Slicks: My new short travel bag
Full disclosure, Slicks sent me a review unit of their bag back in 2015. They didn’t however, send me any delicious Swiss chocolate though with it as a bribe, so you can trust this review.
I’ve spent 2 years travelling the world as a minimalist digital nomad. For the entire time my belongings fit into a tiny, 26 litre backpack. So I know quite a lot about what makes a good travel backpack, and what doesn’t.
I have to say that when I was sent the Slicks initially, I was sceptical. I’d always preferred bags with minimal pockets and a single large cavity. I’m pleased to say however, that the Slicks is now my go to bag when I hit the road for short trips.
I don’t travel out of a tiny bag anymore, my life has got quite a lot more ordinary in the last 6 months. However I’m still on the move every few months on trips aboard. This means my packing routine has changed, and the Slicks bag fits in well.
I no longer have to pack my entire life into a single bag, so I’m willing to compromise some internal space for the addition of some internal packing cubes and the amazing shirt folder, more on that later.
The first time I used my Slicks was on a long weekend trip to Berlin for a friends engagement party. This meant formal clothes & shoes, plus ‘normal’ clothes and footwear for 3 days. There was no way my 26L bag was going to work, so the Slicks would be my companion.
The approximate load was:
1. Jacket
2. Formal shirt
3. Slacks
3. Dress shoes
4. Jeans
5. 4 x t-shirts
6. Underwear & socks
7. Boots
7. Toiletries
8. Macbook & charger
It swallowed everything easily, with some of the Slicks specific features really standing out like:
Shirtcover
My sample unit came with the shirt cover which helps minimise creases and keep the collar stiff. This was awesome. I didn’t actually have to iron my shirt for the first night’s festivities which was a big surprise. Nice work Slicks team.
Tripcover
I also used the removable wardrobe, what the Slicks team call their Tripcover. Again, this was one of the things I was initially sceptical about, but I actually found it really useful. It meant that I didn’t actually have to unpack when I got to Berlin, everything was already organised and easy to find.
Another neat little feature is the dry bag section inside which you can use for dirty clothing. An awesome little addition which shows some actual understanding of their user’s needs.
Raincover
I immediately judge bags that don’t come with rain covers. And I have high standards for those that do. The Slicks one is good. Firstly, it works and keeps your bag dry. It’s also yellow with reflective panels on, smart thinking. But even better than that, IT’S ATTACHED TO THE BAG. It’s amazing that some manufactures forgot this step, but don’t worry, you’re not loosing this one.
There were a few things that I’d change about the Slicks bag. I could live without the hanging toiletries bag, but I can see how it would be useful if you’re saddled with makeup or shaving kits.
It’s also not the lightest bag in the world. It’s well built, but along with that comes a trade off. A full loaded Slicks bag (1.4kg), with the Shirtcover (220g), Tripcover (300g) and Raincover (95g) adds up to to just over 2kg.
For comparison, the 30L Tom Bihn Aeronaut tops out at 1.3kg. But you don’t get a any internal organisational help or a raincover. A more ‘technical’ hiking style bag will probably come in under 1kg. So you can draw you’re own comparisons.
Where the Slicks does win my favour though is the little touches. It’s built by people who ‘get’ it, and I found myself discovering these micro details the more I used it.
Take the outside pocket. It’s semi-rigid so it keeps it’s shape which makes stuffing headphones into it really easy. Perfect for the airport security line. And they also squeezed in a tiny phone pocket into the flap too. It’s so small you might miss it, but so will the pickpockets.
Or I could namecheck the padded laptop pouch, or the comfortable shoulder straps which stow away neatly for travel. It all just sort of works.
If you value craftsmanship and a product with a great story behind it, take a look at the Slicks. So far it’s been to Germany with me and all across the UK. It’ll be doing plenty more miles this year too.
Want to read more? Check out The Brooks Reviews take on the Slicks bag (spoilers: he liked it).
The Slicks is available to support on Kickstarter now, starting at $159/£109
