I got one of these a few months ago for work. I was using a bigger backpack before this and I wanted something a bit more compact. And since I liked the EDC sling so much I thought I’d go for another Tomtoc bag.

The laptop I have for work is a 14inch Dell one. This bag is designed for a 14inch Macbook Pro, which I think are a bit more square than the Dells, so my work laptop does fit, but it sticks out of the laptop sleeve a little bit more than intended I think, so it means I can’t really use the elastic fastener to keep it in place. Not that it matters because its a snug fit and it stays in place anyway.

I keep the very front pocket fairly empty, using it just for my keys (because there’s a nice key leash in there) and my work ID badge and lanyard.

The main pocket has been a sort of ongoing puzzle for me since I got the bag. It’s pretty spacious but I think you have to think about how you pack it to make use of the space. At the very back there’s the nice laptop pocket which is very padded and runs the full width of the back of the bag. It doesn’t go all the way to the bottom of the bag either, which means if you dropped your bag the laptop shouldn’t hit off the floor. Right in front of the laptop pocket is another, slightly smaller padded pocket, intended for something like an iPad. I use this one for my A5 notebook and pen.

There’s then a pretty large mesh pocket and a small pen holder in front of this. I keep some paracetamol and hay fever tablets i the mesh pocket, and a spare pen in the pen holder.

Attached to front part of this space there’s a water bottle holder, which I do use for a water bottle. I’m not too sure what I think about this design as you’re putting your water bottle in the same internal space as your laptop and that’s a bit of a worry. When I’m going to and from work I will empty my water bottle before I pack my bag, so for me that isn’t an issue.

Also built into the front here is a small but surprisingly roomy stretchy mesh pocket, that zips shut. It doesn’t seem like this should contain much but I generally keep a extra Sertraline tablet in a little pill canister (in case I forget to take it before I leave the house), a spare battery for my wireless mouse, the charger for my wireless mouse, a tube of electrolyte drink tablets, a fidget cube and some stationery odds and ends. It’s a surprisingly hand pocket, really!

All of this means that the actual ‘big’ space in the main compartment isn’t really all that big. The stuff in the sleeves at the back build up, and the things in the stretchy pocket on the front jut backwards into the bag, and the water bottle takes up a good chunk of one side. But there is still space under the water bottle and the laptop and tablet sleeves, and you can kind of pack things around the stretchy pocket too. So the main compartment for me has my wireless mouse at the very bottom, my Teams headset on top of that (I try to get the headband to fit around the bulge made by the stretchy pocket), and then my glasses case. My glasses case pretty much sits on top of my notebook, and I always want this at the top of my bag because I’ll want to use my glasses when I get home. The rest of my work stuff can pretty much stay in the bag.

The last pocket is a ‘secret’ one on the very back, so that when you’re wearing the bag it’s resting against your back so it’s the most secure one. I like to keep my wallet in this one, and I also keep an emergency cotton hankie in there too, just in case.

I thought buying this bag was a bit of a gamble because I didn’t know for sure if my work laptop would fit in, but it does, and everything else did seem like a tight squeeze at first but the more I’ve thought about how to pack it, the more everything has fit in with no issues. I like this bag because it’s very padded and comfy, and also because it is quite compact, it’s not all that wide and it isn’t really all that deep either, and the fact that the front kind of curves makes it look less bulky again. I’m 5'3 so it’s nice to have a bag that’s a little bit on the smaller side.

Lastly, I added a Heroclip to one of the loops on the outside of the bag. This comes in handy becuase I can hang my bag up at work (there’s a little radiator just behind my desk and I just dangle it from there) and it also means if my water bottle is full when it’s home time and I can’t be bothered to drink it or empty it, I can just clip the bottle to this and I won’t have to worry about anything spilling on the stuff inside.