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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.
I have a bunch of great bags. Favorite color combos include Aubergine/Island, Navy/Solar, Forest/UV, Original Halcyon/Wasabi, Cloud/Viridian... and now also Seapine/UV!
I've fulfilled my dream of palindromic-colored nested bags! Navy/Ultraviolet Pilot with Aubergine/Island Side Effect inside: blue purple purple blue. Forest/UV A45 with Aubergine/Wasabi Co-Pilot inside: green purple purple green.
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
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I like all the blues and greys...and all the happy citrus colours too! My search unicorn is the Sapphire Dyneema original Small Shop Bag...
I can't speak to cross body bags, but I love Nebulous. Totally femme friendly.
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!
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
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.
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.![]()
Last edited by tress29; 07-31-2019 at 08:52 AM.
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!
I have a bunch of great bags. Favorite color combos include Aubergine/Island, Navy/Solar, Forest/UV, Original Halcyon/Wasabi, Cloud/Viridian... and now also Seapine/UV!
I've fulfilled my dream of palindromic-colored nested bags! Navy/Ultraviolet Pilot with Aubergine/Island Side Effect inside: blue purple purple blue. Forest/UV A45 with Aubergine/Wasabi Co-Pilot inside: green purple purple green.
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.
I like all the blues and greys...and all the happy citrus colours too! My search unicorn is the Sapphire Dyneema original Small Shop Bag...
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...