About seven years ago, as I was preparing for a trip, a friend told me I had to check out Keen shoes. Couldn’t stop talking about how comfortable they were. To be honest, I thought his were a little funny looking, but I figured I would entertain his suggestion and try them out. In retrospect, ‘comfortable’ seems not a strong enough word. They were so comfortable, that after wearing them for a week, when I put on my previous, every day shoes and stood up, I thought I had put them on the wrong feet. Seriously. I had to look down and make sure I had them on right. So why am I talking about shoes in a backpack review? Because this Keen daypack has repeated the experience.
When I pulled the Tilden Daypack out of its box, the first thing I noticed is this strange, yellow egg-crate like material covered in black fishnet (looks like something the Predator might find fetching). It covers the entire back, inside of the straps, and partially wraps around the front of the straps. On the otherwise clean, minimal, black design, these yellow details really stood out, giving it that same, slightly odd look. But once I loaded it up with my daily carry, it was the shoe experience all over again. As soon as I put it on, the weight inside vanished, and comfortable was no longer a strong enough word. Maybe it’s the wishbone yoke straps, maybe it’s the egg crate “Topo Foam”, maybe it’s my old messenger bag… whatever. Something about this pack made the heft of what I carried feel like it wasn’t there. After wearing it around the house for about a half hour, I checked inside to make sure I hadn’t forgotten to put everything in there.
On to the specs: At 28 liters, the Tilden is the middle child of the three new Trailhead Daypacks (Aliso:22L, Ellwood:35L). The shell and lining are made of recycled polyester with a TPU* coating (sometimes facing out, sometimes facing in). It is sized to fit a 15.4″ laptop or a 2L hydration reservoir. Other interior organization includes an iPad/tablet pocket, two pen slots, two gadget pockets (one lined), a nice 8″ x 9″ zippered pocket, and a generous main. On the outside, it has two side pockets with elastic mesh panels and another 8″ x 9″ side zippered pocket with a tethered carabiner inside (I love these and wish all bags had them). Other exterior features are a pair of grab handles, front and top, cinch-down straps, a removable waist strap and a chest buckle.
In the two weeks I’ve been using the Tilden, I’ve been hard pressed to find anything not to like about it. Sure the side pockets could be an inch or two shallower and maybe it could’ve had just one more small, zippered pocket, but there is nothing about this bag that I would find worthy of complaint. That said, there are two areas that remain untested. Those would be the zipper flap and, what I am assuming is the opening for a hydration tube. The zipper flap folds toward your back, so it seems like it might actually collect rain if you are riding, and the hydration hole which is directly above the laptop sleeve, is only partially protected by a TPU flap. This also seems like it might invite wet weather issues. Again, these seem like they could be a issue, but remain for me untested.
Overall, the Tilden is a terrific, just right sized pack with plenty of organization, a clean look and the ability to render things almost weightless. Hmmm, maybe that Topo Foam is full of helium…
The Good:
- Well made
- Bright interior (on the black one) makes it easy to find stuff
- Super comfortable
- Two grab straps
- Clean, minimal design
- Tethered carabiner
- No velcro!
The Bad:
- Side pockets are a little deep, but that’s probably just me
- Might make all other bags feel like I have them on backwards
The Why:
- Direction of zipper flap might collect rain at speed
- Unsealed hole directly over laptop compartment
Would I recommend: Yes, absolutely
The Keen Tilden Daypack – $99 from Amazon
*The More You Know – TPU stands for Thermoplastic Polyurethane. TPUs have been around since the early 70’s and are formed by the reaction of: (1) diisocyanates with short-chain diols (so-called chain extenders) and (2) diisocyanates with long-chain bifunctional diols (known as polyols). Yeah, I have no idea what that means either.
images via: Keenfootwear.com