Swift /Makers Bag for work and home?

[London Eye]

Greetings from sunny London!

I'm trying to decide if it's the Swift or the Makers Bag for my first order and I'm curious as to whether people generally have the same EDC for work & home

Which accessories do you find most useful and carry everyday?

[Ilkyway]

Hmmm they are so very different. I will just point out thouse differences in order to help you think about them?

1. flap-closour vs open tote
I have read that people had no problem with rain even with the top open swift and I can see why. But if you pack a Swifft very full rain will be an issue. And you have less privacy with a Swift, just because it is much easier for others to peek into your bag.
2. crossbody vs shoulder carry both have advantages I personaly enjoy the shorter straps on the Swift as they seem to be easier managed when I set the bag down.
3. many organisational options in the MB vs two see through compartments in the Swift
4. in my opinion the MB is unisex where the Swift (to me!) is more of a feminin design.

As for accessories: I feel I reach most for 3D-Packing cubes, Q-Kids (both sizes) and Travel Stuff Sacks size 1-3 for bag-organisational purposes. The Swift comes with a Yarn Stuff Sack which obviosly is great too.

Hope this is of any help
Ilkyway


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[London Eye]

Thank you Ilkyway!

Are the travel stuff sacks better than the yarn stuff sacks for bag organisation for a non-knitter?
Do you use a Freudian slip?

[luvdabags]

I like the yarn stuff sacks because they can be easily tethered into the bag. I use a small one (came with the LS, not sure of the size--can you help, @Ilkyway?) to stick my 16 oz water bottle in, and hook it into the lower o-ring in the Swift bag to keep that bottle upright. Also note, the shape of the two types of sacks are different--round (clear material) base on the yarn one, and elliptical base on the travel ones.

[Ilkyway]

Thank you Ilkyway!

Are the travel stuff sacks better than the yarn stuff sacks for bag organisation for a non-knitter?
Do you use a Freudian slip?

Well the Travle stuff sacks are oval shaped as oposed to the round shaped YSSs and go smaller meaning TTS 1 is way smaller than the small YSS. So for me it is a yes: the sizes work better for me and the oval shape makes for a smaller footprint.

Illyway

PS with the swift comes the medium YSS with a clear bottim and in the Halcyon colour of the inside of the Swift.

[Ilkyway]

Bugger brainfogg over here: yes I have the Freudian Slips (FS) and I like the Medium Cafe bag one best in the Swift. But moriond has made a great case, that the Large Cafe Bag FS works very well too.

Ilkyway

[Muni_Jedi]

I prefer the MB and my partner prefers the Swift. It is a very personal choice. I like my bags longer that tall and with a flap or zip closure. I don't find these to be a problem for accessing the items I need and I don't need my bag to stand up on its own (although the MB will). My partner prefers her bags to have no hindrance to access, likes bags to be taller than wide and wants her bags to stand on their own. Both are wonderful bags but have very different qualities.

I will put in an endorsement for sub-loading whatever bag you get. I started with ziplock bags because they are cheap and readily available and when I dialed in what I was going to carry and how it would be grouped I started purchasing permanent solutions (I prefer 3DOC, SE and the UMP for SA).

Good luck with your search.

[Saltgirl]

My Swift is my permanent knitting bag because it sits open at the foot of my chair and I can knit out of it. Also I do not like carrying totes and I rarely carry my Swift any farther than from the car to the yarn store for knit night once a week. My only dislike is I have my interchangeable needles and my knitting tools all in little pouches that fall to the bottom of the bag. While I do keep them tethered to a top O ring, yanking them out from under a sweater, a couple of scarves and a pair of socks can get cumbersome.

My Makers goes out the door with me for anything longer than a grocery trip. I have tucked random items in all the little pockets (pocket knife, phone charger, glasses, water bottle, etc.) and then leave the main compartment completely empty to put things in as I acquire them through the day or think I'll need them as I head out (shopping, bottle of wine, jacket, etc.).

Love both the bags.

[bchaplin]

These days, I alternate between the Medium and Small Cafe Bags, and the regular-size and (now discontinued) Little Swift. I personally haven't tried the Maker's Bag, but it is not that dissimilar from the Cafe Bags.

If you commute, I personally find that the open-top design of the Swift is great for puling out a train pass, stashing and extracting one's phone, etc, all one-handed and without a lot of fumbling. On rainy days, though, I usually trade out the Swift for something with a closed top. To me, it's really a trade-off between how protected one's things are vs. their accessibility.

Either way, I think the Freudian Slips are some of the most useful accessories for these bags, as it helps them keep their shapes and prevents all the contents from sinking to the bottom. I also like the Side Effect (or 3D cube) as a grab-and-go for lunches out.

