in the main compartment, or either of the end pocket. And when it’s not full, it folds down to almost nothing.
Carry Options
I was surprised to find that this bag doesn’t come with a cross-body shoulder strap, or any loops or clips on the bag to attaching one. They advertise that this bag can convert from a backpack to a duffel bag, by stowing the shoulder straps. But really, with no cross-body strap, or top grab handles, this isn’t a true duffel bag. But instead it’s a travel backpack with a duffel style opening.
Shoulder Straps
The backpack straps are decently padded but they’re a little thin for a 40-liter backpack. The back is covered with the same material as the back padding. It’s a thinly padded flat foam, covered in a stretchy fabric that doesn’t give a lot of air ventilation.
There are no load lifters, but there is a sternum strap, which I have a few issues with. Instead of being attached to the bag, the strap is bucked on to the shoulder straps. This is problematic, because they tend to slide around on the straps. And you have the potential to lose them if the buckle comes undone, or they could just slide right off the straps.
The problem comes in with the sternum straps not being connected. They stay fine when they’re connected high where the shoulder strap is thick. But when you unclip them, or move them down, they tend to slide down the straps. All the way down, past the buckle. And now you can’t see them, and it’s a pain to find them again, and bring them up past the buckle.
The buckle on the bottom of the shoulder straps is also problematic. It connects by sliding a plastic buckle, through a fabric loop and clipping on a metal latch. The problem is, the latch is spring loaded, so all you need to do is squeeze the buckle and it comes unlatched. Causing the buckle to come undone when you don’t want it to.
The plastic buckle is also kind of small to support the weight of this bag. You can see how flimsy it is with the latch undone. You can easily bend the bottom plastic attachment, and I don’t trust this clip not to break if it comes undone. Timbuk2 really need to rethink this attachment point.
Carry Comfort
You have the option to convert the Timbuk2 Wander into a duffel by stowing away the shoulder straps. However, this leaves you with the only way to carry the bag with the side carry handles.
Which are decently padded, and fine to carry the bag for short distances like through airport security or stowing your bag on a plane or bus. But this isn’t going to be the main way you carry the bag.
Which is going to be with the backpack straps like a normal travel backpack. I found the comfort on this bag to be ok, but there are some issues with the attachment buckles and sternum strap. The padding on the shoulder straps is sufficient, but I wish it was little thicker. And I wish there was more padding on the back, between your back and the laptop compartment.
Interior Components and Design
Packing Style
The Timbuk2 Wander Duffel bag opens from the side, with a duffel style lid opening. Inside is basically just one large main compartment. With minimal interior organization, except for two small mesh pockets on the lid.
There’s a set of compressions straps to keep your gear in place. Instead of two straps, its two triangles, that come together in the middle. I like this style, because it’s easy to secure your gear with just one buckle.
Laptop Compartment
The laptop compartment is located on the back of the bag behind the backpack straps. You access it with a short, top opening zipper. It’s well designed and decently padded, with a false bottom. Keeping your laptop about 2” from the bottom of the pack, and protected from drops.
Summary
Pros
In Summary, my favorite things about the Timbuk2 Wander Backpack Duffel are the materials and organization. The fabric is great, very sturdy and water-resistant. I like the large end compartments and how they have great exterior organization, while also providing a huge duffel style interior compartment that’s easy to pack.
Cons
My main critiques on this bag is the buckles on the backpack straps, and a lack of cross-body shoulder strap. Timbuk2 really needs to rethink the attachment points on the backpack straps. They aren’t very strong and tend to come unclasped. The sternum strap is also poorly designed and gets lost when not attached.
This bag also needs a cross-body shoulder strap and top grab handles. Or at the very least some loops or rings for attaching your own. It’s hard to justify calling a bag a duffel if it doesn’t have a shoulder strap carry.
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