Kit vs SC vs CQPC vs 3D CQC vs SE vs Yarn Stuff Sack

[backpack]

What is your preferred Tom Bihn Inc Accessories setup?


Shoulder Straps, Organizer Pouches, Packing Cubes, and Toiletry Bags made by: TOM BIHN

[lotuseater]

I work in IT consulting and I thought we had too many TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). Every client I have to throw out the last list and learn the new one. I've purchased many accessories from Tom Bihn, but your list completely mystifies me. A little help please.

[dorayme]

lotuseater translation:

Kit
vs
Snake Charmer
vs
Clear Quarter Packing Cube
vs
3d Clear Quarter Cube
vs
Side Effect
vs
Yarn Stuff Sack (YSS)

I want to know where the PCSB (Packing Cube Shoulder Bag) and MOP (Medium Organizer Pouch) come in :)

[gonty]

The only one of these I currently own is a side effect which is currently attached to the Wald basket on the front of my bike and carries phone, wallet and keys when I ride.

However, I have just placed an order that includes a Kit, CQPC and medium stuff sack. I suspect of these I will use the CQPC most. To be honest I'm not sure what I'll use the Kit for, so I got it in Cardinal which I think will appeal to my wife. Even if I don't find a use, I'm sure she will.

Jonathan

[lotuseater]

Thanks dorayme. Work's been a bear of late and I swear I feel my IQ dropping every hour.

Snake Charmer - Considerably larger than I expected. Ordered with my Empire Builder to contain all the cables and accessories I carry around. I thought I carried a lot of junk, but I rarely manage to fill more than one side of the Snake Charmer. Fits better in my Aeronaut than my Empire Builder or Tri-Star. The mesh can cause some of my cables etc to snag when I'm pulling them out of the Snake Charmer. I use this only on longer trips.

Clear Quarter Packing Cube - My preferred laptop cable and accessory case. Fits nicely in all my bags except the Ristretto for iPad. Smaller size than the Snake Charmer means I'm more selective about what I carry (no bad thing), but still provides me enough capacity unless I have to haul two laptops. Clear sides make it easy to see what is in each compartment, and smooth sides make for snag-free loading and unloading.

3D Clear Organizer Cube - I've added and removed this so many times from my shopping basket, but finally purchased one of the last indigo models a few months ago. Why didn't I do this sooner? It's been my 3-1-1 bag ever since. Not a single question going through airport security in over a dozen trips. I do carry an empty quart sized ziplog bag as a contingency plan but so far it's been superfluous. Sure, ziplock bags are cheap, but I'd go through one every few weeks as they start to look really grungy or holes would appear. I am not patient when packing at the end of a trip. The 3D cube is the first 'sponge bag' I've carried since liquids were restricted in carry-ons.

[ncb4]

I don't have my Side Effect yet (it arrives next Monday), and I'm still drooling over the Kit, which I'll probably be tempted to order soon.

I do own several Yarn Stuff Sacks, and a couple of them have snuck out of my yarn stash and crept into my camera bag. I use one to carry all sorts of incidental little camera accessories that don't seem to belong anywhere else in my bag. I've also used YSSes for toiletries and other sundries in my luggage, or to carry snacks.

As for the 3D Clear Organizer Cube, I've come to love it, though initially I thought it was too small to use as my 3-1-1 bag for "wet" toiletries. [I can cram a lot into a quart-sized ziploc bag, and I take advantage of that to carry as much as I can.] What I use the 3D for on a daily basis is for an always-packed, ready-to-head-out-the-door-at-a-moment's-notice geek queen's gear pack. I made it a point to find small sizes of things like various power and connection cables (Radtech and Griffin Technology have a good selection of these), phone and iPod and iPad chargers, screen cleaning aids, emergency boot flash drives, etc., and they all fit with room to spare in my Indigo 3DCOC. It in turn fits nicely into whatever bag I happen to be using that day: my Imago, Medium Cafe Bag, Synapse, Swift, or Tri-Star. The 3DCOC is a chameleon that seems to adapt to whatever I need it to be. I also love the fact that I can see into the bag from both sides to know what it's in there. I may "need" to order another one of these bags one day, I like it so much.

[backpack]

I work in IT consulting and I thought we had too many TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms). Every client I have to throw out the last list and learn the new one. I've purchased many accessories from Tom Bihn, but your list completely mystifies me. A little help please.

Big, big apologies to you, Lotuseater.

I didn't mean it to be confusing and thought that either Dorayme, Kathy or one of our mods would get there first, get the joke and translate as Dorayme did right away.

I also wanted to pick the curiosity of new forum members, the thread was inspired by the lovely pictures posted by forum members using their small accessories inside their bags.

