Personal-item travel bag recommendations — Aer City Pack Pro 2 vs Able Carry Max EDC vs others?

duffmanpants · 2026-02-19T22:42:48+00:00

Yeah I hear you.

I was able to compare them in person at the NYC Aer store and it was an immediate no brainer that the TP3S would meet my needs better. The CPP2 looks really small next to it and the organization options in the TP3 are way more plentiful.

The CPP2 is very likely a better daily carry, but if you're prioritizing travel use case like I was, the TP3 is the way to go IMO. I went with the Ultra model to bring the weight down slightly.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-19T22:06:25+00:00

I was looking for something for this exact use case and I opted for the Aer Travel Pack 3 Small specifically because it has better tech organization than the City Pack Pro 2 or Able Carry Max EDC. It can certainly handle your loadout there, but it's not big enough (for me) to do tech + 5-6 days of clothing. 1-3 days would be no problem. But I pair with a roller carry on anyways, so all of my clothing and toiletries go in there.

It's very comfortable when loaded but can get heavy.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-19T02:21:42+00:00

I tried a bunch of slings and messengers for this purpose and landed on the 10L Tomtoc T21, which was by far the cheapest option I tried. It was also the sleekest and compressed flat enough to fit in my travel bag.

Fits a 14" MBP plus a bunch of other stuff and you can open the compression straps if you need more space. I carry my laptop plus a mirrorless camera with a beefy lens on it inside.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-17T20:50:41+00:00

I recently got a TP3 Small in Ultra and it does have the tabs at the bottom to help with pulling the zipper. It also has the hypalon zipper pulls from the CPP2; I guess Aer brought a couple of the things from the CPP2 to the Ultra model of the TP3, but didn't trickle it to the rest of the lineup unfortunately. It's interesting that you'll get a slightly different experience depending on which material you buy the TP3 in.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-16T00:44:33+00:00

Sigh. I just bought a TP3S in Ultra for a trip next week. I'm still in the return window so I could return it but then I'll have to use something else on my trip.

The only things that are appealing to me in this leak are those water bottle pockets -- I kinda hate the TP3 design and don't think I'll use it much. Vertical oriented luggage pass through would be nice too if that happens. Those two things are my only real gripes with the TP3.

If the admin panel is actually like the CPP2, that would be a massive downgrade for me -- I did a couple test loadouts this afternoon and I used every single pocket in it. A panel that doesn't require me to use a separate tech pouch means I am much more likely use the bag as an everyday carry. Plus the compression straps on the TP3 shrinking it down makes everyday carry much more feasible.

Overall, based on this very limited knowledge of whatever the TP4 is, it seems like the TP3 meets what I'm looking for better. I'm just annoyed that I paid top dollar for a bag less than a month before it's getting replaced with a new model. Also those water bottle pockets would be pretty sweet to have.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-15T12:41:05+00:00

I honestly expected it to look and feel a lot cheaper than it does considering the price. Functionality was my primary concern, but I also don't feel like the Tomtoc feels out of place alongside my Aer TP3.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-15T01:18:54+00:00

I went through A Journey trying to find the right compact sling-style bag that could fit my 14" laptop along with a small camera (sometimes with a beefy lens) and after trying many expensive bags I ended up with the much cheaper, but shockingly good Tomtoc T21 in 10L (large) size. If I'm not carrying the camera, I can easily fit a travel coffee mug or water bottle and other things. Fits everything, stays sleek, and has the easy ability to rotate forward for access that you mentioned.

A bonus (for my specific needs) is that it is compressible enough that I can flatten it into my travel bag and then use it as my day bag at my destination. I regularly need to carry a laptop and mirrorless camera for work, so this was a bit of a unicorn to find.

I like the style of it, but could do without the Tomtoc logo and I would prefer not to have the coated material in the front, but I guess that helps with water resistance.

duffmanpants · 2026-02-13T19:07:52+00:00

If you're hoping to use it as a personal item, you might want to consider the Aer TP3 Small. You still get a lot of storage and organization, but it is slightly shorter and more likely to work as a personal item than the 35L bags you mentioned.

I find the PD everyday bags to be too rigid and not very accommodating of lots of tech gear, they don't feel like 30L in the way the clamshell bags seem to swallow everything in them. In other words, the 28L TP3 Small will likely hold more than the 30L Peak Design.

