CoPilot - input appreciated!

[Chill]

First, a little back story! Last night my son told me he needed a new TC. When I asked what was wrong with the lovely olive\violet one I got from G42 he told me he spilled lemonade all over it! After laughing at him, I offered to wash it for him. He then asked to borrow my SE. My favorite original halcyon SE! I took all my bits and bobs out of the SE and put them in my SK.

Since my SK fits my insulin stuff, my kindle, keys, work badge, etc, I just decided to use that for work today. I ended up out the door with my SK, a LARGE crochet project that has outgrown my LSB, a water bottle, and a container of soup. Even though it takes up a lot of room in the main compartment, I'm kicking myself for not just putting the SK into the CP! I can stand the SK on end, and the soup would have fit in the main pocket, with the water bottle in it's own pocket. While I love the capacity of my SK for out and about, I really love the SE/CP combo for EDC.

Can you tell more about SE/CP combo for EDC? It's something I'm looking into as well! Might you already shared in another thread/post somewhere? Please let me know!

[aedifica]

Oh, you might also find this thread useful or at least interesting: Pilot vs Co Pilot or stay with Medium Cafe Bag It moves on from the bags mentioned in the thread title to also talk about the Maker's Bag and Parental Unit, with lots of pictures.

[G42]

Did a quick pack of some stuff to show you a CP in halcyon...

210 ballistic island TC, not stuffed full - goes in one side pocket... side pocket also has the pen/pencil loops
16oz nalgene in the water bottle pocket - you can put a thermos here depending on size
200 halcyon small snake charmer, not suffed full (has power cords, mouse, etc) in the other side pocket

pair of nylon XL workout pants, rolled up + nylon t-shirt rolled up ... goes in main compartment on the bottom
210 ballistic size 2 travel stuff sack randomly stuffed with a large hand towell... this could be some of your misc items... sits on top of clothes
sunglasses in case beside the TSS on top of clothes




here's it all zipped up, full, but not absolutely stuffed yet

[Lia]

I can't speak to cross body bags, but I love Nebulous. Totally femme friendly.

[Shiva]

I have the Co-Pilot, and it is a bag that I both absolutely appreciate, and somehow don't quite love! It is perhaps the shape: the odd suitcasey look. Perhaps it is too many zippers. But it works really well for all kinds of things: for under the seat of even the narrowest of planes and holding quite a bit; to carry to a hospital; to do a day long in a museum and not have it be a backpack which often gets "carded." It can carry quite a bit: I have the 3D organizer cube with toiletry in front pocket; two pairs of glasses go in another; bottle pocket holds quite a bit. The main pocket can hold a MacBook 12, or anything similar; a book; a change of clothes. It is quite versatile. But something about that shapre... It is a nice odd little thing...I have the very old ballistic one--may have been the old one. It has softened up over time, but Halycon is the way to go if you want to have it be more flexible. I just can't get used to it for work though! I mostly carry the Synapse 19; or some other slightly more pro looking backpack (I have one from QWSTION; very smart). good luck and let us know what you decide.

For what you want to do, a zipped shop bag may also work!

[G42]

It is a nice odd little thing...

LOL, that's it exactly

[Chill]

I was planning to do a comparison photo of 525 Ballistic and Halcyon, but I've misplaced my Aubergine 525 Co-Pilot! I'm sure it's around here somewhere.

The Side Effect can squeeze into the front pockets of the Co-Pilot, but not as easily as I'd like. It helps if the SE is both Halcyon and underpacked--it's about an inch bigger than the side-to-side measurement of the CP's front pockets. If you want to really downsize the stuff you carry in your SE, the 3DOC does fit beautifully in the CP's front pockets!

I would also suggest that you consider the Parental Unit--it's not just for parents even though it was designed to be a diaper bag. It zips entirely shut, like the Co-Pilot, and unlike the Co-Pilot it looks pretty slim when it's nearly empty. (Though it looks kind of like an American football if you stuff it!) I think @Cristina and others use the Travel Cubelet bag-in-bag with the PU, the TC fits nicely in the center section of one of the PU's curved pockets. (So does the SE.) If you're on Ravelry, you can also read a thread where several people were helping me decide whether to get a PU, @Cristina was also persuaded to buy one, and then she and I each posted about how we use ours: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/tom-.../3767962/26-50 (must be a Ravelry member to view). I think the PU carries best when one of its three sections is empty, rather than filling all three sections.

I was wondering if you use the Halcyon version more? (is that why the 525 ballistic is misplaced...)

[Chill]

Did a quick pack of some stuff to show you a CP in halcyon...

210 ballistic island TC, not stuffed full - goes in one side pocket... side pocket also has the pen/pencil loops
16oz nalgene in the water bottle pocket - you can put a thermos here depending on size
200 halcyon small snake charmer, not suffed full (has power cords, mouse, etc) in the other side pocket

pair of nylon XL workout pants, rolled up + nylon t-shirt rolled up ... goes in main compartment on the bottom
210 ballistic size 2 travel stuff sack randomly stuffed with a large hand towell... this could be some of your misc items... sits on top of clothes
sunglasses in case beside the TSS on top of clothes




here's it all zipped up, full, but not absolutely stuffed yet

Thank you G42, your pics are greeeeat! Ohhh that TC... finger are twitching to get it... I fear my SE will be shelved if I get the TC.

