Brain Bag questions

[Passagare]

Hi there! New poster here! My wife and I are new to the TB world. She has a TS on order, arriving tomorrow, and I'm planning to buy a BB in the next week or so. We have a few trips planned for this year and have decided to upgrade to TB bags and accessories.

I have a few questions about the BB that I haven't found answers to elsewhere on the site and this forum:

1. What's the size of the top front pocket? What smaller pouches, cubes, or other accessories can fill it?
   
2. I saw that a small Snake Charmer can fit in one of the lower front pockets. What else fits in there? I haven't found the dimensions for those pockets. Can the SC fit in the top pocket?
   
3. I'm hoping to get a Freudian Slip with it, but it's not in stock at the moment. How often is the stock refreshed on it? I'm first going to need this BB for a trip to the UK in mid-April; does anyone know if it's likely to be back in stock before then?
   
4. Will the FS hold an iPad Pro 10.5 in one of the back slip pockets? I see letter sized notepads and magazines in the sample product pictures, so I imagine it would, but I'd like confirmation.
   
5. I'm planning to buy the BB in Mars Red, but I really like the Burnt Orange color -- is the BB ever sold in that color?

I'm sure I have more questions, but I think this is enough to start.

Thanks in advance!

[Passagare]

Well, I managed to answer a few of my questions (#3-5, above). I'd still love to know what the front pocket dimensions are, as well as recommendations for pouches that fit in them. I'm planning to make my order on Friday.

I see that the FS for the BB is back in stock ("Only a few left...", though) but my plan is to get a MCB to fit in one of the main compartments as a personal item on a plane while the BB is up in the overhead compartment as my carry-on. Essentially, the MCB will have everything I need on my long trans-Atlantic flights (earphones, iPad, snacks, water bottle, etc.). Does anyone else travel like this?

[Cristina]

Well, I managed to answer a few of my questions (#3-5, above). I'd still love to know what the front pocket dimensions are, as well as recommendations for pouches that fit in them. I'm planning to make my order on Friday.

I see that the FS for the BB is back in stock ("Only a few left...", though) but my plan is to get a MCB to fit in one of the main compartments as a personal item on a plane while the BB is up in the overhead compartment as my carry-on. Essentially, the MCB will have everything I need on my long trans-Atlantic flights (earphones, iPad, snacks, water bottle, etc.). Does anyone else travel like this?

I don't have a BB so I can't answer most of your questions but having a MCB in the BB to take out during the flight is an excellent idea and one that several people here do! Sometimes people choose the Side Kick or Packing Cube Shoulder Bag too. There is even a recent post on it here called "Marsupializing" (basically a bag-in-a-bag). I don't know how to link to it in this app but it is under Tom Bihn Forums > Accessories and Organization Strategies.

Have you seen the Forum Hack videos on the videos page of the TB site? One of those demonstrates using a Side Kick and two double carabiners as a seat back organizer.

Edited to Add:
https://forums.tombihn.com/accessori...pializing.html

https://www.tombihn.com/pages/videos#forumhacks1
https://www.tombihn.com/pages/videos#forumhacks2

Happy organizing!

[Passagare]

I don't have a BB so I can't answer most of your questions but having a MCB in the BB to take out during the flight is an excellent idea and one that several people here do! Sometimes people choose the Side Kick or Packing Cube Shoulder Bag too.

Thanks for the links! I probably did see the "marsupializing" idea with the MCB in the BB on this forum, or in one of the many YouTube video reviews I've watched. I considered all of the smaller bags for this use case, but figure that the MCB will probably see the most use outside of travel, it made the best sense for us.

My wife got her TS the other day and we love it. Even the Wasabi Halcyon is growing on me.

I'll be ordering the BB and a few other things tomorrow; looks like I missed out on the FS by waiting. Now I know...

[kampung.boy]

@Passagare - Welcome to the TOM BIHN Forums!

The top front pocket of the Brain Bag is an inverted isosceles trapezoid with a zip running horizontally from one side to the other, covered/hidden by an overarching flap. The zip is 1.5" below the top seam.



The top of the pocket measures about 8 1/2" across, the bottom about 5 1/2".





The pocket is 5" tall and 1 3/8" thick.



In the top front pocket, I usually have a Pocket Pouch (containing a total of 8 ATM, credit, and other similar cards), a Nano Ballistic Coyote Organizer Pouch (coins) and a Mini Clear Organizer Pouch (banknotes). These accessories are usually tethered to the pocket's O-ring via Key Straps or a Utility Strap. In the past, I have had up to 3 Mini Organizer Pouches (slightly or moderately full), a Pocket Pouch (8 cards), and a Guardian Light all in the top front pocket, with some room to spare. This is my favorite pocket because it has the things I need to access most frequently. I don't own a Snake Charmer but I doubt even a small one (8.3” x 4.9” x 4.3”) will fit in the top pocket.

The vertical ("side") front pockets are symmetrical, though the left one has an external flat mesh pocket. Each pocket has a trapezoid shape with the medial and lateral sides parallel.

The medial side, between the top end that slopes upwards and the lower end that slopes downwards, is about 7 inches.



The lateral side measures 14".



The bottom of the pocket is somewhat difficult to describe because the seam runs from zero thickness at the lateral end to nearly 2 1/2" on the pocket's medial side.



Not following its sloping bottom seam, the pocket measures about 5" horizontally. The sloping seam and the triangular material below the seam (running from the bottom lateral corner to 3" above the bottom of the pocket medially) give the pocket depth.



The vertical front pockets are large; they easily accommodate my 2 phones, keys, a Muji Notebook Passport Size, pens, a compact flashlight, small towel and other miscellaneous items (divided between the 2 pockets). In the past, I placed one full 3D Organizer Cube in each vertical front pocket while traveling. Each pocket can easily hold one Klean Kanteen 27oz Classic Single Wall Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Sport Cap.

The dimensions above were taken off the current (2018) version of the Brain Bag and I tried to follow the seams as much as possible. Because this is a soft-sided bag, there is some give in what you can put in the pockets, i.e. items slightly larger than the given dimensions may still be able to fit though you may lose some thickness or width/height doing so.

[Passagare]

Wow! Thank you so much for the measurements and photos! I just placed my order this morning for the BB (Mars Red) and a MCB (Nordic Halcyon). The MCB will be my personal item on the several transatlantic flights I have scheduled this year, and be carried in one of the large compartments of the BB.

I didn't order any other accessories now, but will in the next few weeks before my first trip in mid-April.

[Kirk]

I have used my BB as my EDC for ~3 years now, and mine is the elusive Burnt Orange. Hard to say when they will make it again in that color, all you can do is check the website and put in a request. I have a freudian slip and a brain cell anchored in the compartment closest to my back. 15" Apple MacBook in the brain cell every day, with my iPad tucked into a pocket of the slip. The other big compartment holds whatever stuff I need to drag back and forth. On the way home it's commonly some groceries that I picked up while downtown and am now bringing home as I ride the train.

[Passagare]

I have used my BB as my EDC for ~3 years now, and mine is the elusive Burnt Orange. Hard to say when they will make it again in that color, all you can do is check the website and put in a request.

I'm by no means an expert, but I don't think they will, because the Burnt Orange is available for 1050 Ballistic, not 525 Ballistic, which is what the BB is made out of now.

My Mars Red BB is stuck in transit after spending a weekend in Redmond, WA. UPS tracking hasn't been helpful, either.