Just arrived:
Pop Tote in Aubergine 525 Ballistic
Large Zip-Top Shop Bag in Grass 210 Ballistic
Small Zip-Top Shop Bag in Wasabi 200 Halcyon
Ghost Whale Organizer Pouches - Small in Grass, Mini in Burnt Orange
Pocket Pouch that I requested "anything but black" -- that showed up in Coyote/Wasabi.
Initial thoughts:
The Large Zip-Top Shop Bag:
Wasn't quite as oversized as I thought it would be, but it still appears to be the perfect size for my intended purpose (beach bag/summer party bag to take on the train to the Hamptons or Connecticut); my large beach towel fills it up only halfway, so there's plenty of room for a pair of shorts, shirt, light jacket, essentials, and my travel cubelet as my "man purse".
Could also double as a summertime overnight bag.
The Grass 210 Ballistic fabric feels strong and gives the bag just enough structure without sacrificing the ability to easily fold it up for storage or transport.
The Small Zip-Top Shop Bag:
Pleasant surprise: the Wasabi 200 Halcyon is stronger and more substantial than I expected. As a shop bag, properly packed, you could probably
just about fit one bag's worth of groceries from Whole Foods. My intended purpose is to use it as an "auxiliary" bag for fashionably carrying the random odd items I pick up along my daily travels: my resoled shoes from the cobbler's ... the pile of mail from my business PO box ... etc.
And -- this is totally a New Yorker's problem, since we don't have cars with trunks in which to store stuff -- those groceries from that quick trip to Whole Foods
before going to that late dinner at The Odeon, so that I'm not obviously carrying a bag of groceries into a restaurant.
Plus -- I discovered that the bag, neatly folded, fits perfectly inside a Travel Cubelet:
Pop Tote:
This is going to be my summertime EDC bag; I need something to carry my daily business and personal items (papers, magazines, checkbook, etc.) as well as a sweater as I navigate the sweltering NYC streets and subways and into the hyper-refrigerated television studio in which I work.
I discovered this hack from another user -- slipping my MCB FS just under a flap:
My only complaint -- and I know this is about me, not a fault of the design of the bag itself -- I wish the straps could in some way be at least slightly adjustable. I understand why they're the length they are; you need to be able to carry the bag comfortably, arm fully extended, without having the bag drag on the ground. But it would be nice if there was a way to expand their length just a touch so that guys like me (muscular arms and big chest) could more easily sling them over our shoulder.
Ghost Whale Organizer Pouches:
I got the small size in Grass specifically for my cash stash, and the bills fit perfectly:
Finally, Bihn surprised me with a Pocket Pouch (which I plan to use for business cards) in Coyote. Admittedly, Coyote has never been one of my top color choices, but now that I see it in person I really
really like it.
It's even got me rethinking my color choice for my Western Flyer ...
Darn it, Tom Bihn!!!
LOL!!!