What Goes Into A Tom Bihn Backpack?
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The first bag I bought new from TB many years ago was a medium Cafe Bag. I still own that bag today. it’s a wonderful bag but the flap closure isn’t ideal for me for travel due to the reduced security the loose flap closure offers. Fast forward to today. The Side Hustle might just be the best TB bag I’ve ever owned. It’s compact, tidy and has great organization mostly in one compartment. It just arrived this week but I plan to use the heck out of it for EDC and travel. Good stuff.
This is the only Tom Bihn bag that has ever let me down. I was surprised and disappointed to find that the dimensions on the website description for the Side Hustle are incorrect. It’s listed at 4.7” deep but it’s not; it’s the exact same depth as the Side Kick. Tom Bihn explains that the 4.7” measurement is a volume measurement— it’s from filling the bag to see what it can hold and “measuring it with calipers from the outside.” Why do that and also include precise seam-to-seam measurements? It’s nothing but confusing.
Hi JP- thanks for this feedback! It's always helpful to hear this kind of thing and this particular feedback had already been generating some internal conversations. I'm going to follow up with a direct email too! - Mike
I bought the Side Hustle to carry my daily sketching supplies. It’s well designed and works for my purposes. However, I wish it had a small handle so I could pick it up without having to use the shoulder strap. After thinking about possible solutions including using Tom Birn key straps, I finally crafted a handle from what I had, nylon rope and S-Biner clips. It’s not the most esthetic workaround but it works.
I think Tom Bihn has created the Platonic ideal EDC, at least for me. I've carried a Sidekick for years, and wished that it were just a skosh larger to accommodate a small knitting project. The Side Hustle delivered. The pockets, like those in the Sidekick, are helpful to provide organization. One holds a Cubelet that corrals some small purse items. Others hold phones, sunglasses, and a small notebook. The main compartment swallows an Everyday Cubelet that holds essential items such as my wallet, and can be removed to go solo or placed in another bag. I park a sock project and a half-skein of yarn next to the Everyday Cubelet. Knitting notions fit in a Ghost Whale pouch. Thusly outfitted, the Side Hustle carries gracefully and isn't too heavy. The Side Hustle is a perfect carry for when I need all of my purse essentials plus a small knitting project.
Like a lot of folks, I've been searching for the "Holy Grail" of bags. We all have our preferences, needs, desires, and wants out of a bag. How it hangs, how it's built, how it organizes our stuff, it's color, size, and so on.
I'm a big guy-- not in the vertical direction as much as the horizontal direction.-- so finding a bag that sits right on my chest has been a struggle. I've tried a fanny pack style cross body, a small messenger bag, some tactical looking bags, and even though I really liked the way some of them looked, they just didn't suit my needs or look right on my body. Living in a rural area, it's not common to see a guy with a bag, so if the bag doesn't sit right (or look right) on me, it makes me a bit more self concious than I already am carrying a bag.
Most days, the bag gets slung on my shoulder and carried to the car. I use what I need out of it throughout the day and carry it back into the house at the end of the day. I'm an outside salesman, so my car acts like a mobile office and has everything I need. But, when I'm shopping, in my truck (not my work car,) or in my wife's van, it's great to have everything I need for the day in my bag..... You get it, that's why you're reading this review (you're looking for your Grail as well!)
My requirements for the bag are simple. It nees to not look crazy on a big guy, hold my stuff, be affordable, and solidly built And that's exactly what the Side Husltle is for me!
I carry my sunglasses, a pouch with a couple…
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