[Kirri]

I have a swift and love it as an EDC bag. It just swallows everything! And I say this as a committed cross-body person. However I only travel by car now.

if I still lived in London, I would go with a makers bag as it is cross-body. I've never seen one so just guessing. I have a MCB which I loved until I got a swift. I still use this if I am going to be walking a lot or taking public transport. This suits me better as anything extra fits into a shopping bag, which is always inside the MCB.

I have a SCB which is cute, but only good for minimalist carrying for me, as I like to be able to stick a layer of clothing in as temperature changes. I have also ordered a LCB to see how that compares for larger carrying walking days, but I don't think I'll like it as much as the Swift as it won't hold everything so upright. The Swift is so great at holding anything you put in there and keeping it where you want it. I used to carry a basket and the swift is similar to this. It cradles everything somehow.

As said above, it is very individual as it comes down to how you like to carry the weight. I never imagined I would like the swift so much. Having said that, I am waiting for a PU to be delivered soon as I am hoping that my sit somewhere between the two and be a good EDC.

I hope something in my rambles above help. Like you (presumably) I can't order and return if things are not right, so anything that doesn't suit has to be sold via ebay. It makes trying things more challenging.

[bermudajes]

I use the same bags for work and personal use - sort of.

My foundation is a Side Effect. I try to keep my necessities in there so I can quickly grab the bag for a quick errand, or put the SE inside a larger bag if I need to carry more. It took me awhile to get the hang of the SE (I owned three prior to my current SE, and I destashed them all) but now I rely on it.

So my SE is almost always with me. And when I need to carry more, I usually opt to use my Swift. I don't have a Maker's Bag, so I can't compare, but the Swift is my absolute favorite tote bag. As Kirri said, it really does swallow everything! It makes a great work tote for me because I often carry bulky, oddly-shaped gear when I'm out and about for work. But I'll also take it out with me for personal use when I need the extra space (for, say, a water bottle, books, and notebooks), and I've been known to use it as an overnight/travel bag when I'm traveling light.

That being said, I don't often walk long distances with the Swift anymore, and I definitely prefer a crossbody bag or backpack when on foot for any length of time. But the Swift is probably the one TB bag I wouldn't want to live without!

[MrKnitster]

I have both the Swift and the MB. I love cross body bags for carrying as I walk on my commute; they never slip off my shoulder like other bags. That said, the Swift hangs on to my shoulder better than I would have expected. It is very well designed. I got the MB thinking I would like it even better than the Swift, but I don't; they're too different to compare.

I find that when I am knitting, I prefer the Swift (I am a guy, btw; the feminine look of the Swift that some note doesn't bother me at all, but I'll admit I've never seen another guy with one...). I like having it open and easy-access. Also, the flap gets in the way on the MB when I leave it open to knit from, and I don't like the long strap dragging everywhere when I set it on the floor of the commuter train while I knit. Minor problems, I know. Incidentally, this is another great reason to have a back pocket on the MB a la the Cafe Bag (it would be a great place to tuck the flap/strap!).

For the MB, I really like the cross-body strap and the spacious inside. The extra depth is a huge improvement over the Cafe Bag for carrying lots of books/binders. I was excited to see somebody using it as a gaming bag for table-top role playing games (like Dungeons & Dragons). I anticipate getting more use out of this bag on non-knitting days.

I agree that unless the Swift is really stuffed, it keeps rain out pretty well, especially if carried over the shoulder; my arm tends to compress the bag closed. The MB is obviously even better at rain protection given the flap. Both are pretty water resistant just from the material of course.

Hope yet one more opinion helps. I always love finding so much feedback in these forums!

[Fulton]

+1 on the MB. I'm carrying letter-sized files vertically. MrKnitster mentioned the depth, and that made the difference for me because I also need to put a Hydro Flask and umbrella

+1 on yarn stuff sacks. At least try one of each. I agree with Ilkway that the oval footprint makes the regular stuff stack easy to jam into a bag. But the clip on the YSS is awesome. When my MB is too full, a YSS clips to one of the O rings and then hangs off the side. Easy carrying for an empty bento box or a jacket.


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[London Eye]

Wow! Thank you all for your comments - lots to think about.
I will certainly upload photos when I get my bag

[London Eye]

Swift arrives in London!

My lovely Swift has arrived and it's beautiful!
- Mathew in Customer Services found the last Aubergine /Wasabi for me.



This colour combination is so cool . . . purple is my favourite colour and goes with most of my clothes.
The Wasabi colour is like sunshine against the Aubergine - it makes me smile when I open my bag, plus it's easy to find things inside and the (empty) bag is very light.

Thank you all for all your valuable comments and helping me decide to buy a Swift.

I was concerned that it was open and there was no proper zip closure.
But with all the secure O-rings and organisational accessories, this is the perfect bag for me!