Swift

Swift: (used as a carry on for a flight)

13 inch Macbook in a felted case (It was a bit taller than the bag, but I was still able to fasten it.
Power cord for computer in a medium pouch
Two "sock knitting" bags (one with socks in progress, one with three 50g skeins in it)
mini pouch with stitch markers, measuring tape, nail clippers and chibi needles
0.6L Sigg bottle
Movie box of candy
baggies of assorted food
paperback book

Pocket one:
wallet
passport
phone
ipod
palm pilot

Pocket two:
needle sizer
full set of harmony inter-changeable needle tips with a few cables
size guide

Clipped to O-ring:
Burt's Bees lip balm

It carried very easily on my shoulder with my Aeronaut slung across my body. When I pulled out the backpack straps (which made the Aeronaut so much easier to carry) I had to hold onto the Swift to keep it on my shoulder.

In this thread, post a list or pictures of What You Carry in your Swift. We will add your packing list to the Swift page to help give other people a better idea of what the bag can hold.

My "empty" Swift:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morfydd/3497868818/

The pocket on the bottom holds a "Drop-In" Purseket. It's marketed as being a purse organizer that you can transfer from purse to purse, and it works nicely for this. (I use this, the smallest of the Pursekets, because most of my purses are small. And then I carry a Swift most of the time. Go figure.)

The pocket on the top is full of whatever junk I don't want falling to the bottom of the Swift. Right now it's... a measuring tape, two packets of mints, a lipstick, a bottle of moisturizing oil, a folding spoon, a packet of lint remover sheets, and flattened contact lens boxes (I need to refill my prescription).

Clipped to an O-ring on the left is a pen on a retractable cord. Clipped to an O-ring on the right is a little folding grocery bag. (Much smaller than the TB Shop Bag, which I haven't really integrated into my life yet.) Clipped to the O-ring on the bottom is a little compass, as I'm always disoriented coming out of the subway.

Closeup on the lower pocket:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/morfydd...n/photostream/

Top left of the Purseket - my wallet.
Top right - My iPod and headphones.
Bottom right - a compact and lipgloss.
Bottom left - my passport and my iPhone would be there but it's taking the picture. :-)

I consider this pretty much empty, as there's nothing in the main compartment, and there's a ton of space left for groceries, etc. I'd say it could easily fit everything in Maverick's Shop Bag video, and maybe more. Next shopping trip I'll have to remember to take a picture before unpacking!

And to second Tzporah, I frequently use the Swift as my personal item for air trips.

For my last few weekend overnight train trips, I've used it as my only bag. I get funny looks at the hotel, but two changes of clothes and a basic toiletries kit fit in there with no trouble at all. I can leave those at the hotel, wander around with the lightened bag during the day, and if I go overboard buying souvenirs whatever's lightest can fit in the little folding bag for the trip back.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Morfydd

My "empty" Swift:


...
Clipped to the O-ring on the bottom is a little compass, as I'm always disoriented coming out of the subway.

...

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O ring on the bottom? I just received my swift today. I see 6 o-rings. One inside the zippered pocket, one outside but on top of the zippered pocket and one in the side seam. Then take those 3 and mirror them around the bag.

Which one are you referring to as bottom?

Just curious...

Hmm...I also only see those 6 o-rings, and nothing on the bottom. I have the (very lovely) Cork Swift -- could additional o-rings be a feature of the Ballistic or Cordura Swifts? Curious.

Heh. I had to look at the picture again to refresh my memory. I meant the bottom of the picture, so it's the o-ring "outside but on top of the zippered pocket", as bagchick described it. I'm sorry to have been vague.

Last summer I bought an Indigo/Indigo Swift with which I am absolutely in love. I don't use it for knitting (although I did take up the craft a few months after welcoming the Swift), but it makes an amazing work bag in which I can carry all the following, with room to spare:

•my DSLR camera (Olympus 420 with pancake lens), swaddled in a Skooba Wrap
•a Yarn Stuff Sack which carries filters (in a repurposed neoprene floppy disk case); memory cards, a lens cleaning cloth, portable USB card reader, and two spare batteries in a small zippered pouch; and a 14-42mm lens wrapped in flannel
•two Mead Composition notebooks (my unplugged version of a laptop)
•whatever library book I'm currently reading
•various and sundry writing supplies, along with toiletries transplanted from my purse, in the two clear pockets; I love those pockets
•four Organizer pouches in which I carry my iTouch, Motorola Razr V9 cell phone, sunglasses, & several pens), all of which are clipped to O-rings (more than one item per ring)
•keys clipped to an O-ring
•a leather clutch-style wallet
•a Clear Organizer Wallet for additional credit and store cards. Sometimes I clip this to an O-ring, but often I place it inside one of the clear pockets
•I can even squeeze my 13-inch Macbook Unibody in there. Amazing! Although I have a Brain Cell inside an ID, and a Ristretto, sometimes I want to put everything in one bag, and the Swift can swallow it all. I keep the Macbook either in a soft, lightly-padded case that I sewed for it, or in a Flak Jacket, which is smaller and slimmer than the size 6 Brain Cell. The Macbook does stick up a bit above the top of the bag, but I'm still able to close the bag, and sling it over my shoulder.

I don't usually carry a water bottle; I'm worried about condensation or leakage from the bottle damaging the contents of the bag.