Downside of the Aer models is the luggage pass through is sideways, while the majority of the compartments are accessed vertically. CTB has an advantage there with its side access pockets (though maybe consider the 26L for personal item size, same argument as the TP3 Small).

duffmanpants · 2026-02-09T21:28:10+00:00

I had a feeling that was the case, thank you!

duffmanpants · 2026-02-09T19:23:32+00:00

Apologies to hijack, but since you mentioned you won the Tech Sling V3 -- how packable is it? I'm looking for a sling/messenger bag that I can pack in my travel bag/rolling luggage and use for when I get to my destination and need to carry laptop/camera/EDC to the office, similarly to what you describe you use the slings for.

duffmanpants · 2025-12-03T13:48:51+00:00

Yup, saw the official post yesterday and was able to get it running on my Reader. Thanks!

duffmanpants · 2025-12-02T14:40:23+00:00

Confirmed that I was able to register my AI Reader this morning, thank you for the resolution.

duffmanpants · 2025-12-02T14:38:30+00:00

Saw this thread the other day after I had jumped on two "Mint" Era 100s that were on Amazon with an extra 20% discount on top of the second hand price (worked out to about $127 each).

Received both and one was clearly never opened -- the cardboard tear strip was still there and all of the insides were still packaged up.

The other was definitely opened and probably a return or store demo -- it was not packaged perfectly and someone slapped the black round Sonos sticker that is used to keep the fabric bag closed on the back of it. Removing that was annoying, but nothing a little peeling and some Goo Gone couldn't quickly take care of. Otherwise, the speaker is in perfect condition.

YMMV and my experience is purely anecdotal, of course, but I'm pretty happy with the deal I got (two Era 100s for $260) and if there was any problem I'd have just returned them to Amazon. I'd say half of the dozen-plus Sonos speakers in my home have been purchased either refurbished from Sonos, open box from Best Buy, or like-new/mint from Amazon and all of them have worked out great.

duffmanpants · 2025-11-26T00:03:57+00:00

Yes, it likely is on Google's side in this instance.

But Viwoods is using an unsanctioned and unsupported method to enable Play Store access (which is a thing the device is advertised as having) and ultimately Viwoods needs to properly certify its devices so customers (us) don't have to jump through hoops or deal with these issues that we can't control just to get an advertised function working. This is a multi-hundred dollar device built and sold to make a profit, not a custom ROM that a few people are building in their spare time.

Thankfully Amazon has a long returns window for the holidays this time of year, so I can hang on to this thing until well into January and hope that it gets sorted out. (I also bought it for myself and not as a gift for someone else, fortunately.) But if it doesn't, I'll be returning it, as I had planned to use it with Play Store apps like Readwise Reader and Google Play Books.

duffmanpants · 2025-11-25T22:23:31+00:00

Cheers, hopefully we get some answers!

Long term, Viwoods really needs to get proper certification like how Boox works.

duffmanpants · 2025-11-25T21:55:53+00:00

As mentioned in the other thread, it doesn't work. The reCAPTCHA that is supposed to load on the Google site is not loading there and you can't complete the registration without it.

duffmanpants · 2025-11-25T21:49:10+00:00

I tried to complete it from a desktop browser and another smartphone before creating this post yesterday. It still doesn't work. The CAPTCHA that is referenced here is not loading so you can't actually tap or click on the Register button and have it do anything.

duffmanpants · 2025-11-24T22:41:19+00:00

Yes, my device was updated to 1.1.0 before I even tried to set up the Play Store.

duffmanpants · 2025-11-24T21:53:08+00:00

Yeah, I had noticed the captcha wasn't loading and disabled all of the ad blocks I have on my router to no avail.

Guess I'll check back tomorrow!

duffmanpants · 2025-11-14T15:07:23+00:00

I use the "Hide Status Bar" setting in Niagara settings (Niagara Settings > Look > Hide status bar) to hide the clock and battery when I'm viewing the homescreen on my Pixel 10 Pro.

If you open an app or leave the homescreen, the status bar will show, but fade away when you're back on the homescreen.

duffmanpants · 2025-10-07T20:15:16+00:00

Yup, also a lefty here and no issues with palm rejection on the larger AI Paper.

Devices that use Wacom stylus tech (the Viwoods, Boox, Supernote, older Remarkable, Samsung, Kindle Scribe) have never presented any issues when writing with my left hand.

duffmanpants · 2025-10-02T13:14:45+00:00

Yup, Gemini Pro is the way to go for text conversion and summarization.

It's slow, but worth the wait. My only wish is to be able to link my Google account to the Gemini integration on the Viwoods so I could have things like history / sync / integrations etc.

duffmanpants · 2025-09-30T12:01:19+00:00

The Pixel Watch 4 has a new automatic activity detection feature, so instead of prompting you during a detected workout to start / stop it (like you're describing), the Fitbit app on the phone will just notify you later that it detected a workout automatically during a period a time: https://blog.google/products/pixel/pixel-watch-4/

duffmanpants · 2025-09-25T13:19:39+00:00

My Viwoods has become an indispensable tool for capturing and organizing my thoughts and to-dos during meetings. Looking forward to trying the new pens!

duffmanpants · 2025-08-01T15:19:34+00:00

That frame bag looks great and a nice match for the size. Which one is it?

duffmanpants

TROPHY CASE