Wanted: Cafe Bag Organizer Inserts

[Zephyrnoid]

Hi all
Keep an eye on the Cafe Bag review thread. I'll be posting some interesting DIY insert pics in there. I didn't realize that so many people were thinking along the same lines. I had to whip an insert out for my Large Cafe Bag out of plastic corrugated board and Permacel tape + hotglue. Purpose designed for my Flip Mino HD kit.

[ex machina]

Woohoo! More Organizer Designs Coming!

Hi all
Keep an eye on the Cafe Bag review thread. I'll be posting some interesting DIY insert pics in there. I didn't realize that so many people were thinking along the same lines. I had to whip an insert out for my Large Cafe Bag out of plastic corrugated board and Permacel tape + hotglue. Purpose designed for my Flip Mino HD kit.

Excellent, Zephyrnoid! I am looking forward to your post, thanks!

[Moose]

Cafe Organizer

Hi all, A few days ago I put in an order for my first TB bag. I am a bag-a-holic with no desire to reform my ways. I am normally an east/west bag kinda girl but went for the medium cafe bag. I have found what I hope will be the perfect organizer for it. I found it at innerpurse.com. It is a modular sort of organizer. The pockets can be moved (using velcro) to allow several different configurations. I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of my new bag. I have really enjoyed reading all the posts and the photos are great.

[Zephyrnoid]

OK
Got all the Mino 2 The Max shots done, but not yet laid out but here's a sneak peak at my DIY Café Bag Insert. I located a very close match cardboard box, hacked it up a bit and leaving the 'top' open, customized it with corrugated plastic board and hot glue to make size specific compartments for my Mino HD plus accessories. I'll draw an X-ray elevation view when I have more time. To bind this insert together quickly, I covered it with Permacel tape -discontinued to give the surface some durability (paper cardboard is fragile). This thing works beautifully. I flip open the Café Bag flap, grab the camera with .5X already set up on it and in less than 4 seconds it's ready to shoot!

Here's the Mino in 'interview' mode...

Just another coupla days and it should be up on GearNinja.com
Thanks again Darcy, Tom & Co. !!!!

[ex machina]

Hi all, A few days ago I put in an order for my first TB bag. I am a bag-a-holic with no desire to reform my ways. I am normally an east/west bag kinda girl but went for the medium cafe bag. I have found what I hope will be the perfect organizer for it. I found it at innerpurse.com. It is a modular sort of organizer. The pockets can be moved (using velcro) to allow several different configurations. I'm anxiously awaiting the delivery of my new bag. I have really enjoyed reading all the posts and the photos are great.

Hi Moose, I looked at that site and found it very intriguing. Thanks for pointing it out. I am interested in your experience with the product. Please post some pics if you can and do tell us how you like it. Can you use any hook and loop bag to attach to it? Does it have to be their little bags? Does it look easy to mod? That purple coloring is a bit off-putting for me. I would much prefer the grey trim of a Freudian Slip. But I can overcome that if the design is that good.

Please do share your experience, Moose. Thanks!

[ex machina]

Just another coupla days and it should be up on GearNinja.com
Thanks again Darcy, Tom & Co. !!!!

More over Q, here comes Zephyrnoid!

That is real neat.

[Moose]

Hi Moose, I looked at that site and found it very intriguing. Thanks for pointing it out. I am interested in your experience with the product. Please post some pics if you can and do tell us how you like it. Can you use any hook and loop bag to attach to it? Does it have to be their little bags? Does it look easy to mod? That purple coloring is a bit off-putting for me. I would much prefer the grey trim of a Freudian Slip. But I can overcome that if the design is that good.

Please do share your experience, Moose. Thanks!

Hi ExMachina,
I have to say I love the concept. The inner purse, I'm sure, is great for what it was designed for, a ladies handbag. I find it to be a bit bulky for my med Cafe. I'm guessing it'd be great in the Imago or ID. I've never seen either bag, just the photos & measurements on the web site. I agree, the pinkish-purpleish trim is a bit much. I too would prefer gray.

I'll try to answer your questions. I tried a couple of different "loop" fabrics with the "pouches." They both worked just fine. You could attach any bag/pouch to the backing as long as they have the "hook" fabric on the back. You would not need their pouches. Their pouches are made from a neoprene material. I do like the pouches. They are a bit stretchy.

The backing pieces are pouches in their own right. They have zippers along the long side. Great for stashing receipts or other flat stuff. Warning, the lining of the back pieces is screamin pink. In terms of modifying, I'm working on that. I'm considering foam core covered with loop fabric about the size of the back of the bag. That would allow pouches to be placed higer up on the back of the bag. There is also the option of purchasing just the pouches to use with a modified backing.

I realize I've gone on a bit but I hope this helps. I'll try to get photos out soon.

Thanks,
Moose

[ex machina]

Hi ya Moose,

Thanks for responding! This is a topic near and dear to me. I started a thread over here that explored the concept of a cafe bag organizer. You can see my project pics following the link in the thread and Jiri's pics (and the resized versions I posted) of Jiri's organizer are there too.

