Aer Fit Pack 3 Review (Updated 2023)
Aer fit pack 3 review
(Updated 2023)
The Aer Fit Pack 3 is one of Aer’s flagship gym and work backpacks.
It has a duffel style opening for the main compartment, a separate shoe compartment for your gym shoes, and a tech compartment for your laptop and other gear.
Watch our epic Aer Fit Pack 3 review below! 
- Volume: 18.7 liters
- Weight: 2.5 lbs (1.3 kg)
- Laptop: Up to 16"
- Style: Urban minimalist
Aer Fit Pack 3
Overall Score
Overall Pros
- Perfect for gym and office use
- Superb attention to detail
- Has excellent comfort and ventilation
Overall Cons
- Tricky access to tech compartment
- No waterproofing on the tech compartment
- It looks bloated
Aer Fit Pack 3
Alternatives
Just in case you aren’t sold on the Aer Fit Pack 3 yet, we’ve added some alternative recommendations below.
These recommendations are very similar to the Aer Fit Pack 3, but have some important differences that might work better for you!
Alternative #1
Aer Gym Duffel 3
Great for hard-core gym goers!
Alternative #2
Modern Dayfarer Backpack
Amazing EDC first, great gym pack second
Alternative #3
King Kong Plus 26
Perfect for SUPER hardcore gym-goers
Aer Fit Pack 3
The gist
Welcome to our Aer Fit Pack 3 review. There’s a lot of good gym/office backpacks and duffles out there. Some of which are made by Aer. Many of which are made by Aer.
We’re going to take apart the Aer Fit Pack 3 and show you everything that you need to know so you can make a decision on your dream office/gym backpack.
What function do you serve?
Like I said, it’s really an office/gym pack. You’ve got the gym component, which is ventilated shoe compartment, and you got the duffle style main opening, which is ideal for your gym clothes.
We got the second compartment, which is the tech area. For those who don’t know, Aer’s specialty is using Cordura ballistic nylon, a 16/80 ballistic nylon, which is smooth to the touch, yet also rough and durable. But then we got the style, it’s got this little belly thing going on, how it goes like this V shape. This guy needs to hit the gym.
Because it’s a gym pack.
Aer is also known for having really well-padded, super cushiony shoulder straps. All this is going to come at a price tag of around 145 US dollars. But it’s a bit pricey. Is it worth it?
Aer Fit Pack 3
Front of the pack
Important points: Front aesthetic and the materials. The YKK PU coated zip that hashes down the middle. The actual duffle compartment, what I refer to as the dirty towel holder, and the shoe compartment.
Let’s start with the materials. Like I said, we’re using 16/80 Cordura ballistic nylon, and it gives it a really nice, smooth feel. What I like about this is it’s durable and badass, so it’s gymy. If you’re going to the gym, you want to look like a badass.
Moving onto the zipper. We got a big, old, chunky YKK zip. Aer zips are cool in some ways because they are lockable. You go ahead and just pop one zip into the other and then they stick together. Sort of a theft deterrent system.
This bad boy is PU coated, which means it’s waterproof, which means that your gear inside this compartment will be protected from rain. But it does take a little bit of umph to get open. Okay? That PU coating makes it a little stickier. Something to keep in mind.
One thing I love about this zipper is they gave you this little pull tab right here. With this pull tab there, and then smooth sailing. Cool runnings, man.
Now, in the actual main compartment, I actually forgot to mention, this is an 18 liter backpack. 18.7 liters to be specific. But that’s where this thing’s kind of interesting, because I’m going to say it’s a pretty tight 18 liters, especially if you’re using the shoe compartment.
You can see with the shoes actually in the shoe compartment, which we’ll move to in a second, take up a lot of space, right? You probably lost half of the literage, half of the capacity to store your stuff. Take the shoes out and you can see this excess material. You just go ahead and fold it down and wow, a lot more space.
Inside this duffle compartment, there’s no additional organization excluding this one pocket right here, which I refer to as the dirty towel pocket.
Why? Because you’re at the gym. Okay? You take a cold shower before your day at work, you got your dirty towel, you want to put it somewhere. This keeps it away from your other clothes.
