Patagonia Black Hole Mini MLC 30L Review (2 Weeks of Use)

[@per-olamjomark7452]

I've waited YEARS for this review.

[@andrewhayes213]

Just used this bag for an 8 day combined work and pleasure trip. Absolutely perfect. Patagonia have smashed it with this backpack.

[@PackHacker2]

Thanks for sharing your insights! 🤙

[@toniloveblue]

Best travel backpack I’ve had in my life!

[@preciouscode98]

Same here! Simple, spacious, light and comfortable

[@joewiseman4631]

Been continuously traveling with this pack for 15 months and cannot recommend it enough! After 3 continents, 6 countries, and 44 states in planes, trains, autos, canoes, and the bed of my pickup truck, it still looks brand new. I love that there are lots of places to stash things and that it fits under every plane seat on the planet. I also love that Patagonia will repair it for free anytime. If you need a “go” bag, buy it and don’t look back!

[@thomasquigley7040]

Are you using this as your carry on, or your personal item? It seems a smidge too big for personal item, but can probably get away with it if you don't overstuff it and squish it into the sizer.

[@joewiseman4631]

@@thomasquigley7040Agree this is too big for a personal item, though you might be able to swing it if you use the shoulder strap so it looks like a briefcase (this is unlikely to work on a non-US airline). I use this bag as my carry-on. I have a separate 8L sling I use as my personal item (iPad mini, headphones, snack, lightweight jacket, sunscreen, bug juice).

[@vulturebe]

@@joewiseman4631what u using for the 8L sling?

[@riverseva]

I traveled overseas for 12 days with this bag only. Nothing checked. I walked miles with this bag in 100 degree heat, threw it down all over sand, out in the sun, etc and this bag is amazing. Now I housesit and am gone from my house for a week or 2 at a time and this is my bag of choice for packing everything up. I spent hours researching bags and ended up with this one and I'll keep it for the next 10 years, I can tell.

[@cosmicowl42069]

re: main compartment organization. If you want to get the most space possible from the dimensions of this bag, just roll up the mesh divider into the bottom of the main compartment. You can fit a ton of stuff on top of that layer of packing cubes. On trips I've had packing cubes in there and then stuffed jackets or sweaters on top, for example.

[@AnUnderaverageJoe]

Tip for anyone who wishes this bag had a stash pocket or an additional secondary compartment. If you have the mesh flap zipped up for the main compartment, that space when you open up the main lid (the space between the mesh flap and the 2 interior lid pockets) essentially acts as a giant stash pocket if the bag is not overly packed. I personally used that space to stash a jacket in during a trip. Works for smaller items as well if you don't unzip the whole main compartment when accessing it

[@amicussantana3794]

I use elastic velcro straps on hooks to be able to carry a jacket or a small duffle bag hands free thru the airport.It’s a great bag design and feels comfortable,being able to tuck away the shoulder and waist straps helps for under the seat storage.

[@JacoboRamos]

Honestly this bag is my favorite bag of the 12 I own from different brands (Thule, Timbuk, Samsonite, The North Face, Incase...). I have flown with this backpack to Japan, Usa 3 times, Germany 4 times, Spain and overall there's only one flaw, the top pocket tends to collapse inside if you stuff it a lot. That's it. For some pro tips, get yourself a pair of elastic shoe laces with a fastener, use the frontal 4 U shaped hooks and pass it through them making an X shape (look at the Refugio bag from Patagonia), now you have a perfect place to quickly stash a jacket, or an oversized item. The strategic placement of all the hook points around all the bag makes it so easy to add external elements to the bag, I went hiking and didn't have space inside the bag for the boots after removing them, so I used a shoe bag and attached it to the bottom of the bag using one carabiner on each side of the bag.

[@Willstoneman]

New subscriber here. Love your channel review format, the details, field testing and videos. One of the few best channels out there on bag reviews. Great job and best of luck!

[@PackHacker2]

Thanks for watching! 😃

[@andalalvar7183]

…what are the stickers?

[@BenjaminCutting]

Haha I came on to comment this too! 😂

[@mantiscity]

What stickers?

[@Thezazaas]

I bet he’s a libby

[@renzsarayba9996]

I have one in gray and love it!! The green color looks incredible.

