I’m on the road more than ever these days, and having my essential gear organized and ready to roll when I am is important. My go bag is the Doane Paper + Topo Designs Mountain Briefcase, and within it lives the A4 sized Lihit Lab Teffa Bag In Bag.
I’ve used the A5 sized Bag In Bag off and on for a couple of years, but it never stuck full time. It’s an odd size related to the things I regularly carry, so it has ended up being an accessories bag more often than not. The A4 Bag In Bag, on the other hand, is a perfect match for my needs.
I didn’t realize this until I saw more than one person using this setup at the Atlanta Pen Show. In one instance it was a standard stationery bag, containing various pens and paper to use and share. In another instance, it was specifically built as a portable letter writing kit, with loose paper, envelopes, postcards, stamps, washi tape, etc. Seeing both of these as stand-alone bags as well as slotting into other messenger bags and backpacks piqued my interest.
I bounce between A4 and A5 sized notebooks frequently, and of course I like having my smaller pocket notebooks handy as well. The beauty of the Bag In Bag is it can hold all three, plus I can toss in my 13” laptop, iPad, or Kindle to give myself everything I need to work remotely. It is perfect when I want to head to a coffee shop and write reviews for example.
If I am doing that, I’ll just grab the Bag In Bag and head out. When I drive to Nock during the week, it slides perfectly into my Mountain Briefcase where I keep a few more items that need to head to the shop with me.
I’ve beat around my A5 sized Bag In Bag a good bit and it has held up well. Both the A4 and A5 size have a zipper around three of the four sides of the bag, allowing it to open fully along one of the long sides. This is good when you want to lay everything out and close it up, but not so great when trying to keep smaller items organized. I think that is why I prefer the A4 because I am only putting large items in the middle. Small items fall out of my A5 frequently.
As much as I like and use mine, there are a couple of minor nitpicks. First, the pen slots are tight and short. I have a hard time getting anything in them other than a standard width pen. The Copic Multiliner SP maxed out the pocket, and you can see in the pictures where the pocket is too short for it to clip. It is a tight fit, so I don’t expect it go go anywhere, but a deeper pocket would be nice. Secondly, the zippers are rough. I get stops and starts around the corners, and rough sliding in other areas. I can get past them most of the time, but a smoother track would help.
Those are minor issues in the grand scheme of what is a functional product. It is priced fairly too, with the A5 model selling for $14.50 and the A4 model for $21.00.
If you are need more organization for your daily carry, the Lihit Lab Bag In Bag is worth a look. If you want to see one filled to maximum capacity, be sure to check out the review by artist Nick Folz. That’s how you do it!
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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