Same thing with just your gym clothes in general. Go ahead and throw them there, pop them in, close, and they’re out of sight, out of mind.
Now, the size of the shoe compartment is very important because here we have the Aer Fit Pack 3 and here we have the larger cousin, thanks for that Tab, which is the Aer Duffle Pack 3. You can see, Aer Duffle Pack is a bit bigger. It’s about 22 liters, I think, as opposed to this 18.7 liters. But as you can see right here, when I’ve got shoes in the main compartment, this thing is huge, man.
There’s a lot more space in the main duffle. That’s going to be a great thing or a terrible thing depending on your specific needs.
If you need more space, like you’ve got a lot of gym gear, think weight belts, those little stretchy workout things, you got sweat bands, gloves, I’m talking all that cool gym gear. This might be a better fit for you. We’ll put a link in the description to our full review for the Aer Duffel Pack 3 and we’ll bring it up probably a few more times in this review as well.
But if you’re more of a gym minimalist, kind of like myself. I go to the gym, I wake up early in the morning, I usually don’t bring a pair of extra shoes. I just have my towel, a change of clothes, that’s it. If that’s more your style, then this might be a better fit, because I don’t need all that extra space.
Aer Fit Pack 3
Middle of the pack
Important points: Got the dual water bottle holders, top handle, top sunglasses compartment, the main compartment with side number one and side number two, which is the tech compartment, and the shoe compartment.
The shoe compartment is a real nice, easy lightning-fast zip situation, and you can pop your shoes right in there. This shoe compartment fits up to a men’s size 13 shoes. One thing that’s awesome about this shoe compartment is it is ventilated. You got these one, two, three holes right there.
One thing to note, too, is that with that flat shoe compartment, the bag actually has a tendency to stand up by itself, especially when there are shoes in it to help give it a little bit of extra structure and support.
Moving on we got the dual water bottle holders. These are some chunky ass water bottle holders, as you would expect from a gym pack, because you’re working out, water’s important. Got to say hydrated.
On the top here, we have a little top pocket, different from a YKK zip, still super smooth opening. Big fan of this pocket because of the materials that is used. This is a micro fleece or a scratch-free fiber. It’s just super soft.
What I love is that Aer has utilized a little bit of extra padding in these pockets as of recent. It’s a pretty deep pocket, too. It actually runs here, here, and here, so you can fit a bunch of stuff in there.
This backpack only has one quick access grab handle. It’s this guy right here. It’s a pretty big guy. Basic material. Just basic seatbelt webbing type material. Little bit of padding for extra grip. It’s comfortable to hold. I found myself carrying it like this a few times.
Onto the second compartment. The tech compartment. Went over the gym section. That’s the duffle compartment. Tech compartment, as you might have guessed, it’s for all your tech stuff.
First up, one thing to know is that this only opens up halfway. It’s like a half opener, which is good in some ways because these zippers then don’t go down further into the water bottle holders, but it’s bad because it does limit your access to get inside that main compartment. It’s pretty dark down there. Hello.
On the bottom of this section, we got two elastic pockets right here and two pen pockets. Good spot for a notebook, maybe a Bluetooth mouse, a laptop charger. On the top here we have a mesh pocket.
The mesh nerd likes this mesh. I like mesh that is silky and has a nice elasticity to it. This checks both those boxes.
Now, on the other side, we have a padded and suspended laptop compartment. I got a 14 inch laptop in here, but it is advertised to hold up to a 16 inch laptop. The padding is really nice. It’s got a nice softness to it. It feels thick.
Then below that, we have a smaller pocket right here. Good for a larger notebook. Might be good for a tablet depending on the size tablet.
Overall, this compartment has a nice amount of organization. But limited access. It might annoy some. Just throwing that out there.
Aer Fit Pack 3
Back of the pack
Important points: Comfy shoulder straps, adjustable/removable sternum strap, ventilated back panel, luggage pass through holder.
All right, first up, let’s talk about the shoulder straps. As I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of Aer’s comfort. See how chunky these things are, like how well-cushioning they are.
Just look at how deep I can get my fingers in there. Look at the padding in there. Really minimalist design on these shoulder straps. A lot of backpack companies will have external lash points and designs and all this. Nothing, just the Cordura ballistic nylon. Until we get below right here, where you have these sternum strap.