Those Poron straps on the Swift are magic: fully-loaded, the bag can get heavy, yet I find it easier and more comfortable to carry it all in the Swift than I do in my ID with the Absolute Strap. Go figure! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the weight is distributed across two straps with the Swift, instead of just one on the ID. Or maybe the slightly more vertical “teardrop” shape of the Swift suits the shape of my body better (I’m a 5’8” female).

Note that with the camera and Yarn Stuff Sack/lens bag anchoring the bag at the bottom, it stands up fairly well. That depends, however, on how much I’ve got in the two clear pockets at the top of the bag.

The Swift is a magical bag.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._3365861_n.jpg

My Plum/Olive Swift on the Airtrain heading home from Brisbane Domestic Airport. Inside?

Contents:
2 StoryBooks (1-8x8, 1-8.5x11)
1 500ml stainless steel water bottle
1 wallet
1 gold clutch (containing Christmas ornaments)
1 pair of sunglasses
1 planner
3 wooden plaques for our babies' nursery in their memory
3 lemonzest luna bars
1 packet of pens
1 canon camera
Several USB drives and SD/SDHC cards
2 Ghiradelli 72% Cocoa chocolate bars
1 pair of earphones
1 oversized flower headband

In the stuff sack:
Necklace in small box
Headbands
Mint tin
Small roll on deodorant
Assorted toiletries.

I <3 my Swift!

I love this thread!!! I'm a knitter so after I had carried my Little Swift for a few months, I realized a few things. How much I loved the bag and Tom Bihn, and how much I wanted a bigger one for when I need to carry my laptop or books or a bigger project with my purse things. I bought the Cork Swift for my knitting bag, but I have since getting it realized how much it could be used for many other purposes. Here's how I packed it when I first got it:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5286/...1bd47cf98d.jpg

In the main compartment:
large silver goknit pouch with a partial sweater body, partial sleeve and large skein of yarn. This is tethered with a regular Key Strap (the one that came with the Swift)
Large Iberian Stuff Sack (empty and waiting for a project) clipped in with Cayenne Key strap
Small Wasabi Clear Organizer Pouch with crochet hooks, teenie scissors, cable needle, and Pen/Pencil
Medium Clear Organizer Pouch in Plum awaiting project pattern with pattern keeper inside and tethered with Plum Key Strap.
Thriving Family Magazine
Hard Cover Elizabeth Zimmermann Knitting Around
Folded Large Shop Bag

On the button side pocket I have:

4 chibi
small tin of clips for seaming
120" measuring tape
Finger LED light
HK folca with stitch markers, needle holders, needle gauge and mini snips within

On the tab side I have:

a small notebook for pattern notes
pen for said notebook
Burt's Bee's Hand Salve

I have plenty of room for more like my 12" notebook, more knitting projects, several of the kid's things or my clutch purse.
I have been moving things around between my Little Swift and Swift since I packed this and took this picture. I've found plenty of room in the pockets to put in knit helper cards, my Flip, camera and Sony eReader.
I love the simplicity of style of these bags combined with the high functionality.
I didn't understand the organizer pouches until I had an aha moment a week or so ago that never again do I need to have anything in my bag not contained and easy to find and keep clean. I also "get" that instead of making a bag with a ton of pockets sewn into it, thus limiting using the bag to just the purpose intended, having a bucket style with potential of 2 pockets, or 12 makes it infinitely adjustable to whatever my current needs are. Genius!

I love bags and purses and have had quite a few various styles and manufacturers, but I have not found any like the Swift and Little Swift. They just work and I love that about them! After searching for a long time, they are exactly what I need. I'm so glad that the last bag search I was on I took the TB plunge.

I had a weekend conference and chose my Cork Swift to be my daily bag to hold a small knitting project in a small stuff sack one day and my knitting clutch the other days, my iPad in felted case, Bible, notebook and folder, clutch purse, water bottle (non life facory sadly), snacks as well as knitting notions/personal items. It was easy to carry with the padded straps, looked great with all of my outfits, and managed carrying everything without a snag.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5091/...80cb2610dd.jpg

I used the Swift as my only bag for an overnight trip this week. It was a business trip to Berkeley, CA; the weather was nice and my job is casual so I didn't need a suit or anything. Packing list:

Small Eagle Creek packing cube: button-down shirt, pajamas, socks and underwear.
Clear 3D organizer pouch clipped to key strap: 3-1-1 liquids bag (first trip with this and I was impressed at how much it held)
Medium clear organizer pouch: toiletries, toothbrush, glasses case, etc.
Two small organizer pouches for random small purse stuff (TB ultrasuede screen cloth, mints, hair clips, etc.)
iPad in horizontal Cache
Medium stuff sack with knitting project
Big noise-cancelling headphones in their own case
Side pockets: wallet, phone, sunglasses, tissues, snack bar, etc.

The Swift was very stuffed and there wasn't room for anything else, and it was kind of heavy on my shoulder. In the future I'd probably take my Smart Alec with the Little Swift inside (that way I can take out the LS and use it as a purse while leaving the clothes in the bottom of the backpack, plus I have a water bottle pocket on the side and the weight is distributed on both shoulders) but it was nice to know it was possible.

I've been using my Swift as my daily bag for a while now (since a conference in July.) Regularly, it holds my iPad, keyboard, Leuchteurm notebook, a hardback book, glasses, a clear pouch with pens and lipglosses, keys, and my Side Effect, which holds my wallet and iPhone.