[@craigo2142]

What are packed outside dimensions and the unpacked weight? Would have been nice to see it fully packed to see how much space was usable in those pockets over pocket areas.

[@BAJF93]

This one looks really impressive. Big upgrade compared to this brand's previous models.

[@LiL_Miss_Fiasco]

Welp now I wanna know what stickers are on the Nalgene bottle

[@katrinbruns9028]

Best bag for (long) weekend travels or business trips. Love this bag- one of my all time favs and defo a good Investment.

[@terrycoye3373]

This bag ticks a lot of boxes! But I hate the logo. Is there a way to cover it?

[@MatiasSchertel]

Waited ages for this review 😅 Fyi it you want packing cubes the evergoods TPC 8L fits like a glove. I only use one, but I feel like 3 of them would fill the whole main compartment. Also the Aer Go 2 fits very well between the main flap and the inner mesh divider.

[@TonyPettinato]

3 TPCs will fit for sure, but nothing else if they're packed full.

[@neil_b4_zod]

Also Peak Design Medium plus one PD small fits perfectly as well.

[@PackHacker2]

Thanks for the info! 🤙

[@karenbencke8407]

For the random microusb stuff, i highly recommend an adapter, 8 have tiny little ones with lobster claw clips, so i can just clip them on to my usbc cords and don't have to worry about remembering the extra cord

[@PackHacker2]

Thanks for the info! 🤙

[@MauricioGMello-id9ni]

I own a thule aion 28l, which I I'm really satisfied. But this patagonia backpack is very well designed.

[@Hesham-Zanaty]

I want this bag, great video

[@anthonycorral5921]

I’m just curious, has anyone run into an issue with this bag as their personal item underneath the airline seat? It seems for the most part no issues with that?

[@pnwbeav]

I am curious about this too? Can it fit under an airline seat?

[@carloscolmenares4329]

I’ve been able to fit in Delta and Alaska with no problems.

[@milansimo19]

If this doesn’t get a high score I don’t know what will

[@costive1]

It got a 7.7/10, I wouldn't look deeply into their scoring or ranking of bags. They're heavily biased towards certain brands due to preferences or otherwise. Just enjoy the overviews, IMO.

[@milansimo19]

@@costive1 yeah, I see what you mean. A 7.7 is way too harsh

[@ItsThatGuy1989]

@@milansimo19 The 30L peak design has like an 8.9 from them.I Went to REI and checked it out and it was an absolutely awful backpack. Bulky, felt like it had less room, hated the zipper. After that I don't take their scores seriously. I just want the review and base it on the features mentioned.

[@robstemp4726]

How do you think this would be with a 16" laptop + 16" portable display.?

[@TexasJon1]

I’d love to see a review of the 45L MLC. I have a 10+ year old version and have been thinking about replacing it as there are just a few niggles that have always bothered me about it.

[@PackHacker2]

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll pass it along.

[@Delta922]

Are the sternum straps removable?

[@terrycoye3373]

Yes

[@GoldChocobo77]

This back is almost impossible to find in France.

[@naniLULW]

plz review osprey nebula 32

[@axtran]

No idea why I want one of these 😑😂

[@lazypercussionist]

'cause it's genuinely an awesome bag :D my only complaint is that there's no compression , so if it's not completely full it'll retain its boxy shape.

[@aayotechnology]

How do you say “water bottle” so fast?

[@GregStanton.]

I did a one bag trip to vancouver in march with this bag. Fits under air canada economy seats (although I wanted it up top...the flight attendant made me put it underneath cause latecommers needed space up top...which I find horribly unfair. I one bagged so I can have foot space. Not my fault they come late. Make them check their stuff. Anyways). Im 6ft, 280lbs. Bag was comfortable. Love the shape. Very easy to pack. I used compression sacks but ended up undoing the compression zips cause the compression made the shapes weird. I'm too big to use the waist straps. But that's okay, it wasn't a trekking trip or anything. Very comfy for getting around the airports, easy on and off for waiting around.

[@PackHacker2]

Thanks for all the info! 🤙

[@thomasquigley7040]

Good to know AC treats this as a personal item. That's what I was hoping to find out. This and a rolling carry-on and i'm good.

[@therealjustinflowers]

First!

[@PackHacker2]

🤙🤙🤙