any thoughts on the timbuk2 "outtawhack" as a backpack for cycling?

https://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/retail/ca...0&skusetId=124

It looks like it'd be okay on the bike, but upright all the weight is pivoted into the lumbar, on only one side of your back. Definately use the handle if you're walking with it, or don't carry much. It is padded, the T2 site sez the laptop portion interior is lined in corduroy? Seems they've gotten so big their copy is probably off, although there is Cordura Corduroy out there, my wife made a stunning jacket out of some this past winter.

You can save yourself a few bucks by buying it from one of the other people selling it. Carringcase.net, Lots of yahoo stores, onlineshoes.com, rei.com, shopper.com, zappos.com, brilliantshopper.com, nextag.com. Many of these retailers sell Timbuk2 for less than Timbuk2 and offer free T2 Ipod cases and laptop sleeves + Free Shipping. There is even a colour choice available (navy/royal/navy) from these retailers that Timbuk2 does not itself stock, so check it out before buying direct from T2, their own site is apparantly for suckers.

No sternum strap = teh suck.

Looks kinda... wack. For similar money you can get an Ortleib Velocity and a separate laptop sleeve.

OK, that sounds just amazing! I'm just as addicted to cool jackets as I am to bags

thanks.

the lack of a sternum strap would seem to make it less than ideal when it comes to sway, and i wonder how bad the visibility would be over the shoulder that the bag sticks up over. i hadn't thought about the weight resting unevenly . . .

thanks for the ortlieb rec.

I've been commuting with a backpack for the past year. Sternum straps and side compression straps make your load a billion times more stable. Try out North Face or other daypacks at your local hiking store. That's what I use, and it's done fine.

I'll second the Ortlieb recommendation. I've been using an Ortlieb Messsenger backpack on account of a separated collarbone (I had a thread going a while ago -- a year or so). Over 35+ miles, a messenger bag wasn't quite cutting it and so I opted to try a backpack out. It's made a world of difference.

I also tried out a regular North Face and a Mammut backpack (daypacks, if you will) and those served just as fine (as Aeroplane mentioned) but I like the simplicity, waterproofness and durability of an Ortlieb. I also wanted something that was a bit larger and designed with a cyclist in mind.

One thing of note: I also rode with a Chrome Backbone for two days or so before returning it -- my shoulders are wide and my neck Rollins-esque and the Chrome backpack straps were a little too close to each other thus pinning my neck and giving me pain there. FYI if you have a thick neck or such.

how is the over-the-shoulder visibility on the ortlieb, at least compared to other backpacks?