- YETI Crossroads Backpack 23 is a 23-liter backpack
that is great for EDC and minimal travel.
I'm Tom, the founder of Pack Hacker,
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Let's jump right into the review
of the YETI Crossroads 23.
A bag that AJ,
our managing editor and I have been testing around Detroit
and Northern Michigan for the last three weeks.
And if you want more information on this bag,
as well as the full review and the best buying options,
we have it available over at packhacker.com.
Link in the description below.
Let's jump in.
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Overall, this bag definitely has a YETI style going on.
But it's a little bit more subdued than you see
in some of their coolers that have the massive zippers.
And some that are a little bit more colorful as well.
Previously, we reviewed the YETI Tocayo which had
a little bit more of a go rock vibe going on with it.
That pack has since been discontinued
and now we have the YETI Crossroads 23.
There's also a 16-liter tote that comes in this style,
the Crossroads style as well.
From a branding perspective,
we have a small YETI patch on the front of the bag here
and then one on the back of the straps as well.
We like that it is gray on black.
It's a little bit more subdued than
the white on black that the Tocaya had.
The main fabric on the exterior of this bag
is a 1000D nylon.
And it's nice and soft to the touch.
We think it'll hold up and remain strong as you use
the bag for longer.
At the time of this review,
the bag comes in three different colors.
We have slate blue,
charcoal and the black color, which we have here.
We decided to go with the charcoal color for the tote
and we think that looks slick as well.
We're split on the overall look of this bag.
Some of us like it.
Some of us don't.
And some of us think that there is an overall
dad vibe going on.
So we tossed it out to our Instagram audience
to get their thoughts on the look as well.
Here are the results.
Make sure to follow us on Instagram @packhacker
if you wanna be involved in future poles.
Wrapping up the rest of the materials in this bag.
The interior liner is a 420D Ripstop nylon
which feels nice to the touch
and has some durability as well.
We have durable YKK zippers on the openings
of this bag and high quality dura flex buckles
and plastic hardware on the strap adjusters
and the sternum strap.
Starting with the external components,
kicking it off with the harness system
is a lot of comfort going on in these straps
and the back panel as well.
The straps are soft and have a lot of high density foam.
They are very squishy to the touch
and very comfortable to wear.
You probably don't need straps this dense and nice
on a size of this bag,
however you'll know that it's always gonna be comfortable
as you're carrying it around even fully loaded with gear.
Moving on the pack,
we have some fabric welting here,
that covers one row of PALS webbing
to attach the sternum strap.
The sternum strap stays pretty nicely attached
and it's not likely you'll lose it,
however just note that it's still possible with
the sternum strap attachment of this design.
Moving on the strap,
we have some plastic Duraflex adjusters
at the bottom of the bag here that just glide quite easily
and adjusts pretty easily.
The only thing missing at the bottom of this harness system
are elastic keepers to keep that excess strap in check.
We've been using removable strap keepers from Tom Bihn.
So be sure to link that up in the description below
if you'd like to take a look.
Behind the harness system we have a very padded back panel
and there is not a lot of mesh here either
for additional air-flow.
With the padding and the foam,
we have found this back panel to be pretty stiff,
especially compared with other bags.
Some people prefer a more flexible bag
that contours to their back.
The YETI Crossroads is not going to provide that.
However, if you put a 15-inch laptop inside of here,
or any other bag for that matter,
you are going to lose a bit of that contour anyways.
Overall, the Crossroads has a solid
and comfortable harness system.
At the top of the bag,
we have a nice padded and grabbable handle.
Really is the perfect size and you can feel some kind
of stay in here as well that gives
the bag additional structure as you're using the handle.
Moving on to the sides,
there is a clever expandable water bottle pocket
that lays flat while not in use.
A series of magnets on the side keeps things nice
and tidy while not in use.
When you're ready to take it out,
it's quite easy to just de-magnetize the flap
and open it right up.
The material of the bottle pocket is not stretchy.
It offers a 420D nylon liner on the interior
and then that same 1000D liner on the exterior.
There is, however, some stretchy material
at the bottom of the water bottle pocket.
These pockets will fit most YETI ramblers.
In here we have the 36-liter version
that just barely squeezes in.
There is some tarpaulin-like material at the bottom
of the bag that adds additional weather resistance
and durability when you're setting the bag down.
And lastly, the bag stands up on it's own.
I don't even know I've been holding it
for this whole video so far 'cause it looks perfect here.
Even when it's empty,
even when there's no water bottle pockets on the side.
It does a great job at standing up on it's own.
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Starting with the sneakiest pocket on this bag,
we have the back panel hidden zippered pocket on the side.
This is a great pocket for stashing your wallet
or your passport.
