REVIEW SUMMARY
Even if you have a backpack with extensive organization features, you’ll be hard pressed to find a product that does a better job at packing your gear so neatly (and compactly). This is a go-to product for anyone who travels with gear in their pack daily.
PROS
Thoughtful design, compact, sturdy, and well made. Boasts high quality materials, fits perfectly in most back packs and stands up straight when full. Includes anchor attachment points for a strap when all day carry without a backpack is needed. The tech pouch fits your small to medium sized gear and does a good job at organizing. It even fits large over the ear headphones too.
CONS
Compression zippers would be nice which would help the pouch fit into tighter spaces as the bag can take up valuable space in a carryon or backpack. Small handles can be a little hard to grab.
Video Review
Full Review
Review by Derrick Beil
Who Wants this?
Regular international business travelers, commuters, and students will find the Peak Design Tech Pouch a good addition to their packs and everyday carry gear. If you’re a regular user of packing cubes you’ll enjoy using this product to pack your electronics, cables, and other accessories in a similar but organized fashion.
Build Quality & Materials
This tech pouch is made with high quality and durable materials both inside and out. The exterior is made with weatherproof nylon that withstood my brief water testing where my gear was safe and dry even after pouring 3 full glasses of water atop the bag.
Internal materials are soft but sturdy. Inside you’ll find 3 full length compartments each with their own assortment of zippers, elastic pockets, and padded pockets. After traveling with this for over a month including a trip to China and back I found that the soft inside materials were sturdy enough to organize my gear but not so abrasive that I felt my gear would be scuffed.
YKK zippers and reinforced stitching hold the pouch together. The combination allows the pack to be zipped closed easily – even with packed nearly full – without feeling like pouch would fall apart like some other cheaper alternatives. There isn’t much to the overall aesthetic of the pouch, which is one basic color (either black or ‘sage’) but that’s not what you’d carry it anyways as it’S usually stuffed down in your backpack.
Design and Use
Inside you’ll find several compartments separated with soft touch materials. Each compartment is further compartmentalized by more pockets made of the same material or elastic with a single zipper pocket down the middle. True to Peak Design’s true target audience (photographers and journalists), there are several smaller sized compartments that are perfectly sized for SD cards and thumb drives. Personally, I don’t find the majority of these smaller pockets useful (there are many of them) but do see the appeal for the photographers out there. That said, even though the smaller pockets are plentiful and may remain unused, they don’t take up much space internally when empty.
The bag’s overall structure and shape allows the tech pouch to stand straight up when filled. Though, I did find that when you unevenly stuff one side over the other, the bag would tip over and not stand straight. Personally, I could care less if it stood up straight, I usually open the pouch when I start work only to set is aside for the rest of the day. To that point, because of how well the pouch is designed I’m able to find all my gear within seconds of getting to work. Cables can be coiled and fit snugly inside of the elastic compartments (which hold them in place).
Inside you’ll find several compartments separated with soft touch materials. Each compartment is further compartmentalized by more pockets made of the same material or elastic with a single zipper pocket down the middle. True to Peak Design’s true target audience (photographers and journalists), there are several smaller sized compartments that are perfectly sized for SD cards and thumb drives. Personally, I don’t find the majority of these smaller pockets useful (there are many of them) but do see the appeal for the photographers out there. That said, even though the smaller pockets are plentiful and may remain unused, they don’t take up much space internally when empty.
The bag’s overall structure and shape allows the tech pouch to stand straight up when filled. Though, I did find that when you unevenly stuff one side over the other, the bag would tip over and not stand straight. Personally, I could care less if it stood up straight, I usually open the pouch when I start work only to set is aside for the rest of the day. To that point, because of how well the pouch is designed I’m able to find all my gear within seconds of getting to work. Cables can be coiled and fit snugly inside of the elastic compartments (which hold them in place).
You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much gear can fit inside of this pouch (see: my stack of gear for a recent business trip). Moreover, for those of you traveling with Bose QC35’s (or any other larger noise canceling over-the-ear headphones) you’ll be amazed to find that the side pouches are just large enough to house your device when folded. If you own a pair of these, the overall pouch is about the same size as Bose protective case (which i find is overkill anyways) which is a great way to save space in your pack-out. Never again will you have to clumsily (and insecurely) hook you headphones case to the outside of your bags.
One of the only downsides to the overall design of this tech pouch are the handles. They were made to fit tightly against the exterior and thus can be hard to grip. I suppose this was done with purpose as to prevent the handles from snagging on zippers compartment openings and other items inside and outside the very backpacks their stuffed in.
Pro tip: the tech pouch fits nearly perfectly into the Tom Bihn Synapse 25’s bottom exterior pocket and it’s pretty convenient to pack all your gear into the pouch during long flights. Back pack overhead, small pouch under seat!
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re an experienced international business traveler or just a daily commuter you’ll be hard pressed to find a better way to organize your daily office carry in a more compact way. For less than $60.00 at the time of writing this review, I think the value is definitely worth the cash and a worthy investment to bolster your pack’s organization.
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