REVIEW – When you need to carry more than just a wallet with you to your job every day, you need a bag that not only looks good on you, but can handle a few good knocks. And that’s exactly what Toffee is offering in their Tokyo Work Bag.
What is it?
The Tokyo Work Bag is a sleek waxed canvas and leather tote from Australia-based Toffee and features multiple pockets, rugged canvas and extra-long handles for comfortable carrying.
Hardware specs
- Fits laptops up to 14”
- 39 cm x 29 cm (37 cm w/handle) x 12 cm
- Made from water-resistant waxed canvas and genuine leather
- Detachable shoulder strap, leather handles
- Padded quilted laptop compartment, separate smaller tablet pocket
- YKK Japanese zips
- 3 year warranty
What’s in the box?
- Tokyo Work Bag
- detachable shoulder strap
Design and Features
I was happy to get my hands on another handsome offering from Australian-based Toffee. Their Tokyo Work Bag (many of their products are named after large cities) is what I would describe as a medium-sized tote bag. It’s mostly constructed from waxed canvas, offering some water resistance, with accents of leather on the side pockets and thick, comfortable handles.
Inside is a lovely black and white pinstripe pattern, found in many of their other bags. There is a large main compartment, a large padded pocket for a 14” or smaller laptop, and a smaller padded pocket that is the right size for a Kindle or similarly sized tablet. These two pockets are secured with a leather snap fastener. There is one zippered pocket on the opposite side of the laptop pocket. Just above this zipper pocket is a stitched-in name label, which is a nice touch.
There are several pockets on the outside of the bag as well. Two on the ends that are a good size for a small umbrella or phone or perhaps a narrow water bottle, two front pockets that are secured with interior snaps, and one tiny pocket on the back of the bag, which would be suitable for pens, keys or other small items.
The top of the bag can be closed with a large, smooth-action zipper. You can find four metal nubs on the bottom of the bag to protect the bottom material and make a lovely scraping sound on hard surfaces.
The overall construction of the bag is excellent. Every stitch and zipper and snap are expertly implemented. It doesn’t feel too large, although I could have used a little more width, as I like to pack soups for lunch and the large Campbells Chunky soup cans, coupled with a laptop in the bag, tended to cause quite a bulge in the middle. That’s a highly personal instance, however… and don’t get me wrong, this bag can hold quite a bit.
In use, I preferred sticking to the large handles on the bag, rather than the shoulder strap. It’s nice that you can completely remove the strap. When placed on a surface, it’s a bit of a balancing act to keep the bag upright as one side is likely to be heavier due to the laptop pocket. It’s a typical problem, so I can’t fault them for that.
Being constructed mostly of black waxed canvas, it didn’t take long for lint, cat hair and other bits of fuzz to start collecting on the outside of the bag. It’s not difficult to remove, most of it brushes right off, but anyone with a pet might want to opt for the mustard color as it will absolutely carry some of Fluffy with you to work.
What I like
- sharp looks and rugged materials
- nice, big handles, making it more of a tote
- pockets aplenty
What needs to be improved
- a bit pricey
- canvas picks up lint and hairs easily
Final thoughts
The Tokyo Work Bag is a perfect commuter carryall, provided you’ve got room for a lint brush along with your laptop. All joking aside, this bag is top quality, through and through, and would well serve even the roughest daily trips through the city.
Price: $158.69 (when converted to USD)
Where to buy: You can purchase the Tokyo Work Bag in black or mustard directly from Toffee’s website.
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Toffee. You can check out their whole line of bags, wallets and cases on their website.
