Front Pocket Organizer...

[brantroz]

So please, good folks at Tom Bihn, don't make me have to choose between the fountain pen and the gel ink and the highlighter! I need them all.

Ha ha... this is EXACTLY why I started this suggestion. Glad to see that this topic is gaining momentum again.

Congrats on the Large Cafe... it is an AWESOME bag.

[faegood]

Having just received my swanky new large cafe, can I please second (or 15th!) this suggestion?

I found your bags through a metafilter post about the best bags for law/grad school, and am delighted with my purchase. I wanted to replace my (for me) perfectly proportioned dickies dj bag, which is decomposing due to excessive use, with something classier and better made as I go off to do my PhD. The large cafe is the perfect bag, except for one small quibble:

I've got to have more storage slots for pens, and maybe even a space for index cards. I was considering ordering a few pouches, but I'd really prefer a designated organizer card.

So please, good folks at Tom Bihn, don't make me have to choose between the fountain pen and the gel ink and the highlighter! I need them all.

And as an aside, I knew I'd found the right bag as soon as I started reading these forums. After all, I have a mac, and I love cherry pie Larabars.

[bbcamp]

I like the idea of an organizer for the Cafe bag--I have a lot of little stuff which always accumulates at the bottom, which an organizer panel would hold.

I wonder if the same thing couldn't be used in the Imago, as well? Perhaps interchangeably with the Cafe bags?

bbcamp

[pretzelb]

I don't like the idea of securing the open pocket but if you really wanted to you go with velcro which should not interfere with how the bag sits on the hip.

[Darcy]

I think we're talking an accessory (the organizer) and a modification (the back pocket), but a modification of that pocket is unlikely (though you never know!)

Any kind of closure on that back pocket might have the tendency to sit funny or feel funny because that's the part of the bag that sits at your hip.

Don't get me wrong: I understand why one would want that pocket to close. But maybe the extra organization that an insert would provide would replace the need for that?

[brantroz]

The argument against this is that the flat back pocket (you mean the slanted pocket on the back exterior of the bag, right?) is left open at the top because some people use that pocket to store tall things like file folders or magazines or newspapers. If that pocket had a zipper closure, it'd be a lot more difficult to put those things in that pocket. What do you think?

So, we are talking about 2 modifications at this point?

1. Front Pocket Organizer
2. Some are advocates of a way to secure the open back pocket??

To suggestion #2--I think a way to "secure" the pocket is a good idea, though I agree with Darcy's comments against a zipper. What about a top snap closure? Or, what about multiple snap closures (at the top only) to allow a modify-able open extension for large items?

[Darcy]

What I'd also like to see in future model is a zipper or some sort of security feature for the large back pocket.

The argument against this is that the flat back pocket (you mean the slanted pocket on the back exterior of the bag, right?) is left open at the top because some people use that pocket to store tall things like file folders or magazines or newspapers. If that pocket had a zipper closure, it'd be a lot more difficult to put those things in that pocket. What do you think?

[Heidi Jill]

I agree! I hardly ever use the pocket because I'm afraid that anything I'd put in there would fall out! If it zippped, then those who like an open pocket could just ignore the zipper, while those of us who like more security could close it.

[JoyR]

I carry my medium Cafe Bag about 98% of the time, and think this would be a good idea.

What I'd also like to see in future model is a zipper or some sort of security feature for the large back pocket.

[backpack]

Sounds like a terrific idea!

I would love to see a prototype

[brantroz]

Wow... I really didn't expect such a response! Thanks for sharing this idea on the blog page, Darcy!!

To your question of one-size-fits-all or custom per each bag:

I think each bag would benefit greatly by its own sized insert. (I'm assuming that we are still talking about the front zippered pocket.)

My reasoning? If the insert is stiff-backed as I described above, (bear with me here)... it could be customized to slide down into the front pocket, and the very small lip created by the area above the zipper that creates sort of an "overhang flap" could be used to "pop-in" the insert, supporting it by the existing Cafe Bag design.

In this way, the insert would remain stable when inserting or removing objects from the pocket, and would help to prevent the insert from just sliding around on you (which I think would be innevitable with a common insert small enough to fit the medium placed in the large bag.)

Thanks again!!

Oh--and if you are in need of beta testers (as someone else mentioned above)--I would love to volunteer as well.

[pretzelb]

If this is for the front zipper then I assume it needs to be flat otherwise it would bulge into the main compartment. Also if the idea is to quick change this insert with other bags it would need to store items you use all the time. I'd need to know more about what items may be stored in it before I could come up with more ideas. It sounds like a good idea.

[pmuellr]

sounds good

I have a medium bag; recently, I've been carrying my camera, which is a slightly boxy model, in my bag. If I use a case for the camera, then it's too bulky for the bag, but I'm not happy having the camera float around in their naked. So I've been wondering about how to fix that; perhaps something like this might do the trick.

[Heidi Jill]

I have the medium cafe bag, and the organizer sounds like a great idea! Especially if I could just take it out and plunk it into other bags!

[timarelay]

I don't really use my large cafe bag anymore, now that I have my Imago, but from my experiences when I did use it, this idea would've been really helpful =) Stuff gets lost in there so easily! I usually just didn't even bother to use the front zipper pocket.