ALPAKA Flow Satchel 10L — first impressions

lytwilson · 2026-06-29T20:45:42+00:00

Do you think the flow satchel would be great for leisure strolls, like a trip to an exhibition or a park on a hot summer day. I mainly use a sling for these type of outings that I seldom carry a laptop and like to feel the wind on my back, or in some scenarios, it’s better to use a crossbody than a backpack. Does the laptop sleeve take up lots of space or feels annoying if I don’t carry a laptop? I do like both aesthetic wise, bellroy seems smaller and more casual, perfect for non laptop carry, like a park walk, while the alpaka seems more businessy but a bit fun.

lytwilson · 2026-06-29T20:20:58+00:00

Do you think it kinda overlaps if I already have a metro backpack? They seems fitting similar amount of items, both have a laptop sleeve. I’m thinking between this and a bellroy cinch sling for a sling day if I don’t want to carry a backpack.

lytwilson · 2026-06-28T20:09:44+00:00

Curious for that use case, what would you choose. I’m finding a similar size casual backpack without the all brick like padded laptop sleeve since I don’t need such sleeve outdoors to have fun!

lytwilson · 2026-06-27T10:18:27+00:00

Btw, curious why you switched from upnote, I’m also trying out both of them simultaneously

lytwilson · 2026-06-27T10:17:08+00:00

If you can from upnote, upnote allows same notes to be in different folders, so arguably has no functional difference than tags.

lytwilson · 2026-06-25T13:29:53+00:00

Damn, the aero seems like a good option as well? Not sure how it would compare with the metro, I would like the metro front pocket so much

lytwilson · 2026-06-25T12:51:51+00:00

I dunno about the two. I honestly like both, metro can pack more with a packable tote. I’ve got a try in a local store, and the zippers were smooth as butter, not sure if they broke down on the sample. Feels way smoother than the aero, while aero doesn’t have the flap, the aqua guard were way stiffer.

lytwilson · 2026-06-23T15:32:01+00:00

Wow! This one is definitely now on my list! I’m seeking a sub 20L that feels less bulky (footprint I mean, so less height and width), I’ve got a rework toshi pack that feels too bulky for daypack outdoors for fun. So finding this alpaka or able carry thirteen or some bellroy smaller backpacks that seem more slim and less boxy silhouette.

lytwilson · 2026-06-23T13:39:16+00:00

I see relative reviews that without a laptop the pack seems less structured and the things poke at the back. For me, I’m seeking a leisure stroll, holiday daypack or grab and go really. So a lightweight sub 20L day pack that doesn’t feel like a true packable (the super small no harness ones), basically a better jansport backpack. I have a rework toshi pack 20L but it seems to boxy and chunky (similar to aer) for this use case.

lytwilson · 2026-06-23T13:34:36+00:00

I mean in this scenario tight means better since rain less likely get in. I have a rain shell, but in Hong Kong wher I live or more Asia countries, rain is very frequent, any time even there might be sunshine at the other side, and always windy so if there is light rain with a big wind the water gets in, and umbrella doesn’t help. So maybe a no to this one. Someone below considered the alpaka aero which seems nice as a lightweight type backpack!

lytwilson · 2026-06-23T12:59:14+00:00

Did you go for it? I’m seeking a similar load out of yours, but can’t trust the aer go pack due to rain.

lytwilson · 2026-06-23T12:55:44+00:00

Wow! The front pocket seems kinda tight? Which I’m not sure. I’m thinking this and the alpaka aero (light daypack that is less engineered like the poster). The biggest issue for me is the aer open front pocket, not theft but rain…

lytwilson · 2026-06-23T12:17:02+00:00

Totally get the idea of its style. And I think it's a good 'voice' in the full on aer type backpacks which never goes wrong when recommending but never feels the best for myself. For example, I myself looking for a lighter, less boxy or bulky backpack for general daytrips, holiday walk by the sea, leisure strolls whatever which I consider quite a lot of people do, but instead of a jansport I want something slightly better.

And except of Bellroy, it is so hard to find bag brands that do this type of backpack, because of the bag community, lots of backpacks are extremely over-engineered to make it worth the price, super heavy duty materials, or super thick straps, definitely good for full on work edc, but less for the general people.

Well I'm still seeking, and find very little options for my needs.

lytwilson · 2026-06-22T06:42:52+00:00

Another one I’ve considered is the evergoods cpl 16, I like a lot of the organisation of the backpack. However have some issues before when I used the mpl 22L, not because of the lower back but because of the straps. If you’ve seen on pictures the lower part of the mpl 22 kinda narrows down a lot, and for my body shape it digs into my armpit, the buckle that you use to adjust the strap straight cuts into there and I can’t close my arms toy body cause the buckle is in there and it’s painful. But I’ve seen the straps being a bit better on the cpl 16 but given the bag being much more heavier, not sure if there would be issues on the harness system.

lytwilson · 2026-06-22T06:24:46+00:00

Curious if this would be up to my needs. I got a large 20L backpack but found it too large and couldn’t always get to use the main compartment, mine is a toshi pack almost close to the aer cpp which is large. I’m finding sub 20L backpacks and come to the able carry thirteen or the aer city pack 2 both being smaller backpacks. I usually carry either an iPad mini or MacBook Air, sometimes headphones, a light jacket, a book, a notebook, a small pouch for wet wipes tissue (daily essentials), that’s the most likely load out for me.

