Summer bike commuting. It can be a sweaty mess. What you save on gasoline you spend in sweat equity. Traditional backpacks can get your gear over the hill, but on 90-degree days, nothing will stop summer from soaking your back.

Then there is the Detours Sienna 30 Backpack, which features a unique AirGo tension mesh system that prevents sweat from building up, allowing air to circulate and wick away moisture. During hill climbs on sweltering days, AirGo is a mesh-backed blessing in disguise. It really comes in handy during hot commutes that seem endless. On

the road and on the trail, the AirGo system is an interesting sensation; it feels less like a backpack and a little more like lying down in a hammock. All that’s missing from that sort of comfort is a tall glass of lemonade and a good book.

The Sienna 30 weighs 1 pound 10 ounces and is 1800 cubic inches; but after holding two water bottles, a change of business clothes, lunch, and some bike parts, there’s little room for anything else. When fully loaded, the Sienna 30 feels heavy for its size. By comparison, the Sienna 40 weighs 2 pounds 2 ounces and holds 2400 cubic inches. The extra room that comes with the Sienna 40 could be more useful for year round commuters. For just $10 more, that’s quite an upgrade.

The Sienna 30’s shoulder straps are fully padded, yet they can be somewhat cumbersome during those commutes across town. The sweat may dodge your back, but it returns with a vengeance to soak your shoulders. With significant hill climbs on both ends of a commute, backs were dry, but shoulders were slightly damp. If only Detours could devise a plan to implement AirGo inside those shoulder straps.

It really falls upon the age old question for bicycle commuters: Is it best to go with a backpack or a courier bag? Any longtime bicycle commuter will tell you that it is really a matter of preference. If you prefer backpacks and don’t require a ton of gear, it’s really hard to go wrong with the Detours Sienna 30 Backpack. This backpack is built for the summer commuter. (MSRP $80)