Flatter items are ideal,
however this pocket can have a bit of dimensionality
since the side of the pocket is gusseted.
Although there's a lot of padding here,
you're not gonna feel things necessarily poking
into your back,
however flatter items here are better since it will
effect the shape of the back panel,
giving it a little bit of a bulge if it is fully packed out.
Next up, the top-drop pocket in the front of the bag.
This opens up and folds down to reveal a sort of tray
where you can stash your everyday items inside.
Perfect for the airport if you're taking everything
out of your pockets,
putting it into your bag to go through airport security,
or just items that you want quick access to.
There's ample space in a separate liner divider pocket
to fit things like a notebook inside quite easily.
If you end up jamming the main compartment full
of a bunch of items,
it will cut into the space of this quick-grab pocket
as it hasn't been designed in a liter independent way.
Moving on to the back laptop compartment.
It opens up about a third of the way down the bag.
There's a soft liner on the interior that's good
for more delicate electronics.
Your laptop can just slide down
into the main part of this pocket.
Towards the wearers front of the bag,
we have a tablet pocket that can also fit a notebook
and to the left and right we have a pen,
pencil and stylus pockets as well.
Towards the top there is a nice zippered pocket
with built-in zipper garage.
Good for holding extra cords or tech items
that you wanna have with you at all times.
The front of this pocket that goes into the main interior
of the bag has that same stretchy material
that we've already seen at the bottom
of the water bottle pockets.
We like the idea of this pocket a little bit more
than the way that it actually functions.
So we haven't used it a ton.
It's a little bit small and it's in a bit
of a weird place.
And if you fully stuff it out,
it will stretch but then it stretches
into the main compartment,
taking away room from that area.
So it's good for a smaller cords and pens
and maybe small notebooks
but if you start getting bigger computer chargers in here,
it's not gonna hold up quite as well.
Moving on to the main compartment of this bag,
it opens up pretty much clamshell style
with a #8 YKK Racquet Coil Zipper.
When the bag is fully packed out,
there's a decent amount of bulge between
the tech pocket here and the front quick-grab pockets.
So not a ton of room at the top of the bag
if those two pockets are fully filled out.
On the front part of the clamshell,
there is a soft mesh pocket here with a little bit
of dimensionality but ultimately it's good
for flatter and smaller items.
Inside of that pocket we have an ITW key-chain for keys.
It's kind of an odd place for it, to be honest.
And for the most part, we've been storing our keys
in this front, quick-grab pocket instead
because it's really quicker to get access
to verses opening up the entire clamshell of a bag,
then opening up this mesh pocket and then finally
you can have access to your keys.
Much quicker up here on the top-drop pocket.
On the back side of this clamshell,
we have another document sleeve
or magazine sleeve or tablet.
Depending on what you wanna put inside.
And just note that stretchy mesh material
at the top here, this tech pocket again,
if it's fully filled up is kinda gonna get in the way
of the access to this pocket down here.
In front of that pocket,
we have a nice zippered pocket towards the front
of that for additional organization.
And of course, it goes without saying,
we have ample room in the main clamshell area
of the bag as well.
At the time of this review AJ,
our managing editor and I have been testing
the YETI Crossroads 23 for three weeks.
Mostly in Detroit as well as a weekend in Northern Michigan.
We've been really digging using this bag overall.
It feels high quality.
We like a lot of the organization,
but there are a couple of nitpicks with it.
For a 23-liter bag,
we feel that this bad runs on the smaller side compared
to other bags of a similar claimed liter capacity.
We feel that some of the organization choices
are a bit odd as well,
including the tech pocket and the quick-grab pocket
on the front of the bag.
All in all, we have enjoyed using the Crossroads 23
despite those couple of nitpicks.
So to wrap this thing up with some pros and cons
starting with the pros.
There is some high-quality materials
and some great construction throughout the YETI Crossroads.
We have some very comfortable straps
and the bag carries quite nicely.
The bag stands up on it's own which is a nice touch.
Some people ask us specifically about bags that do this.
On to some of the cons.
The stretchy tech pocket is an odd size
and also in a weird place.
The quick grab pocket size can be affected
by the main compartment fullness.
And the bag feels smaller than other bags
with a similar claimed liter capacity.
At the end of the day,
the YETI Crossroads 23 is a solid little bag
for EDC and minimal travel.
Although it feels a little bit smaller than other bags
with the same claimed liter space,
and some of the organization choices
left us scratching our heads,
this is a nice little bag that's great to use overall
and we think it'll hold up for a long time as well.
So there you have it.
Our review of the YETI Crossroads 23.
We would love to hear what you think of this bag
in the comments below.
Thanks for keeping it here on Pack Hacker.
Your guide to smarter travel.
We'll see you in the next video.