I have always looked for one bag that fits all my necessities. My daily carry is my lunchbox, coffee flask, water bottle, tablet (sometimes laptop), and my stationery pouch. I used to carry my handbag and a lunchbox bag separately. However, when I have documents that needs to be brought back, my hands are full and I can’t even touch the button in the elevator to get to my car from my office.
Enter popular Tokyo Tote from Bellroy, a premium carry bag for professionals. Bellroy has been famous for their functional wallet. I do like their wallet but I know for sure that their style will not work for me. But when I saw the Tokyo Tote, I know I have found THE BAG.
What is Bellroy Tokyo Tote?
Bellroy Tokyo Tote is a slim and lightweight bag but with loads of compartments for your daily necessities. The shoulder bag is ideal for professionals as it can fit a laptop up to 13inch. It is made of 100% recycled PET bottles and has a zip to secure your items from prying hands if you commute in public transport.
Specification and Features
The bag measuring at 360 x 470 x 130mm features durable, water-resistant fabric made from recycled materials. Hence, it’s lightweight performance. It has soft nylon webbing straps with non slip backing for comfortable carry. Small deep pocket at the front of the bag where the logo Bellroy is displayed is perfect to keep work ID and it is big enough to even fit a decent size wallet for immediate access.
Main compartment opens wide when it is unzipped fully. The bag can be zipped smoothly even when you overstuff your bag. It has 6 compartments in total which includes 5 pockets stitched on the inside of the bag.
The bag fit water bottles as there are pop-out pockets on both sides of the bag. It’s also ideal to keep your spare shoes or an umbrella. The pop-out pocket has a magnetic clasp to it, so when not in use, you can easily maximise the main compartment to fit in larger items.
What fits inside
This bag can fit a lot. My 1.5 litre water bottle fits in easily. I carry water bottle and coffee flask (with my own coffee – coz I make the best coffee… haha) to work.
My Surface Pro laptop also fits but it is kind of snug when I try to zip it because I have a case over my laptop. Macbook laptops will fit due to its slimness but you may need to be wary with laptops that are thicker (even when it is a 13inch laptop).
The internal pockets can fit slim wallets, mobile phones and pens. I am using the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 plus and iPhone 11 Pro and both phones fits perfectly with still some room left for pens or car keys.
Filofax Folio A5 which has my Hobonichi Cousin and A5 Stalogy goes well in the main compartment and still have room to add my iPad Pro along with my lunch box as well.
What I like about the Bellroy Tokyo Tote
Definitely the huge space because as you unzip the bag, you can have full view of everything and you don’t have to rustle through the many items in your bag (which what always happen to me).
As a laptop bag, I like that the bag is lightweight. It doesn’t cause much pain on my shoulder when I carry my laptop along with other essentials. Carrying too much can be overwhelming to our shoulder but this bag does not irritate my shoulder as much as my previous shoulder bags.
The bag has two handles. Unlike regular bag, these handles do not fall off my shoulder because it has the non-slip backing on the handle which prevents the handle from falling off.
What I dislike
The only drawback I would say is the limitation to the zipping ability when you fit in the laptop vertically. You may not have a problem if your laptop is 12inch or lower but when it is a 13 inch laptop and if you have more stuff into your bag, you will find it difficult to zip the bag.
The problem could be because of the vertical laptop placement. I am sure this will not be the case if the laptop is placed horizontally.
The overstuffed bag can be zipped easily once the laptop is removed. The solution to this problem is I don’t place the laptop at its dedicated place but I have it in the centre compartment.
Final Verdict on Bellroy Tokyo Tote
Despite its drawback, I will always choose the Bellroy Tokyo Tote as the bag to work because it is light and can fit my essentials. Most of the shoulder bags in the market, do not offer the organization like Bellroy. There are some leather products such as Faire Leather who offers such organization, but to carry water bottles and spare shoes, certainly not. This bag is perfect for city style where you go from work to entertainment in one bag.
As for the pricing, it could be expensive for some. If you ask me, the price is right because of what it offers. I don’t really need to carry any other bag because it pretty much gives all the features that I wanted.
Some may say, I would rather get a laptop backpack with compartments. True, but I’m not a laptop backpack person and I prefer tote style. So, I am sure Bellroy Tokyo Tote bag is perfect for such customers.
The bag is backed by 3 years warranty by Bellroy and has other variations as well such as the luxe leather upgrade which might be preferred by some professionals. The difference between the regular bag and the luxe leather is that it has leather straps and leather linings to give a more polished look. It was available in a lighter colour when I bought the bag but there are new products with different size and colour now. You should visit the Bellroy website to find your favourite.
Check out my Bellroy Tokyo Tote bag review and demonstration on what fits inside the bag.