What’s In My Bag — Bellroy Mobile Office and EDC

Free to wander, free to roam; free to move around my home!

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Several years ago I untethered myself from the standard desk and chair setup I’d been using to run my business for nearly three decades. Best choice ever! Almost as life changing as switching to the northern European tradition of using separate covers for both occupants of a double bed.

Now that I’m free to flit from room to verandah to library to beach, a compact mobile office is a necessity. I need a Mothership: a bag to hold my MacBook Pro 16 inch, iPad Pro 12.9 inch, battery backup, charging cables, drink bottle, glasses, and other bits and pieces. I also need an Explorer Pod: a smaller bag for every day carry (EDC) essentials that fits inside the Mothership.

Goodbye heavy backpacks, wicker baskets, and plastic crates — the Bellroy Tokyo Totepack is here! Mine is the larger size, in (now discontinued, but totally awesome) charcoal. It’s a strong and practical Mothership, and I’m very pleased with the way it keeps things both organised and easy to get at.

My last EDC was a Saddleback Leather EDC Satchel, but I quickly found that it couldn’t hold all the things I wanted always with me. And while it’s pretty, it’s also significantly heavy for what it can’t hold. I’ve replaced it with the Bellroy City Pouch Plus, in (now discontinued) khaki.

Now for a close up look at what’s inside these two bags. I like to be prepared for (almost) any occasion, and it shows!

I’ve included links where I think they’ll be useful — none are affiliate. This is just me nerding out about the stuff I use, without any kind of kickback from anyone.

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Tokyo Totepack

Image by Author

This bag has some clever inside and outside pockets that I really like. Another feature of note are the backpack straps, which are adjustable without any loose straps getting in the way. The front pockets are easy to get at by slipping out of one of the backpack straps and swinging the bag to the front.

See this video for a detailed walk through. Note that the person doing the video review says they’re reviewing the Compact version, but that’s an error. The bag you see in the video is the same size as mine.

When I’m not using the Tokyo as a mobile office, I tuck in the backpack straps and carry it by the handles. It looks a bit classier this way. Tip: attach one backpack strap to its (or the opposite) anchor point and wear it lightly packed, as a shoulder bag.

1. 1 litre drink bottle from Anaconda

2. Veektomx power bank

3. Moft iPad stand

4. iPad Pro 12.9 inch in a Moft case, inside a Magic Keyboard

5. Folding fan, because sometimes a cool breeze is just the ticket

6. Ginger chew, for travel nausea (the Inner Gate accupressure point is good for this, too)

7. Uniball pen and mechanical pencil

8. Lip gloss

9. Bandaids — for self and others; I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out and someone has said, “Does anyone have a bandaid?Æ

10. Essential oil roll-on: good for restoring a feeling of calm, and as perfume or deodorant

11. On Guard sanitizer spray

12. Correct X healing ointment

13. Toothbrush and paste, interdental brush

14. Comb (with the handle removed — I melted it off)

15. Digest Zen essential oil for digestion, nausea (contains peppermint/fennel/ginger and works a treat)

16. Pouch for holding items 6–15

17. MacBook Pro 16 inch — it’s a tight fit! You’ll likely not get it in if you have a cover on your MBP

18. Laptop charger on top of the fabric pouch that keeps it tidy

19. Peak Design magsafe tripod — snaps onto the back of my phone (read more)

20. Double glasses case — reading glasses in the light coloured side, sunglasses in the dark side

21. Cloth face mask in a clear plastic pouch

22. iPhone 14 — missing, I was using it to take the photograph

23. PaperSaver A5 notebook and Zebra retractable metal pen

24. Trekology Aluft inflatable pillow — great for back support

25. USB-C to USB-C cable

26. Lightning to 3.5 mm adapter

27. USB-A to USB-C short cable

28. USB-C to USB-C short cable

29. USB-C to Lightning short cable

30. USB-C wall plug

31. Apple Watch rapid charging cable

32. Adapters: USB-C to USB-A, and USB-A to USB-C

33. Wacom artist’s glove — protects artwork from hands, and prevents issues when resting one’s hand on the iPad screen while writing or drawing

34. Hard drive case, for holding items 25–33, and 35–38

35. Airpods Pro in a Catalyst protective cover (mine was less than $40 AUD)

36. Car charger with USB-A and USB-C ports

37. Carabiner from the Catalyst Airpods case — because, well, I might just need one, mightn’t I?

38. Nail file — for filing nails, tightening or loosening screws

Also worthy of mention is the iSwift Pi Foldable Lap Desk, Car Table and Laptop Stand I purchased during their Kickstarter campaign. It may not be able to fit inside the Tokyo, but it can slide just fine into the space designated for the backpack straps when not in use. Yes, it’s tight and a fair bit of the table sticks up out of the pocket, but it’s both contained and portable, and that’s what matters.

City Pouch Plus — Cross-Body Bag

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1. Moleskine Cahier A6 notebook

2. Reading glasses

3. Pilot Frixion pens

4. Hair comb

5. Keys

6. [Bellroy City Pouch Plus](<Bellroy City Pouch Plus>)

7. Loops Engage earplugs

8. Loops Experience earplugs

9. Lavender oil — effective for taking the pain out of minor burns

10. Upcycled skirt made into a zippered wallet. My cards live inside, held together in 2 groups according to how often I use them, with wide rubber bands

11. Bandaids — along with №s 9 and 13, these supplies have proven invaluable time and time again to have on hand

12. Sachets: hand wipe, hand cream, anti fog glasses cloth

13. Hand made paper envelope containing unused food grade capsules for homeopathics: Arsenicum Albicans, and Arnica; both 30C

14. Lip balm

My iPhone 14 actually spends most of its time in the front zippered pocket of this pouch, not in the larger backpack as I implied above. I have the regular size, and it fits nicely even with the Peak Design tripod clipped to the back. It’s tight. The Max can live inside the bag no problem, but I have strong doubts as to whether it would fit in that pocket.

Also in the cross-body City Pouch Plus, but not shown:

• An additional cloth face mask that I keep in the internal pocket with my reading glasses

• An additional notebook, bigger than the cahier but around the same thickness

The City Pouch has an adjustable shoulder strap that tucks into an open pocket on the back of the bag. It sits nicely just inside the Tokyo Totepack, with room to do up the zip. When the bag is fully loaded it weighs in at around 15 kilograms (33 pounds). Yes, that’s heavy! But I find it perfectly manageable when worn as a backpack for short distances.

It’s a strong and practical Mothership, and I’m very pleased with the way it keeps things both organised and easy to get at

There you go, that’s my every day carry and mobile office! It’s the first time I’ve spent this much on dedicated bags for myself, and have to say I’m sorry I waited so long. I may only have been using them for a month, but so far I have no regrets or complaints. Here’s the link again to that review video I mentioned earlier.