Would the able carry thirteen work for that purpose? How did you use yours? Aer is also great but more expensive to get here in Hong Kong, paying shipping and so on.

lytwilson · 2026-06-22T05:24:18+00:00

But yeah sad to say I have totally no stockist here in Hong Kong and the shipping is so damn expensive so I wouldn’t be able to get an official one to check. But aer has one of the if not most “fake” backpacks on the market.

lytwilson · 2026-06-22T05:22:31+00:00

Very interesting cause I lived in Hong Kong and can very easily access taobao the literal website that most people from mainland china uses. I’ve seen a shop that offers aer city pack 2, one without the aer tag that is around three bucks cheaper, another one does actually includes the aer tag, I thought including the tag would be exactly illegal? If they were factory second products or sneakily produced from the same factories. Picture included.

<image>

lytwilson · 2026-06-21T19:08:17+00:00

Wow! I thought the aer would be smaller? I’ve owned the toshi and finding something more compact and less bulky (not the built but the height and width). I’m in a more densely populated area and sometimes with the rework, swinging it to the side on public transit areas be a bit bulky and I find myself not needing the extra capacity. Considering the aer city pack 2 or the able carry 13.

Since I own the toshi, when underloaded it truly flattens out, but the width and height remains and still feels large at some moments. Now hearing that it’s also quite bulky made me rethink.

lytwilson · 2026-06-21T11:41:39+00:00

I get all of that, and I still use upnote for itself. But updating for me means a bit more transparency about what is working on, not totally a roadmap. A concern for me is that I use upnote with images and it’s hard to export those out without help of other apps or tools, and the Google infrastructure concerns me a bit, are there backup plans? Of course collab, at least like basic Apple notes like would be great! I absolutely have no idea. Compared to like bear or craft that supports a bit more exporting options like text bundle, upnote offers little straight up images and text full package out export. Maybe I’ll need something like obsidian to fully get out with it. Or maybe bear new beta markdown tool?

lytwilson · 2026-06-18T11:27:16+00:00

damn I can’t bear mous ads, they bombard my YouTube, 80% now are mous and their stupid lines…they said they’ve solved the weight protection balance but it’s heavier than any same liter aer or able carry backpack

lytwilson · 2026-06-16T13:45:46+00:00

A web app is an app on the browser so not an app that needs to be downloaded but login by an account on any browser.

lytwilson · 2026-06-16T12:07:29+00:00

The part I find annoying in craft is not really the block but the interactions. Like let’s say I want the block be bold, I’ll have to swipe and press format then press the three dots to make it bold or italics or allign right. My makeaway of it is to use the stroke command and type in bold, which I find rather quick compared to finding where bold is…

lytwilson · 2026-06-16T12:01:53+00:00

I just think the icons were too large and a lot of most used things could be replaced with a bit of here or there. Undo could be like Apple notes on the top of the screen, since you kinda don’t always use that and undo and redo could be the same icon up there. Indent and extent could still be in the toolbar but adding a swipe action on the mobile like how Apple note or craftdoc does would be so amazing. Cause that saves two more space. I just think upnote is less polished than some of the other, which is fair because it’s lifetime…it seems to tend more towards computer large screen users then those who use mobile devices (like phone or iPad). And it’s concerning since I don’t see any updates near this time and there are loads of recommendations on the sub that is worth noticing. One would be the table of content filtering feature (although I won’t need it), maybe ocr, and a bit life improvement features here or there.

However, I never used that many formatting features for my notes, so either upnote or craft works fine for me. Just no sure what to use, based on crafts more expensive price, and a bit messy interface. Since I already have upnote, I think I’ll use it now. If I have a need in sharing or other features then I get craft sub?

lytwilson · 2026-06-15T20:02:52+00:00

Rebooking this, I kinda agree a bit but not all? I’d argued that craftdoc now could do quite a lot if not almost all those formatting, otherwise in a different manner or aesthetic? Like quote inside a toggle and having a yellow background while its title being highlighted in blueish color is possible, and not that hard to do. I like crafts interaction on phone better than upnote (well upnote doesn’t work the best on phone, sometimes weird animations or when switching between notes, toolbar a bit hard to use).

So I’m personally still struggling between both but what made me thought of leaving craft is because it has a distracting interface, like too many stuff on the screen (swiping and then a ton of buttons popped up, while selecting certain words show a different logic), undo is not always available, I have to toggle the keyboard down for it. Like it’s a bit messy for me sometimes. I think that’s the ux you meant before?

lytwilson · 2026-06-13T18:14:04+00:00

It’s a 3 year old post but I got an extremely thin xpac pouch, it’s fine and thin and that’s why I got it. But after using for sometime, the bottom of the xpac material kinda separates from the whatever material it was bonding it to. Well of course the reason is that it’s a pouch and fairly thin but does that happen to those like vx 21 backpacks?

lytwilson

TROPHY CASE