- In this video we're going to be taking a look
at the Thule Subterra 34.
I'm Tom, the founder of Pack Hacker
and we share our travel tips and tricks.
We do guides and reviews just like this one.
So if you're new here, consider subscribing.
Nathan, our video editor, contributor and vlogger
over at his YouTube channel 'Always a Friday'
has been using this travel backpack
for the last couple months in his trips across Europe.
So we put our heads together and we're going to jump right in
and share those findings with you.
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Perhaps better known for their bike and roof racks,
Thule has been in the bag market for quite some time now.
And their range is one of the most expansive we've seen.
The 34 liter Thule Subterra travel backpack
is a dual purpose pack that Thule claim
can function as a travel bag or an everyday backpack.
The possibility of this had us really excited
over here at Pack Hacker,
and we couldn't wait to test this thing out.
At first glance we think the Thule Subterra 34 liter
is a really slick looking pack.
Its streamlined shape gives it a great, low profile look.
It will look great sitting in a coffee shop
or a business meeting, and with the ability to use
this thing as a travel backpack you'll be one of the more
stylish globe wanderers out there.
The Thule Subterra comes in three different colors,
dark shadow which is black, mineral which is blue
and amber which is red.
We're testing the dark shadow color
and we've really been enjoying the contrasting
neon green interior.
It kind of turns the lights on
and you can easily see what's inside.
This pack comes in at 2.75 pounds,
and the dimensions are a carry on compliant 20.5 inches
in height, 12 inches in width and nine inches in depth.
Perfect for one bag travel.
The 800d nylon material used on this bag
is highly durable and built to last.
And all of the zips are YKK too.
The two side panels and front compartment zips
are all YKK eight RC, while the zips on the side pocket
and inside the front compartment are all YKK five RC.
You won't find any crazy external components on this thing
but they have the essentials locked down.
We want to bring up the incredible side pocket first.
While this is sometimes an overlooked feature,
Thule's hit this one out of the park.
When it's zipped up you can barely tell it's there,
but unzip it and you'll find enough room to fit
at least a one liter water bottle.
Using the side pocket we also found a work around
to safely secure a tripod to the outside of the bag.
By slipping one or two legs into the side pocket
you can then use the roll top buckle at the top
to lock in the top of the tripod.
While it's not a necessity, if you want to carry
a tripod around it's a big plus.
At the top of this pack there is a large roll top
and there is a load of stuff going on here.
First of all, there is a large handle that'll stretch
across the entire width of the top.
Though not particularly well padded, it does feel
very strong and the impeccable stitching
is a testament to just how well made this bag is.
At both ends of the handle you'll find duraflex buckles
that lock in with the side of the bag and cinch down.
Meaning the roll top is secured and can be compressed
as much as you like.
We really like the way they've done this.
The roll top also has a magnetic closure which is simple
and actually works really well.
One thing to note though is that because the handle
is secured to the top of the bag, you're only going to want to
roll it down twice.
Anything else and the handle just won't be on show.
Something we would've liked to have seen here
is maybe just a small handle attached to the top fabric
of the back here.
Nine times out of 10 the big top handle works,
but when the bag's really full it can sometimes
be a little hard to get hold of.
There is a side handle on this thing too, right here
and it's really good, really sturdy,
very similar material to the top of the pack.
Maybe we would've liked to have seen one on the other side,
there's maybe not as much room,
but even if it's just a little bit smaller.
Of course there's the side pocket here
so there is reason why they haven't put one there,
but sometimes we've gone to pick it up from this side
and obviously there's nothing there.
It's not a big issue and it does help with the aesthetic
of this pack; but just a note, something to be aware of.
The shoulder straps on this thing are made of
perforated EVA, ethylene vinyl acetate foam
with a mesh covering. Which of course makes them
soft yet durable because we all know what
ethylene vinyl acetate is
and definitely didn't have to Google it.
One thing we really like about these straps
are that they lie flat against the pack.
This bag doesn't have a hideaway strap system
or anything like that, making this even more important.
The back panel is nicely padded but doesn't offer too much
in the form fitting department.
It's pretty much just a flat panel.
We haven't found this to be an issue however,
as it's only a 34 liter pack
and it does have a nice comfortable carry.
The back panel does offer a cool additional feature too.
There's a pass through panel so you can attach this thing
to a roller suitcase.
This is nice to have and you don't notice it at all
when it's not in use,
which for us being all about one bag travel,
is most of the time.
This pack also has a sternum strap.
It's pretty minimal but does have a nice duraflex buckle,
it's comfortable and does the job well.
It's also detachable and can be moved either higher
or lower, which is a nice touch.
Now it's time to unroll the top and check out
what is going on in this main compartment.
It's pretty much just a big bucket.
So there's actually not too much going on, but we like it.