Sternum straps are great for distributing the weight of your pack. Takes a little bit of weight off your back and puts it more towards the front. I’m a huge sternum strap advocate. The cool thing about this sternum strap is it is adjustable and/or removable. To move it up and down, it takes some fanangaling. You got to push down.
Next up we have the back panels. The awesomeness that I love about these shoulder straps in terms of the comfort, like that air mattress experience, extends to these back panels as well. Similar ventilation. You can see right here, pad one, pad two, cave. You get a nice cool drift of breeze coming through your back just keeping you nice and ventilated. It’s a very nice touch. Again, it’s really comfortable.
Finally, if you are taking this on a trip, maybe a weekend trip, and you are a luggage person, you got your luggage, you have a luggage pass through holder right here, just slide it on down. Good to go.
One last note on the shoulder strap is on the bottom we have a dangle stopper, because I love dangle stoppers because I hate dangle, because without the dangle stopper, the dangle’s going to be flying all over the place like a fucking horse whip. But then you say, “Stop it, horse whip,” and you slide that down and the horse whip is now less whippy.
Aer Fit Pack 3 review
Pros and cons (detailed)
You’re still here. It’s a good sign. You’re like, “Dude, I think this is for me, but I wish that I could hear some overall pros and cons.” You got it.
Pro number one is it’s a super niche pack that is perfect for one use case scenario. If you go to the gym and then you go to the office, you’re looking for a pack that can do both that doesn’t need to carry a lot of stuff, you’re a minimalist, then Aer made a backpack that’s perfect for your lifestyle.
Pro number two is I’m just a huge fan of Aer’s comfort in general. Super comfortable shoulder straps, super comfortable and ventilated back panel. It’s a comfy experience.
Pro number three, I know it’s a small thing, but it’s really not. This little zipper pull because you’re going to use it every freaking day and it’s there and it helps you open easy and it’s just the little things that make the biggest difference sometimes.
But I got some cons. Let’s talk about the cons.
Con number one is the main compartment is kind of difficult to get in to, especially at that bottom section.
Con number two is I think it just looks like a sack. I’m not saying like a (beep) sack. Like a potato sack, right? I don’t think it’s the sexiest Aer product on the market.
Con number three for me is that while the main duffle compartment is PU coated, which I’m cool with, the tech compartment is not PU coated, and that’s where your tech stuff is and that’s where I want the water the least. I can deal with my clothes getting wet in the rain, not so much my laptop getting wet in the rain.
Aer Fit Pack 3 review
Alternatives (detailed)
But some of y’all might be like, “I’m just not convinced.”
Maybe you’re thinking to yourself, “Dude, I love the Aer style, love the Aer aesthetic. This is the pack for me. I just wish that it was a bit bigger.” This is a no-brainer.
Just get the Aer Duffel Pack 3. It’s kind of like the same thing, it’s just bigger. That’s an easy one. If that sounds like you and you want to check out our full review, watch it here.
This also might not be the pack for you if you’re thinking to yourself, “Dude, actually, I go to the gym sometimes, but I’m looking for a great tech/everyday carry first and a gym backpack second.”
I think this one’s gym first, everyday carry/tech second. If you’re looking for the opposite, we’ve got the perfect pack for you. It’s called the Modern Dayfarer Backpack. If you’re interested in that pack, take a look at the description, watch our full review.
Finally, you also might be thinking to yourself, “Dude, I need a gym backpack, but this is just too urban for me. Is there something more CrossFit, I’m a gym person, and this bag reflects my lifestyle?”
There is. This is not it. You will want to check the review of… I actually have two King Kong backpacks— the Plus 26 and the edge 35. They’re more gym lifestyle, and I think they might be a little bit more up your alley. Take a look at the review for our King Kong Plus 26 and Edge 35 review videos.
Aer Fit Pack 3 review
Conclusion
Also, do you own a different gym pack? Do you got a better gym pack than this? Do you own the Aer Fit Pack 3 or the 2 or the 1? Maybe there’s a zero. We don’t know, but tell us your experience with any backpack, gym backpack, any backpack in the world you might have.
We want to hear your thoughts below!
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