Source
r/ManyBaggers•
pufflord

Aer City Pack Pro X-Pac vs 1680D Olive

Hello, I'm currently on the fence between the X-Pac and 1680D olive colorway for the Aer CPP. Does anyone have experience with the aquaguard zippers on this bag and whether they're tough to go around? Also deciding whether the olive colour is nice enough to forgo the X-Pac material (weight, feel, water resistance). If it helps, I'm in the tropics (i.e. either rainy, super hot weather, or both).

Would anyone also happen to know if this would be too big on a 5'7" (170cm) guy? I also have a slightly shorter torso:leg length which is somewhat of a concern

Posted Nov 3, 2022, 3:08 PM UTC

611
killiansrat•

I don’t mind the aquaguard zippers too much, but they aren’t as smooth as regular ones for sure. It’s totally worth not having to worry about your stuff getting wet in rain though!

I’m 5’7 as well and I posted pics in this post comparing with the non-pro city pack

and in this post with my initial impressions.

It starts to look much bigger if you pack it fully though.

3
JKBFree•

Depends,

Most times I’m only seeing intermittent rain, and am usually carrying an umbrella, so the regular zippers have been fine.

those times when I’ve been caught out, a little water does get thru the regular zippers, but only if youre walking in sustained rain to the bus stop. So having the aquaguard zips on the CPP’s laptop compartment was really nice to have.

And while the aquaguard zips do break in over time, I’ve never felt like they were too stiff or cumbersome.

As for the olive 1680d, it does a soild job keeping rain out. Aer says that their cordura has been water repellent treated and it works as advertised. On certain parts ontop, It kinda felt like some water was absorbed by the 1680d but hard to tell. Nothing inside was damp thankfully.

But xpac is just another level and does put greater peace of mind. I remember someone accidentally spilling a full glass of water on my travel pack 2’s xpac and the bag was none the worse for wear. Like it never even happened.

Keep in mind, aer does sell a rain cover for their smaller tp3 for added protection. Should fit tho a touch large. And able carry sells one for their daily as well, which seems like itd be tighter overall fit.

2
pufflordOP•

I noticed that you got the olive 1680D, do you think the colour is worth getting over the XPac then? I don't think I'm very desperate over the water resistance, but am more into the material.

1
JKBFree•

Yea,

If you dont need the diesel water resistant of xpac, go for the olive!

Im not a fan of black on black bags and this colorway is one of my favs of all the bags ive owned.

Seriously, i feel like the aer product shots almost dont do the color justice.

2
pufflordOP•

Thanks so much for your input! Guess I'm gonna have to take the leap of faith for the olive.

1
EschewObfuscati0n•

I can only comment on one of the things you asked but I have the xpac version and yes the aquaguard zippers are pretty tough to open and close. I don’t think it’s a big deal but opening with one hand is pretty difficult.

1
pufflordOP•

Do you see the aquaguard zippers as necessary? Frankly not a fan of how hard it is to zip up, but also not sure how water resistant the 1680D ballistic nylon is (to give up xpac)

1
killiansrat•

You get aquaguard zipper on the laptop compartment even on the ballistic nylon versions of the bag. Even my cheap jansport does fine in light rains. In a rainstorm though, XPac would stop water for sure but I’m not sure I would fully trust aquaguard zippers.

It’s a small detail, but you also get reflective zipper pulls with the XPac version. I really wanted to get the olive but that little detail, added rain protection, and orange lining made me choose XPac. Olive color is beautiful though.

4
pufflordOP•

I've been keeping up with your posts actually! I love the orange lining and feel of XPac but want the olive color, sigh

2
EschewObfuscati0n•

Personally I don’t. I have never been in a situation where rain has ruined anything in my backpack. I’ve been in plenty of down pours at college with a north face backpack that didn’t have any rain protection and my laptop and everything else was always fine. So I think aquaguards have more cons than pros.

And yes, one of those cons making it hard to zip/unzip. Again, not a huge deal to me. I’m never in a situation where I need to open my backpack .01 seconds quicker lol

2
Subgeniusintraining•

Curious about this myself as I’m facing the same indecision between these two

1
tmac3life•

Haha, I went through the same indecision. Excited to be getting olive though.

1
Subgeniusintraining•

I ended up getting the Olive myself as well. It’s a great bag.

2