While the Old School Carry-All (OSCA) isn't as ginormous as some of our other bags, it nonetheless has large open pockets that can accommodate all kinds of gear and accessories.
As always, adding additional organization to your TOM BIHN bag is totally optional. As a duffel, some folks will want to keep their OSCA uncluttered to keep the bulk of the volume available for chunky items like gym clothes, shoes, and sports equipment (it makes a great studio bag for martial arts/self defense/yoga training!). Meanwhile, others will want to use it as an EDC bag, and will appreciate having extra pouches and smaller bags inside to keep their day-to-day accoutrements from getting lost in the bottom of the bag.
The main compartment of the OSCA is the largest of the three, and has four O-rings, two on each side. The other two pockets are identical in size and have three O-rings each, for a bag-total of 10! Want to know more about our O-ring system? You can learn all about it in this blog post.
Here's what we recommend to kit-out your OSCA (note that all of these items will fit in all three compartments; the center main compartment just has room for more stuff):
- Snake Charmer, Large or Small - An excellent place to corral your cables and dongles (the "snakes"), as well as myriad other small items.
- Travel Stuff Sack - Four sizes, lots of colors (great for color-coding your gear), an easy way to keep things separate in the open spaces of the OSCA pockets.
- Ghost Whale Organizer Pouches - Perfect for smaller items that shouldn't get lost in the shuffle of the duffel; they come in four sizes, attach to the many O-rings in each pocket, and can be made even more useful by attaching them to...
- Key Straps - Place one of these between an O-ring in the bag and the clip on the pouch, and you'll be able to take the pouch out of the bag and interact with it, while keeping it attached and unable to mysteriously vanish (unless you like that sort of mystery). I'd recommend the 16" variety for maximum usability, and the Snaphook/O-ring style so the pouch has somewhere nice to clip onto.
- Clear Organizer Pouch - Similar to the Ghost Whales in function, if not in style, these little guys let you see what secrets they hold. Also come in four sizes, and also work great with Key Straps.
- 3D Clear Organizer Cube - An awesome little cube with clear sides so you always know what you put in there. Has O-rings on the ends so you can easily attach it to the bag with a Key Strap (Snaphook/Snaphook variety).
- Cubelet - An even smaller, non clear-sided cousin of the 3D Cube above, the Cubelet is adorable and perfect for your smallest, yet chunkiest, items.
- Packing Cube Shoulder Bag - Great for an extra set of dry clothes (a shirt and underthings, at least) for the gym or wherever.
- Everyday Cubelet, Side Effect, Side Kick - Three side-bags, going from smallest to largest. Each is a great personal bag on its own, helping to organize your most important daily items, and fit wonderfully anywhere in the OSCA you'd like to stow them. Pop a smaller size Ghost Whale or Organizer Pouch in them for true Bagception (BRAAAAM)
- Handy Little Things Size 1 and Size 2 - The Handy Little Things (HLTs) come in two sizes, and provide lots of organization for small items in a compact package. With their Swivel Carabiners, they'll attach to any of the interior O-rings, or to the D-rings and accessory loops on the outside of the bag.
- Spiff Kits - Our purpose-built toiletry kits, these come in two sizes (Deluxe and Standard) and make excellent gym-kits, or are perfect for when you use the OSCA for light travel.
Looking for easily removable organization for pens and small electronics? The Freudian Slip made for the Small Café Bag fits nicely in the main compartment of the OSCA and provides a place for those sorts of daily use items.
Want to carry a tablet or small laptop in your OSCA and keep it protected? You can fit a Cache up to size 12A (but not 12B, it's a little tall) in the main compartment.
The Old School Carry-All could be the perfect bag to fill that all-purpose duffel-shaped space in your heart. Can you think of any accessories we missed that you'd use in the OSCA? Let us know in the comments below, as well as how you use yours! =)
*Please note that all of the items mentioned in this article were in-production items at the time of writing. If you're reading this in the far-flung future (did we get flying cars yet?), some of these items may have been retired. If you have questions, please emailus@tombihn.com!
Shep Bostin - February 20, 2022
I love the OSCA! Will you be making more in black and/or night walk halcyon any time soon?
———
TOM BIHN replied:
Hi there! We’re dealing with some supply side issues around the night walk
color right now so likely not in the immediate future!