Geek Gear: My Tablet Man-Bag (SwissGear Travel Shoulder Bag) Quick Review

Did you ever wonder what's in this geek's man-bag, aka gadget bag? Today I'll give you a glimpse of one of my several gadget/laptop bags and what I carry around in it.  Keep reading for the pics and gadgets.





I'm a gadget addict as most of you readers may know.  If its shiny and black and emits a low level amount of radiation; I have to have it. ;)  One side obsession that does come with being a gadget geek is being a laptop/gadget bag freak too.  Well, you gotta take your toys with you too!  Admittedly so, I spend about an average of an hour a week looking for a new laptop or gadget bag.  Any who, I just purchased a Galaxy Tab after selling my iPad and in turn needed a new smaller bag.  I never really found any small messenger type bags that would fit just the iPad and some accessories; most were just cases that only housed the iPad or were made for netbooks and in turn we quite a bit bulkier than I wanted.  I also do not believe in spending over $100 for a bag, heck over $50 is even hard at times but I do value a solidly built bag and understand that you pay for what you get (most of the time).

My main requirements for my Galaxy Tab bag were the following:

1. shoulder strap/messenger bag style

2. no larger than 10" or smaller than 7"; super portable

3. room for cables, charger, ipod nano or iphone

4. had to look 'manly'; should not look like a purse

5. normal colors; WTF is up with bags and just FUGLY oranges or lime greens? keep it classic, black on grey never looks bad (usually).

Surprisingly, the internet was not the source of my find. nope.  Good old Target and clearence items.  This is the bag I ended up getting:

SwissGear Travel Shoulder Bag (By Wenger, target link)

$11.99 (normally $29.99)

Its advertised as more of a camera bag but my Galaxy fits perfectly in the main pouch.  I put my Tab AC Charger in the phone pouch, it fits perfectly!



Use the back compartment for my sync cable and front pockets for my post-its, ipod nano and Square reader.  Use inside front compartment for my rsa tokens, usb 3g dongle, iphone, superknife, various other usb cables (micro/ipod) and pens.

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I fell in love with it the moment I spotted it since I can see myself using this in the summer and actually being able to carry around my gadgets without looking like too much of a geek. An iPad prob won't fit though since the Tab fits like a glove (height wise, plenty of room on the sides).  Here's my list of toys I keep close to me:

-Galaxy Tab (AT&T, using iPad unlimited data plan w/microsim adapter)

-iPod Nano (love pedometer in it)

-Post-its and Pen (good for times you need to just get a number or write a note)

-3G (AT&T) USB Dongle

-Micro USB and iPod sync cables

-Galaxy Sync and AC adapter

-BT Micro Keyboard

-Square Credit Card Reader

-SuperKnife (great for opening things and fending off gadget thieves, j/k)

-Headphones (in ear)

Seamonkey Recommends It!

So there ya have it, my new geek bag and the toys that it holds.  Of course, this is only my minimal, on the go setup. I have several different bags and setups for varying needs....                 and yea... I guess I really am that guy. :)

/geek