The idea of velcro-ing pouches to render a configuration that is spot on for the moment I find appealing as can be seen in my proof of concept. What I did different than innerpurse on the application of concept level is to put the hook side on the board and the loop side on the pouches. My rational is that I can use the pouches without the board and not have them sticking to stuff.

Another item that has popped up on my bagdar is the Levenger Stow-it™ Panel Organizer. That looks like it would fit the Imago. I am holding off on purchasing any new organizers until I see what Tom is planning to spring in February. I am very interested in the Field Notebook project and hope that it is adaptable to the Levenger Circa system. I have designed my note keeping and study method to incorporate the Circa method for this semester. I am using 8 1/2 x 11 for notebooks and am continuing to use my 3x5 cards and Junior sized circa for my tracking, planning, and calendar. It has been pretty good so far.

I still pang for a Freudian Slip sized to the Medium Cafe Bag, as that would be so useful too. So I sit and wait to see what Tom releases this year, hoping it will include some neat accessories to address what I think is a reasonable market niche if the forums are a good indication. I would even be interested in a Tom Bihn version of the innerpurse/my prototype organizer, and the attendant pouches with the loopy velcro sewn in. The quality of the products that the TB factory puts out would be reason enough for me to buy new pouches if they had loops.

I still haven't gotten around to having my tailor sew in loop strips to my padded pouches but maybe I will next week.

Thanks again for the feedback, Moose!

[Moose]

Cafe Bag Organizer & Levenger books

Hey ExMachina,
A vertical freudian slip for a cafe bag would be perfect. Especially if it had some kind of modular pouch arrangement. I've considered other ways to make this work but so far all of them would require modifications to the bag and I'm not willing to do that just yet. I want to take this one on a few test runs before I make decisions about permanent modifications.

About your Levenger books, I think the ones you mentioned have the disk looking page holders. How do those work for you? They seem interesting but I've wondered if the pages would stay solidly in place. Any thoughts on that would be greatly appreciated. At the moment I keep notes in a Molleskine that is about 2"X3". It fits in my wallet along with a Mont Blanc ballpoint refill. Small, light weight and still effective.
Thanks for the feedback,
Moose

[ex machina]

I won't mod the bag itself. I like it too much as it is. I just want some accessories for it that are geared to enhance it, like a Freudian Slip version. I agree a Freudian Slip with movable modular pockets would rock.

As for the Levenger Circa system I have found pretty sturdy. I can hold a book up by the cover and shake it and no page fall out. My personal system has been for a long time (decade or better maybe), to use a Shirt Pocket Briefcase and the 3x5 vertical lined cards. I jot all my quick notes that way and manage lists too. As my needs grew, particularly with my return to college, I found myself looking for a planner. I had done the 3 ring system on and off over the years, Dayrunner, etc. The rings were annoying in that I had to keep it thin, because if I went to thick, it was such a pain to keep the order I like yet move pages around. I had to take a whole bunch out, and then add the page and add everything back.

The Circa system lets me add pages, move pages, and even make my own custom pages on the fly. I have the Circa desk punch and I find that to be a lynch pin of the system. I also found the Circa tab reinforcements very good to shore up pages that the tabs were 'wilting' on. This is usually low pound paper that I found myself moving around. The tabs let me add newspaper articles if I want without concern for their page fragility.

I have been using the Junior size mostly since the 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 size was what I used to use in the Dayrunner. The size still works well and there are plenty of templates for it over at diyplanner.com. That said, I have thought on several occasions that I may have been better served, particularly given my proclivity for 3x5 cards, if I had run with the Compact size. I did try for a short spell the 3x5 PDA and found it lacking. Odd since I use 3x5s a lot, I expected it to be a great fit. But I discovered that what I 3x5, and what I use a planner for require different scales of page real estate. The Junior size seems to be working well, and while I have wondered about the Compact size, I think at the end of the day my page real estate needs rule it out. YMMV.

I have gotten all the parts (Levenger had a great sale, might still be on for Circa stuff) to make 81/2 x 11 notebooks for all my courses this coming semester. My plan is to use the Cornell note taking method in my classes and then use OneNote when I get home to make really nice notes, with color inserts and stuff, so for the tests I can just use my notes to study and not need to refer to the textbook. I will have added to my notes scans of the needed textbook material. One of the courses I am taking is in Word 2007 and I hope to learn how to do all that in the course.

I also got a bunch of rings for about half price on eBay. They are Rollabind rings. These are not as nice as the Levenger versions but function well enough. I also got some Rollo dividers from Staples which seem compatible. My basic notebook for a class design will be 8 1/2 x 11, with a folder sleeve, and a 3x5 card sleeve too. This way I can keep any papers loose that I need (most papers will be just punched and added) to use for ready reference like a formula sheet or such, and the 3x5 card holder I can use to track projects for the class and my study plan/next actions.

I have found the system sound and sturdy, and I really like the customize on the fly option. I also added a reference section to my dayplanner so I have all kinds of papers in there ready for use like a campus map, my proof of validation for my tuition bill (it's not enough to pay, you have to validate too or you can loose your slot in the classes), info cards with all the campus phone numbers, I just punch them and add them in.