[lotuseater]

No worries, backpack. A month of 18 hour workdays contributed to my sense of humour bypass. I hope we get more contributions to this thread as I'm sure we can all learn from how folks are making best use of their accessories. For example, ncb4's "always-packed, ready-to-head-out-the-door-at-a-moment's-notice geek queen's gear pack" (why waste the 3D Clear Organizer Cube on mere toiletries?!) I must admit many of my accessories are underused. I've paid for them, so help me find new uses for them please :-)

[ncb4]

No worries, backpack. A month of 18 hour workdays contributed to my sense of humour bypass. I hope we get more contributions to this thread as I'm sure we can all learn from how folks are making best use of their accessories. For example, ncb4's "always-packed, ready-to-head-out-the-door-at-a-moment's-notice geek queen's gear pack" (why waste the 3D Clear Organizer Cube on mere toiletries?!) I must admit many of my accessories are underused. I've paid for them, so help me find new uses for them please :-)

Why, thank you, lotuseater! You made me smile with the "why waste the 3DCOC on mere toiletries." But I agree: I love browsing the forums to see what creative things folks are doing with their TB gear.

[backpack]

No worries, backpack. A month of 18 hour workdays contributed to my sense of humour bypass. I hope we get more contributions to this thread as I'm sure we can all learn from how folks are making best use of their accessories. For example, ncb4's "always-packed, ready-to-head-out-the-door-at-a-moment's-notice geek queen's gear pack" (why waste the 3D Clear Organizer Cube on mere toiletries?!) I must admit many of my accessories are underused. I've paid for them, so help me find new uses for them please :-)

18 hours workdays and kidlets!

You and the ladies as well as the gentlemen of this forum have my admiration.

Kidlets can also be furkids. :)

[TXGirl]

My problem is I love all my accessories & end up taking all of them with me. For example, I use my Imago during the week for work. Since it's Navy/Cork/Wasabi, I like to carry with me my Navy, Cork, Wasabi pouches to match. I also bring along my 3d clear cube because I love the Indigo color. I love my rainbow of mini Dyneema pouches in all 4 colors along with my med Dyneema Iberian pouch. And last but not least I can't forget my FoT pouch. I love the soft ultrasuede. Am I the only one with the issue of accessory separation anxiety?

[backpack]

My problem is I love all my accessories & end up taking all of them with me. Am I the only one with the issue of accessory separation anxiety?

No you are not. This used to be one of the big issue from me when I switched from a Large to a Small Cafe Bag in late Spring in the mid south and early Summer in the east coast and mid west.
I tried to alleviate the problem, with a Swift but the ergonomic wasn't working if I wanted to walk for a while, so I switched to the Packing Cube Backpack (Aeronaut) which was a complete success.

As a result, I ordered the loverly UV Synapse in early Spring but it sold out until the next batch came in early or mid September.

I had a trial run, with the Synapse full to brim and Small Cafe Bag pair for a couple of errands involving bus and metro hoping.
Well that -was- the plan, after the first errand, I managed to stuff the Packing Cube Backpack (Aeronaut) into the Synapse (TARDIS, indeed) and was waiting at the bus stop when it got chilly and started raining. One thunder rumble to the west got me thinking I was under small trees, the second closer thunder clap got me up and walking toward the mall and the third enormous burst of lightning and thunder burst right before I could reach the main mall.

I crossed the street in a big hurry when I saw that the light was green on my side and got inside the garage at the mall.

I didn't feel the weight of the Synapse or Cafe Bag, at all while I was walking at a fast pace to get inside or while I was shopping for clothes, which involves going to each rack, find the colors I like, my size and take everything in the dressing room.
Like in most of my clothes shopping expeditions, nothing fits right. I consider it a workout.


The Small Cafe Bag is filled with Pouches that serve as inner color coded organizer pockets. I do not consider Pouches accessories because now they are part of my Tom Bihn bags and are transfered from one to another when it is time for permanent bag switching.

The Small Cafe Bag/Synapse pair is fine but I suspect it is more a Spring/Summer/early Autumn set. In the Fall and Winter, unsuspecting downpours, the need for waterproof or warmer gear at the drop of a hat makes the Small Cafe Bag a bit tight.

I will experiment with the Packing Cube Shoulder Bag to check how I get on with the more East/West orientation of the bag, this will eventually lead to the purchase of a Co-Pilot.

One of my really favorite accessory is the Clear Quarter Packing Cube, it has a choice place in the Large Cafe Bag, ever since I bought it.
The Packing Cube Backpack (Aeronaut) the last few summers and the Synapse right now.

However, on my last few trips, I had to leave my Clear Quarter Packing Cube behind because it could not fit with a Medium Padded Pouch in the same Large Cafe Bag.

It will be getting even more complicated when I decide to bring the Field Journal Notebook.

Can anybody tells me if a Clear Quarter Packing Cube and a Field Journal Notebook fit together in the Co-Pilot?

[TavaPeak]

Want to chime in about the 3D bag. Used mine for toiletries last weekend - worked great. I cram a Ziploc way full, and thought that stuff would never fit in the 3D. But it did, easily. The 311 Ziplocs don't last well through a busy trip, so it's great to have a more durable option that stands on its own. Love that it can be clipped to the bag! (more kudos for whoever thought of that)