a tale of two swifts

The stats indicate my most popular post is my Tom Bihn co-pilot review, I have a new bag, are you surprised?. I reviewed the bag again last summer, One year together, declaring my continued love for it, but hinting strongly there was a new contender for my heart, a Swift. Since that post I have struggled to write about my thoughts and yes, my feelings, for this bag. Why? Many before me have eloquently reviewed it and I’m sure this picture alone sells many. Who am I and what can I contribute that has not been said before?

I’m not sure I’m adding anything new, but hopefully my voice will be heard and helpful for someone!

I admit it is now my primary weekday bag, I rarely carry the co-pilot. Why? The Swift helps me balance the demands of my two businesses, PennyWise Consulting, LLC and Little Acorn Creations with more ease than I often do.

How does it do it?

I had hesitated to buy this bag as I was concerned about its size and that it was too big. I’m known for carrying absurdly large items for my size — I’m 5’2. In any case, I fill whatever bag I’m carrying to capacity. The reason I wanted to purchase a swift was to eliminate the one problem I encountered with the co-pilot: the need for a supplementary bag for my oddly shaped objects. The co-pilot rocks papers and a laptop/tablet. It can also handle a library book. It can even handle some small knitting. But it cannot handle a container with lunch, knitting, three books, and the other random odds and ends I schlep around. I looked hard and long at the little swift which measures 6″ x 9 1/2″ x 11″ while the swift comes in at 7 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ x 13 1/2″. I wish I could say that I made the final choice due to size considerations, but honestly I chose by colour. Not all colours are always available on all products and over time many fabrics are retired. While I was greatly interested in the cork, my swift is olive and linen, which to me makes it a perfect year round bag, if I want to be fashionable (HAH) in summer I can flip and show the linen side. ;)

How does this bag perform in my daily life? It’s as good an assistant as Jane and is mobile. I can easily carry my tablet and keyboard with a project bag or two and still pick up a (library) book or three. What is most appreciated by me is that the pockets are zippered, clear, and do not go to the bottom. The zippers are such that the bag is securely closed and I do not need to overly fear wandering fingers snagging my wallet. I love the D rings scattered throughout — at the top of each side and deep inside too. With keystraps or my own clips, everything I need is easy to find and harder to loose.

As with the co-pilot, this bag magically holds more than I expect time and time again and does so while being lighter than I expect. I am happy I bought the “larger” swift. The only time I’ve pulled out a secondary bag was when I had some fragile items from the Green Market. Also, as a fiber person, I am very thankful there is no velcro anywhere to catch and ruin my knitting.

It should surprise no one that the December holidays brought me another addition to my growing Tom Bihn family, a small cafe bag. It is tiny! Sometimes I am sad that it is so very small, but it is perfect for running weekend errands when I have no greater need than to carry my wallet, a small notebook, my cell phone, and a hexipuff. One day I’ll review that bag too. Short answer: it does what it does perfectly for me.

My love and appreciation for the Tom Bihn company and the fine craftsmanship they put into their products has sold products I don’t even own! I believe that Beverly picked up their field journal a bit ago; I’ve heard good things about it and wish her well with the purchase.

Do I really need any more bags? No. Definitely not, but after hearing of Brenda’s sponsorship one can’t help some jealousy but spend time daydreaming and wishing…

But wait.. that’s just one Swift. What’s the other one?

Craftlit and its sister podcast Just the Books (which is Craftlit, but without the crafty talk) are now reading Gulliver’s Travels. You want to join in, I know it!

Disclosures: Please note I am just a very happy customer, there is no official affiliation between myself and Tom Bihn and I did receive nor do I expect to receive any perks.
My businesses, PennyWise Consulting, LLC and little acorn creations are currently sponsoring the podcasts.

• Category: books, tools
• Tag: bag, knitting, tom bihn