There's plenty of room and you'll find access
to the laptop compartment here via a Velcro opening.
Keep in mind that when this bag is full
all the way to the top, you're gonna have a hard time
of actually accessing the Velcro compartment here.
But fear not, there is another way to access
the laptop compartment and we'll get to that
a little bit later on.
Thule does provide you with a large packing cube,
which is a nice touch.
It's designed to fill up the entire main compartment.
But in practical use it's just not that great.
We used ours once to try it out but haven't since.
It's not a problem with the packing cube itself,
it's made well, it's got nice openings.
Our problem is with the size, it's just too big.
Packing cubes are great because they help with
added organization within a pack,
so if there's just one large one it doesn't
actually help that much.
Now Thule designed this so that you fit all of your clothes
in here and you can just take it out of the Thule Subterra
pack and that then turns the Subterra pack
into a day pack as opposed to a travel bag.
And we like the idea, but for our benefit
it just doesn't work that well.
Now onto that laptop compartment we mentioned earlier.
It's very well padded on the front and the back
so you can be sure your laptop will be safe.
Accessing this area through the main compartment
can sometimes be a bit of a pain.
But there is side access here through a zippered opening
and you're going to be using this one about 90%
of the time anyway.
This side zip means you can take your laptop out
whenever and wherever with ease,
and can hold anything up to a 15 inch laptop easily.
There is an additional zip for side access
to the main compartment too.
And this is great when you don't have time to mess around
with the roll top or you want to grab something quickly
from the bottom of the bag.
Really, really like this feature.
Now there is only one zip for each of the openings here.
We would've liked to have seen two
for that added security of being able to pop a padlock
through or something like that.
Remember your laptop is in this compartment here,
but we have found a way around this.
You can pass a small padlock through each compartment zip
and because the roll top buckle stops the padlock
from moving down, you won't be able to
unzip either compartment.
Moving onto the front compartment
and you'll find some really useful pockets in here.
First of all, there is a large soft pouch at the top
which is great for anything like Kindles,
small tablets, phones, anything really.
You'll also find some pockets on the front of this pouch.
Two that we found you can perfectly fit a passport in.
Two that will hold a pen and one that is designed
for you to lead a cable through,
which leads us perfectly onto the next pocket.
Down here you will find a large zippered mesh pocket
which Thule call the power pocket.
It's designed to hold a power bank so you pop that
in here, put the wires through here, up through here
and into say a Kindle or a phone in the top here.
Now this is awesome considering how many people
utilize power banks nowadays.
And it's a really nice touch by Thule we think.
But if you don't have one it's kind of a win-win anyway
because it just acts like a normal large mesh pocket
at the bottom of the bag.
And finally, on the other side you will find
a large zippered mesh pocket here.
Great for any small items you may have, any documents,
stuff like that.
We've been testing the Thule Subterra 34 liter backpack
for three months now.
We've taken it on trips to Belgium, Hungary,
Spain and plenty of coffee shops with nearly everyday use.
And in that time the bag has held up remarkably well.
It almost looks brand new.
What first attracted us to this bag was that
Thule sold it as an everyday pack and also a travel bag.
At first we were really skeptical to how well
they could pull this off, but they've done a great job.
The 34 liter capacity is perfect for weekend city breaks
and the bag holds its shape and compresses well enough
for trips to the coffee shop
when you just have a laptop, charger and notepad.
The fact that this bag works equally as well
as an everyday pack and a travel bag
is quite frankly awesome. A big thumbs up from us.
Thule offers a seemingly decent warranty as well.
Their 'BringIt! Guarantee' will cover any defect
or damage affecting the bag, even damage caused
by normal wear and tear or the natural discoloration
of materials, for two years from the date of purchase.
Moving onto some of the pros -
this is a great looking backpack.
And it functions equally as well as
a day pack and travel bag.
And we love the side pocket on this thing too.
Now onto some cons -
the top handle can be hard to grab hold of at full capacity.
Larger laptops can be a tight fit
through the side zip if they've got a case on.
And we're not huge fans of the packing cube provided,
but it is free.
The Thule Subterra 34 liter is a great looking pack
that works well as a day pack or a travel bag.
The usual pitfalls of a roll top bag are fixed
by the two side access zips.
And the side pocket expands enough to fit
a surprisingly large water bottle,
and you can barely tell it's even there when not in use.
This a pack that will have you covered
on a weekend city break or just popping to the coffee house,
with enough additional features to hold and organize
everything you may have with you.
- Thanks for taking a look at our review on
the Thule Subterra 34.
Be sure to head over to packhacker.com/newsletter
and sign up to never miss an update.
Thanks for checking us out,
we'll see you in the next video.
- The 800, 800.
Big foam ... foam ... it's not foam.
La la la la la la la
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