I think I'm falling for the Halcyon version (softer fabric). OMG... the struggle is real.

[Chill]

Links to CoPilot related threads, putting them here in case someone else is in a similar situation:

https://forums.tombihn.com/questions...post58164.html

https://forums.tombihn.com/accessori...-co-pilot.html

[Chill]

I would consider the Maker's Bag. It is another 2" /50mm deeper than the Copilot and that much longer as well, but soft enough to not be boxy. With the large opening you could put your clothing in a packing cube and there would be plenty of room for more organizer pockets.

Thanks @DWSeattle, I took a closer look at Maker's Bag today and tried to like it, it has a nice look and seems to hug the body well... but I am not into flaps and buckling-unbuckling. Thank you for pointing it out or I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it more than just the first glance.

[tress29]

Can you tell more about SE/CP combo for EDC? It's something I'm looking into as well! Might you already shared in another thread/post somewhere? Please let me know!

I use a 16" keystrap for the handle on my SE so when I put it in the CP, there isn't as much strap getting in the way but it's easier to pull out. You could use the handle strap in the same way. I keep the standard 5/8" strap folded up with a Velcro tie in the bottom of the right front pocket with my work badge (in the small pocket,) sunglasses and keys. The left front pocket has a cubelet with a backup battery charger, an iPhone wall plug, a tiny car charger plug, a 6" micro USB and a 3' lightening cable. My headphones can fit in the cubelet too but are usually just tossed in on top. I've got them in a crocheted pod to keep the cord from tangling. Pens, a solo crochet hook and emery board (in a plastic sleeve) are in the pen slots. I'll put a water bottle in the bottle slot, or when I'm done with my coffee/tea mug I'll use the bottle pocket to take it home.

I use a small Ghost Whale OP in the inside left pocket when I need to take along multiple crochet hooks or sewing bits. I also have a pencil pouch I use, since it fits my stainless steel straw, but it's 9.1" long vs the SGWOP's 6.7". I slot mail that needs a daytime response in that pocket so I don't forget to take them to work! My Kindle usually goes in the right side pocket.

I usually just drop the SE into the main section. I can open it and retrieve stuff without removing it. I've laid a sweater in the bottom, and there was plenty of room on top for the SE to sit. If I'm taking something for lunch, I try to use vertical containers (think jar shaped) more than sandwich shaped. If I zip the SE closed, I can stand it on end, and leave plenty of space for my lunch/breakfast bits.

I don't usually need to take my laptop home from work, but if I know that I do, I can grab my S19.

I'm loving G42's original Nordic! Mine are all in Original with Wasabi, except for the SK which has Island.

[tress29]

I fear my SE will be shelved if I get the TC.

I tried to like the TC but the horizontal pockets in the SE fit my stuff better.

[aedifica]

I was wondering if you use the Halcyon version more? (is that why the 525 ballistic is misplaced...)

I think I use them about the same amount, I choose between them based more on the color than the fabric. Both these fabrics work well for the Co-Pilot. It's just that I had been keeping them both in the same place, then I took the Aubergine one with me on a trip and I'm not sure where I put it when I got home!

[G42]

Thank you G42, your pics are greeeeat! Ohhh that TC... finger are twitching to get it... I fear my SE will be shelved if I get the TC.

I think I'm falling for the Halcyon version (softer fabric). OMG... the struggle is real.

I may (ahem) have several TCs in 210 ballistic (Dawn, Island, Viridian, Coyote). Usually I keep the strap rolled up & tucked inside. I use the grab handle loop thingy most of the time. Makes it easy to yank out of the bag...also works well as a 'wristlet' type purse-like object if needed.

https://www.tombihn.com/collections/...nt=16645253511

Mostly I use these for bag-in-bag organization. One is always packed as a traveling office - check books (what are those!?), stamps, pen/pencil, some notepaper, etc.

It is a vertical orientation bag however, so if your stuff is more amenable to horizontal, as @tress29's, you're better off with a 3DOC or SE.

[Chill]

I finally went with the Co-Pilot! I was contemplating if the Pilot would be a more encompassing choice, since I have a laptop (which I don't carry around often) but what a surprise... my Co-Pilot swallowed my 13" Retina 2018 macbook air! Imagine my eyes.

525D Ballistic is a very nice fabric. It is slightly stiff only, not very stiff, and I'm expecting it to get softer with some use.

It doesn't look big or bulky when it stands by itself, but does look prominent when I carry it (size-wise, nothing to do with the color). Well, I was carrying a SE before, so the copilot is about 4xSEs joined together, so it naturally will look much more prominent on me < slow laugh >.

The good news is it will carry the stuff I want it to carry and I can squash it down.

The water bottle compartment has a gusset (is that how you call/spell it), which I appreciate, but my thermos is made of metal too and if I don't put it in gently... it makes a clink sound. I'm (probably unnecessarily) worried that it will scratch the thermos and reduce its thermal-keeping powers.

The bad news is I did not get enough Ghost Whale Pouches. Grrrr...