Toshi Pack 25L V2

I may have finally landed on the one that scratches all the itches.

I've tried many backpacks over the years, starting with my GR1 back in 2013 (I still have it, but it sits unused). Worn, bought, sold countless: Aer, basically every Evergoods, 20+ GoRuck bags, Thule, Mystery Ranch (still the best harness, though)...

It's as if an Evergoods CHZ and Aer CPP had a baby. Main compartment that opens all the way, but the zip curving in about halfway for every day use is great. Compartments are all well laid out, just enough organization. I really dislike bags with so many different little pockets and zips, almost as if it dictates exactly how you need to use the bag.

With this, I have my tech pouch in the main compartment and a few small items in the admin pocket, a work badge and AirPods in the side access pocket, sunglasses in the top quick access pocket, laptop and journal in the dedicated compartment, and I'm off.

Water bottle holders are really well executed. Holds a Yeti Rambler 26 oz bottle well (Nalgene sized), but tucks away when not in use instead of staying bagged out. It doesn't intrude too much into the main compartment so the volume isn't reduced.

The dedicated volume is well thought out, materials are high quality, and construction is clearly high level -- probably came from the same Vietnamese factory that other high end cottage companies use.

I've now had this bag for a few weeks and it is great for having a primary every day office commute bag that doubles as a weekend bag. I don't need to swap things out to a larger, dedicated "travel" backpack. If I'm staying somewhere more than 2 nights, I bring a small duffle. Anything over a week and it's a roller.

It doesn't look/profile like a 26L bag which is also impressive. And the fact that it stands on its own is a huge bonus.

Yes, the handle isn't perfect, but I understand why the design choice was made due to the zipper configuration of the laptop, main, and quick access compartments. After a few days you get used to it and it's not that big of a deal.

It keeps everything together in a single, consistent bag that fits many different situations. It looks understated and not overly teched out (Aer).

Great job!

A beautiful, sleek, and functional bag. My daily bag for law school!

The Rework Toshi 20 and 25 have almost identical layout with the only difference in design being that the 25L has an extra interior pocket on the front panel of the interior of the bag. The 20L straps are about 2.5 inches apart and the 25L are like 3 inches apart. That 0.5 inches of difference doesn't seem like a lot but it made it so the bag will work with my TOS. (Thoraic Outlet Syndrome)

Things I liked:
Has 2 deep water bottle pockets. I can easily put a reusable water bottle and a bottle of soda or tea I get at the airport.

Feels very well built, the laptop area feels sturdy, both will self stand a lot of the time. The zippers all feel good.

When opening the main compartment I don’t know if it’s intentional or accidental but there’s kind of a spot on the zippers where it catches which makes it easy to open only part way and hard to accidentally open all the way.

Laptop pouch feels very sturdy and well padded.

I love that the key leash can be moved to the admin pocket or either side of the bottom pocket.

They designed the admin pouch with a gusset at the bottom so that it doesn’t steal volume from the interior of the bag.

Things I’m not sure about:
The sternum strap is the slider kind, prefer the kind with discrete placements so it doesn’t accidentally move around on you. Also with both bags I’m nearly at the end of the strap length so if you’re wider than me (42” chest) you might not be able to use this comfortably.

Things I didn’t Like:
The top carry handle is awkward to use and needs to be redesigned on V3. It’s too tight to the bag to grab easily and kind of folds awkwardly.

I don’t like that it flaps open on the bottom instead of the side but this is a personal preference.

The ambi quick access pocket is kind of useless. It’s too small to fit my headphones, it’s too big to put a wallet in it without it sliding around. If you fill the bag up you can’t really put anything in the pocket that isn’t thin. I think I would prefer it if they just extended the top admin all the way down like some other bags have done maybe just a bit longer instead.

I don’t like that the 25L is 19in/48cm tall. Most online underseat sizers say 18x14x8 is max underseat, I think it will still fit on most airlines but still would have preferred if they made it larger in the depth and width instead. It feels much larger than some other bags I've tried that are the same volume.

The interior pouch on the back of the bag doesn’t feel like it’s useful but it’s easily ignored.

There doesn’t seem to be a great place to put my Sony XM6 headphones. The case for these headphones won’t fit in the bottom ambi pocket, it will fit in the admin pocket but only if I don’t put too much else in there. I can stuff it in with the laptop but then the bag feels awkward. I think my best bet is the main compartment on the top.

I'm particular about my bags, containers, whatnot, and so are you. This one is almost perfect, and agreed that you can't get perfection since one day is different from the next and as seasons of life changes, but this comes close.
The only nits I have is that,
1) though amazingly it self-stands really well it also is easy to roll over side to side in the car, I think this is because I've loaded both bottle holders and those bottles are raised up enough to raise the center of gravity to make it tippy,
2) the 25L is pretty wide once you pack both bottle holders, making it hard to fit in an Ikea Kallax cube (I know it is a really niche scenario:)
3) just a real nit, the shoulder straps could use a vertical center stitch to keep the foam from feeling like it could move around (but it hasn't yet, just a perception issue I think)

That's all the nits, really small things. The handle at first was a little oddly not flat but I've gotten used to it and see the spacing makes it easier to grab. Wearing it packed out is really comfortable, even though heavier than my previous backpack I don't really feel the wieght. Absolutely love the self-standing nature. I'm currently using the small "sunglasses" pocket as my snack central, so convenient, and the pass through for hoodie storage, though it is a little stuffed. Taking two laptops is great, and have room in main compartment for a sling with my DT pack (bible + small notebook + iPad mini) along with my biking gear and puffer jacket plus extra room, while my tech stuff and pens are in the admin area.

Honestly I don't know what I would actually want more in a EDC backpack.
Oh, I do have one more nit-ish thing, I find that I have to un-shoulder a strap to get at my bottle from the bottle pocket. It is a compromise because I know that the bottle is really in there and won't fall out. Don't know what could be done about though.

amazing, just perfect. to the last detail, absolute pleasure each day!

This is my 1st higher end backpack and I am verry happy with it. Im glad I decided to go with the 25L. I spent a few weeks trying to decide, and even had some online help. I thought the 20L was way more appealing, but now that I have the 25L I know I made the right decision. I mainly use it for my laptop, several drinks, and my little mouse case that fits some cords in it. I'm 6ft and it looks like I could afford an even larger backpack on my back, but I think this is a perfect size bag for daily use without being too bulky to sling around in the car getting in and out. My only "complaint" is the main grab handle up top. It gives you plenty of space to grab it, but mine is naturally twisted looking, like instead of being flush against the bag its twisted, I think it has just a bit too much space to fit your hand into the handle. Not a huge deal though, the handle is very nice overall it just bugs me a little haha.