They only thing I would like to add to my system is a paper cutter. My printer uses 8 1/2 x 11 paper, and when I set it to use 5x8 it does it weird and I get parts missing. Something to do with the tight margins I think. Anyway, I want the ability to make crisp clean cuts on the paper so I don't have 'hairy' edges, or crooked scissor cut edges. One of those table top items with the measuring grid and the big blade arm would do the trick. I've seen some on eBay and think that's where I'll get one.

So, I hope that gives you a sense of my experience and hope for the Circa system. It is a real investment so I would tell people who are considering it that there is a definite expense in using the system. I have been fortunate to get started with a lot of it on sale, or found compatible items at a good price. I think the crux of using the system is the hole puncher. I use the desk top version as I read that the 'portable' while functional wasn't portable enough versus the trade off of ease of use, and sturdiness. It's not that much a difference in price so I recommend using the desk top punch.

Now of course, the advent of the Field Notebook might lead me to revamp the whole scheme as I am always on the lookout for a better mousetrap so to speak.

Hope that helps, Moose.

[Moose]

Hey ExMachina,
I think you are right about permanent modifications to my Cafe bag. I really like this bag and it seems just wrong to mess with a good thing. I describe my bag as a classy tank. I like the nice clean lines that will look good for years no matter what I throw at it, or in it. Guess we're just going to have to hold out for the vertical Freudian Slip with pouches.

Thanks for the info on your Levenger notebook(s). You did a great job of covering the details. I will check out the ebay option too. It sounds like you prefer somthing a bit larger than I do. I prefer as small and compact as possible. I may check out the smallest size and see how that works.

Thanks again for the great info.
Moose

[Zephyrnoid]

OK
It's done except for 'X-ray' illustration. No time for that now, but you get the idea.
The Café Bag Kit

http://www.gearninja.com/ADS/CafeBag4Mino.html

More Contents

http://www.gearninja.com/ADS/CafeBag4Mino_2.html

Modding the Mino

http://www.gearninja.com/ADS/Mino_Maxd.html

I actually EDC the Café Bag now. In fact, I showed up at the building where I stay, minutes after an assault. I whipped out the Mino+light and captured an interview of the victim. One of the biggest selling points of the Large Café Bag is the simple overflap. It's fast!

[maverick]

OK
It's done except for 'X-ray' illustration. No time for that now, but you get the idea.
The Café Bag Kit

http://www.gearninja.com/ADS/CafeBag4Mino.html

More Contents

http://www.gearninja.com/ADS/CafeBag4Mino_2.html

Modding the Mino

http://www.gearninja.com/ADS/Mino_Maxd.html

I actually EDC the Café Bag now. In fact, I showed up at the building where I stay, minutes after an assault. I whipped out the Mino+light and captured an interview of the victim. One of the biggest selling points of the Large Café Bag is the simple overflap. It's fast!

hi zephyrnoid,

awesome pictures! the litepanels led lights into interesting - they appear fairly light and portable. are you happy with it? i'm thinking of putting that on top of my panasonic gf1 for shooting video.

thanks!

[Zephyrnoid]

hi zephyrnoid,

awesome pictures! the litepanels led lights into interesting - they appear fairly light and portable. are you happy with it? i'm thinking of putting that on top of my panasonic gf1 for shooting video.

thanks!

Thanks for the Kudos maverick
LitePanels Micro PRO is excellent. The prior version was a tad underpowered for the money. The PRO is more money but delivers the lumens.
I've used it as:
- Main interview light in minimal ambient light shots. Lifesaver at 0-8'
- Fill inside and outside in all but the brightest ambient and it's excellent there too.
- They finally fixed a few issues and now it's smooth sailing. Comes with three filters for Diffused only, 1/4CTO and FullCTO. the filters can be stacked and they store in a handy slot on the back of the unit.

Only one gripe. The variable output, ON/OFF dial is continuous.Two detents in the middle of the output range would allow for click confirmed 'stops' for repeatable output setting, otherwise I simply have to mark the unit with my stops. If that makes sense.

[maverick]

thanks zephyrnoid! i'm going to order some litepanels. i will let you know how it works out.

their 1x1 modular led panels look amazing! excuse me while i finish drooling...

Thanks for the Kudos maverick
LitePanels Micro PRO is excellent. The prior version was a tad underpowered for the money. The PRO is more money but delivers the lumens.
I've used it as:
- Main interview light in minimal ambient light shots. Lifesaver at 0-8'
- Fill inside and outside in all but the brightest ambient and it's excellent there too.
- They finally fixed a few issues and now it's smooth sailing. Comes with three filters for Diffused only, 1/4CTO and FullCTO. the filters can be stacked and they store in a handy slot on the back of the unit.

Only one gripe. The variable output, ON/OFF dial is continuous.Two detents in the middle of the output range would allow for click confirmed 'stops' for repeatable output setting, otherwise I simply have to mark the unit with my stops. If that makes sense.