Halcyon or Ballistic For Side Kick?

[ayazgood]

I'm looking for opinions from anyone who has used both the Halcyon and Ballistic versions of the Side Kick. I preferred the Ballistic for the Everyday Cubelet, cuz it seemed easier to get in and out of it (and provided slightly better protection). I'm thinking that would be less of an issue for the larger Side Kick, and that I might prefer the smoothness and greater flexibility of the Halcyon for this particular bag. Use case is either as a tech bag (batteries, chargers, cables, small camera, etc.) or a larger man purse. I have a similar sized sling, but it only has a couple of hand pockets.

FYI, I've seen an older thread showing an ipad barely fitting in the Halcyon (due to greater give), and not really fitting in the Ballistic. May or may not be a consideration.

[G42]

I have Side Kicks in both 400d halcyon and 525 ballistic. I really like the halcyon for its flexibility... it conforms to my hip/body better than the ballistic, YMMV.

I've not had any particular issues with getting things in and out of it...
Sorry, I don't have an iPad to check

[Go Navy]

I have a medium Cafe Bag in the 525 ballistic. I've found that this weight of ballistic is a very happy middle ground between just enough structure and not too much. Of course this piece is a bit larger than the Side Kick (which I don't have but is on my wish list). I like some structure and don't care about whether it conforms to my body or not. I think the structure makes it easier to fish things out of the bag, and affords a bit more protection to contents (although that could be my fantasy).

[moriond]

There’s a nice review that @bartleby did comparing his new Side Kick (Nebulous Grey 525d Ballistic Nylon) with a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag, including carrying and iPad. I personally wouldn’t carry a regular sized iPad in the Side Kick (iPad Mini is OK). I have both types of Side Kicks (525d Ballistic Nylon and Halcyon).

My preference is 400d Halcyon, because I tend to carry more (including tech stuff), and it’s easier to fit in. But, if you don’t tend to pack as much, the 525d Ballistic offers you both some very nice color selections, and a guaranteed more strictly rectangular shape. Because of the sewn in pockets and compartments, the Halcyon Side Kick Does pretty well maintaining structure. — there’s not as much difference as with the Cafe Bags.

HTH

moriond

ETA I carry my iPad in the Icon. Admittedly this (currently) is the 11” iPad Pro that would not fit into the Side Kick. But if I had to carry an iPad with other Tech gear I might opt for the Daylight Briefcase. I t wasn’t clear to me from the original post whether this was a necessity.

[ayazgood]

First - answers to the ipad fit issue:
https://forums.tombihn.com/questions...-sidekick.html
https://forums.tombihn.com/general-b...-ipad-fit.html
https://forums.tombihn.com/photos-vi...me-true-3.html
I swear there's a comparison photo in an old thread that I googled before, but can't find now.

This is not a significant issue for me since my ipad never leaves the house unless I'm going on a trip. In that scenario, maybe I drop the side kick and ipad into my PCSB.

There’s a nice review that @bartleby did comparing his new Side Kick (Nebulous Grey 525d Ballistic Nylon) with a Packing Cube Shoulder Bag, including carrying and iPad. I personally wouldn’t carry a regular sized iPad in the Side Kick (iPad Mini is OK). I have both types of Side Kicks (525d Ballistic Nylon and Halcyon).

My preference is 400d Halcyon, because I tend to carry more (including tech stuff), and it’s easier to fit in. But, if you don’t tend to pack as much, the 525d Ballistic offers you both some very nice color selections, and a guaranteed more strictly rectangular shape. Because of the sewn in pockets and compartments, the Halcyon Side Kick Does pretty well maintaining structure. — there’s not as much difference as with the Cafe Bags.

HTH

moriond

Thanks, very helpful. I should have mentioned I have a PCSB. I'm leaning towards greater flexibility. Don't think I care about holding a strict shape for my Side kick use case.

I have Side Kicks in both 400d halcyon and 525 ballistic. I really like the halcyon for its flexibility... it conforms to my hip/body better than the ballistic, YMMV.

I've not had any particular issues with getting things in and out of it...
Sorry, I don't have an iPad to check

I like the hip hugger flexibility of my sling, so that is a plus for Halcyon. I'm thinking it will also be less dangly and look less like a purse.