Heimplanet Transit 28L Overview

The Heimplanet Transit 28L bag is one of those bags that intends to cover off on all those things you need, but not much of what you don’t. They want useful features, not frivolous ones. That’s not to say it’s going to have every single little thing you want, no bag does. But more on that later.

The lines are very, very clean on this bag. It’s meant to be pretty minimal in its looks. It’s also meant to be pretty sustainable, something you see across Heimplanet’s entire lineup no matter the product. 

That of course goes for the materials used in the bag itself - it’s made from what they call DyecoShell fabric, an 800Dx660D nylon that’s wicked durable from what I can tell and research. Further, it’s dope dyed which aside from how Tupac would describe a well-done fabric dyeing, it’s actually a more environmentally and sustainable way to dye fabrics. Nice.

For the liner, we’re looking at a 300Dx150D polyester.

Great beefy materials that should help you keep this bag for a long time and feel pretty good about it. It’s backed by a lifetime warranty for defects or failure (note that is very different from a “no matter what” kind of thing, but still awesome).

Zippers are YKK as you’d expect at this price point, and specifically Water-R. 

Priced at $239 Eur or around $260 USD it’s not a cheap bag in any region. That said, premium bags using premium materials with less-industrial creation processes cost more. That’s just where we are at from a manufacturing standpoint. This price point is in line with their competitors in the market.

Comes in 2 colorways but I think you should stick with Black. It just looks great.

Heimplanet Transit 28L Features

Plenty of features to talk about on the bag itself, but luckily nothing gimmicky. They are all pretty purpose driven.

We’ve got compression straps. Check. Removable sternum strap and hip belt. Check. One water bottle pocket. Check. Laptop sleeve - check. Zipper garages. Lockable zippers. You see where I’m going here.

The harness system is a good one. The straps aren’t “lay-flat”, so if that annoys you it might be a “con” in your checklist. But they are well made, I found them comfortable, and they also have load lifter straps which is a welcome sight to see. Few bags in these size ranges have those any more, and I do find them functional to keep the bag from sagging down your back. I’m no biker, but that also might play a role there as well.

On top, there is a good size quick grab pouch that fits a fair amount of things. No organization in here - but it could fit many of the EDC pouches out there (including Heimplanet’s).

For the storage system itself, there are two vertical-clamshell openings. One main one, and one that has the laptop sleeve and a few organizational pouches in it (think for your mouse or cable and brick for your computer). The zippers open almost full-bag which I like. They’ve gone with an interesting additional feature that allows you to unzip a divider from the middle compartment into the back laptop compartment which adds some flexibility if you’re traveling. A clever addition.

Finally, I’ll mention something many people pine for - a luggage pass through. So if you’re not into the onebagging thing, you’re covered here. Also, it’s oriented so that the bag remains upright when in place.

The Bad

We’ve got a nice quick-grab pocket on the front, but it’s got no organization. For pouch users, this won’t be something you even think about. But if you’re one of those people that use admin-panels on bags and rely on their internal org, that’s going to annoy you a little. I’m a pouch user, but I’m noting that here.

Another thing on that pocket on the front. If you have a few heavier things in there, and the bag itself is not packed out much otherwise (think EDC), the top of the bag can slouch a bit. This is all in the eye of the beholder, but some people get pretty specific about their likes and dislikes on bags’ structure so I want to make sure I point that out.

In terms of the grab handles, there are only 2. Somewhat of an odd choice but I think it’s probably to keep the side with the water bottle pocket from getting too busy. Depending on your dominant hand and which way you swing the bag off your back, or if you’re not thinking about the direction you stick it into an overhead bin, this might annoy you. Important to note the handles that ARE there - are fantastic.

Lastly, I’d like to note that there is only a water bottle holder one one side. This is again, maybe something that was done for a specific reason, but it pigeon-holes the user into only using a specific side (something us Lefties will notice more than others). It’s common in design - but it’s the Ned Flanders Dilemma. It’s a pretty unobtrusive holder in this case, so I feel like it could be pretty easily incorporated on both sides.

The Improvement Requests for the Heimplanet Transit 28L

That front pocket can get a little top heavy, and I’m not sure how to fix that. Adding structure might add to the weight of the bag - but maybe make the pocket itself a little deeper? Something to think about - I’ll let their obviously good designers think on that.

Perhaps see if they can add a third grab handle (maybe just seat belt material) on the other side of the bag.

Packing the Heimplanet Transit 28L

This won’t be as big of a pack out as I normally would do, because I would use this for shorter trips. But, here’s what I’m typically putting in the bag.

I packed: 2 button downs; 1 travel focused pants (Bluffworks Ascender 5 Pocket); 2 daily t-shirts (one Aviator Merino, review ; and one Capilene Cool Daily); 4 pairs of various travel friendly underwear; 1 pair merino based socks (Darn Tough); 1 Airism undershirts; one sleep t-shirt (Session T); Bellroy Tech Pouch Compact; Aer Split Kit for toiletries; iPad Pro 11; 1 pair of versatile shorts (Western Rise Boundless Shorts). Fairly standard pack out for me in terms of a short trip and a smaller bag. You can see how nice and neat it packs up into packing cubes.

I'm 5'6 for reference. No camera gear on these trips.