Pros:

* Good travel size. Distributes its volume in a more “rectangular” shape that is held closer to the back than the Rick Steves Appenzell and similar “book bags”. This means you don’t have a saggy lumpy pack whacking people when you turn around, because the Crosstown juts out less than typical tear-drop designs.

* Excellent netbook/notebook/laptop slot. Will take many sizes from netbooks up to 15″ laptops (at least the newer 15″ laptops with the 16:9 aspect ratio screens – “squarer” old-style 15″ laptops may run into a width problem). Suspends the laptop in the center of the main compartment in a harness attached to the backpanel, protects from shocks on all edges – since the laptop will be on your back, it is protected on that side, and clothing protects it from the front. About as well protected as you’ll get, short of a hard-sided Pelikan case.

* Good size for destination use, not a gargantuan bookpack like the LLBean and Steves Appenzell. Yet big enough to serve as a gym bag, or to haul a sweater, guide book, and lunch around.

* You can strap your sweater or jacket on the outside. I didn’t see much utility in this ability initially, but now that we may be facing additional carryon restrictions, the ability to add to the EXTERIOR of my carryon piece this way is very appealing – I don’t want to reserve valuable interior space for my jacket during transit, but I still need a place to stow the jacket when I get off a flight in a hot climate. The exterior straps solve this problem neatly without making the bag too large to pass airline and TSA muster.

Cons:

- I don’t like the waist belt, I cut it off.

- Expensive, but ebags and bagsbuy often have coupons and sales; I saved 20% on mine, which made it worthwhile.

- Not exactly a con, but it’s a little big for a “personal item” and a little small for a “carryon.” In the future we may be limited to a single item, and in that case you’ll have to decide whether to spend your carryon allowance on a bag this size, or on the largest possible bag. For now, for me, this makes a good “personal item” in addition to my main carryon, and if I am checking a bag, the Crosstown is just about a perfect size for an emergency change of clothes, toiletries, and seat side items.

Finally don’t underestimate the value in having the ability to carry a computer ao securely and safely – unlike some travel bags with dedicated slots that let your computer “bump” the ground, this one suspends it, yet at the same time the harness will (mostly) fold out of the way if you aren’t carrying a laptop and need more main compartment stow space.

Welcome to the site, and thanks for your comment.

In terms of layout and functionality, they’re quite similar. The Surge is a bit larger (20″ x13.5″ x 9.5″; 2150 cu in) than the Monsoon (19.5″ x 13.5″ x 7″; 1942 cu in) and much larger than the Crosstown (20″ x 11.5″ x 6″; 1597 cu in). The style of the Surge and Monsoon fall into the typical daypack arena; the Crosstown is a bit more distinctive. The iPod pocket on one of the Monsoon’s backpack straps is neat, albeit a bit dorky.

The North Face Surge is certainly a better looking bag than the Monsoon, and FWIW, it has the cachet of the N.F. brand. It’s nearly twice the price of the Monsoon. The Crosstown is an attractive bag, albeit smaller than the other two by a fair margin. Its pricing is similar to that of the Surge.

If you look at the High Sierra Access (big brother to the Monsoon) and Surge on eBags, the Access of course outsells the Surge by quite a margin. What’s interesting to note is the fact that 831 out of 875 Access buyers – or 95% – have indicated that they’d buy the bag again. With the Surge, it’s 267 out of 286, or 93%. That difference is probably within the margin of error… in any event, my point is that buyer satisfaction with the High Sierra daypack is not much different than that for the Surge. (eBags doesn’t offer the Crosstown; there are only a handful of Crosstown reviews on the Patagonia site, and 3 out of 5 users recommend the bag.)

In the final analysis, it comes down to (stating the obvious here, I’m afraid) aesthetics, durability (perhaps a wash?), price, and brand name… and only you can determine the degree of importance each of these criteria merits.

And one thing I don’t know is how large a pack you’re looking for – perhaps the Crosstown would suffice. I would recommend you read a number of user reviews on these bags before making a decision – I’ve found them to be very helpful.

Let me know if you have any other questions… I know at least one reader owns the Crosstown, and he may be able to help. Good luck!

Thanks for the reply!

For this bag, I’d stick with black. Just my opinion, but I don’t think the green looks that great.