Lihit Lab Teffa Bag In Bag Review

I’m on the road more than ever these days, and having my essential gear organized and ready to roll when I am is important. My go bag is the Doane Paper + Topo Designs Mountain Briefcase, and within it lives the A4 sized Lihit Lab Teffa Bag In Bag.

I’ve used the A5 sized Bag In Bag off and on for a couple of years, but it never stuck full time. It’s an odd size related to the things I regularly carry, so it has ended up being an accessories bag more often than not. The A4 Bag In Bag, on the other hand, is a perfect match for my needs.

I didn’t realize this until I saw more than one person using this setup at the Atlanta Pen Show. In one instance it was a standard stationery bag, containing various pens and paper to use and share. In another instance, it was specifically built as a portable letter writing kit, with loose paper, envelopes, postcards, stamps, washi tape, etc. Seeing both of these as stand-alone bags as well as slotting into other messenger bags and backpacks piqued my interest.

I bounce between A4 and A5 sized notebooks frequently, and of course I like having my smaller pocket notebooks handy as well. The beauty of the Bag In Bag is it can hold all three, plus I can toss in my 13” laptop, iPad, or Kindle to give myself everything I need to work remotely. It is perfect when I want to head to a coffee shop and write reviews for example.

If I am doing that, I’ll just grab the Bag In Bag and head out. When I drive to Nock during the week, it slides perfectly into my Mountain Briefcase where I keep a few more items that need to head to the shop with me.

I’ve beat around my A5 sized Bag In Bag a good bit and it has held up well. Both the A4 and A5 size have a zipper around three of the four sides of the bag, allowing it to open fully along one of the long sides. This is good when you want to lay everything out and close it up, but not so great when trying to keep smaller items organized. I think that is why I prefer the A4 because I am only putting large items in the middle. Small items fall out of my A5 frequently.

As much as I like and use mine, there are a couple of minor nitpicks. First, the pen slots are tight and short. I have a hard time getting anything in them other than a standard width pen. The Copic Multiliner SP maxed out the pocket, and you can see in the pictures where the pocket is too short for it to clip. It is a tight fit, so I don’t expect it go go anywhere, but a deeper pocket would be nice. Secondly, the zippers are rough. I get stops and starts around the corners, and rough sliding in other areas. I can get past them most of the time, but a smoother track would help.

Those are minor issues in the grand scheme of what is a functional product. It is priced fairly too, with the A5 model selling for $14.50 and the A4 model for $21.00.

If you are need more organization for your daily carry, the Lihit Lab Bag In Bag is worth a look. If you want to see one filled to maximum capacity, be sure to check out the review by artist Nick Folz. That’s how you do it!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Lihit Labs Teffa Bag in Bag Review

(This is a guest post by Nick Folz. You can find more of Nick and his work on his blog, Smallberry Drive, Twitter, and Instagram.)

I like to carry stuff. Back before EDC was an acronym and the internet had a subculture for everyone, I was just a weirdo who carried a bag with me everywhere. My first love was backpacks. I played a lot of videogames growing up, one of my favorites was a game called Earthbound, it was a modern day RPG and your backpack was your inventory system. That idea really stuck in my head. I made sure when I left my house I would be prepared for adventure, even though most days all I would use was a bottle of water (+1 hydration!).

In college I moved to messenger bags, for lots of reasons but what it really boiled down to is that I thought they looked cooler. My videogame style inventory went from adventure items to more practical items. I was an art student, so I carried my art supplies around (+2 paper, +1 ink!). Lots of people at my school were painters and sculptors, but I was the only illustrator in my graduating class. One of the reasons I picked illustration, besides enjoying it, was that everything I could possibly need to do my job could be carried in my bag.

Now that I am a grown up working in the field, I stuck with the sling bag look. My current bag is The J. Peterman Counterfeit Mailbag (full disclosure, I work for The J. Peterman company). It is my studio. It is not overburdened with compartments: one large main inside, one zippered outside.

I needed something to keep the main pocket organized. So I thought I would try out the Lihit Lab Teffa Bag-in-Bag, A4 size. It does its job in spades. This is mandatory equipment if you have a large compartment bag, it worked equally well in my older Chrome Citizen. I keep a medium sketchbook, a large pad of Bristol board, a ruler and a multitude of pens, pencils, markers, aqua brushes and erasers in this thing. My bag would be chaos without it.

The whole bag-in-bag system is a large rectangle, on the outside are three pen slots and two large flap pockets. These are all sewn into two slit pockets that fit narrower items, pocket notebooks or even a wallet. The edge of the rectangle is zippered to open up a pocket the size of the whole rectangle. The brand calls this A4 size (8.27in by 11.7in, what the world calls “letter” and America calls “almost letter”) don’t let this turn you off if you are stateside, I can fit my 9in by 12in Bristol board with room to spare for a magazine or two.

I have had bags in the past that had built-in sections for all of these things, but here is where the bag in bag system excels over built-in compartments: When I go to grab my paper or pens, I can pull the whole thing out. All of my paper and utensils are right there. I usually have some other non-drawing items in my bag (laptop, book, harmonica, etc.) and this way I don’t have to lug that on to what ever flat surface I have deemed as my desk at the moment. I can’t tell you how many times I have grabbed the Teffa out and felt comforted that no matter where I was, on the road for business or at my coffee table at home, everything is right there organized and ready.

I chose a bright yellow model because I thought any brightness to help find things would be helpful. It looks sunny and friendly in my bag, eager to be pulled out and used. I am the kind of person who likes to be able to draw wherever I am, and not just sketch, I like to have the ability to start and finish a project in one spot. If I'm going to stop mid-stride while walking down the road to draw comics, often enough my mind is telling me dumb things like “Draw a robot ghost!” I like to draw cartoons, I’m not making high art over here. Regardless, I find comfort in having my tools nearby and at the ready, even if I go a few days without touching them.

You can find the Lihit Lab Teffa Bag-in-Bag in two sizes at Jetpens.com. These two things, the Mailbag and the Teffa bag-in-bag, are comforting to have around. They travel well and I take them everywhere: One part security blanket, one part library, one part studio, one part briefcase. It’s my inventory system, and the Teffa levels it up (+5 organization!).

(Disclaimer: This product was provided for me free of cost but I am not otherwise being compensated for this review. The opinions contained are my own.)

Lihit Lab Teffa Pen Case Review

(This is a guest post by Brian Draghi. You can follow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape)

I recently had been looking for a book type pen case that would help keep all of my favorite pens organized with enough space for a small sketchbook to be stored with them. I wanted a something that contained everything I need in an all in one case without having to grab multiple items.

The Lihit Lab Teffa Pen Case fulfills everything l wanted in a case for small portable sketching sessions. This is an amazing case from first glance. It is deceptively small and holds quite a large amount of items. I was able to hold 17 pens comfortably along with a flash drive, small stylus, iPad camera connection kit, ruler and a small sketchbook.

The inner straps on both left and right side are very secure and create a tight fit to attach your pens to. I noticed that pens with clips that rest close to the top of the cap are easier to place on the right side since the strap is higher on that side. The straps are lower on the left side of the case which limits the amount of space on the bottom especially if the pens are longer. My configuration has all my writing pens on the left and all my sketching pens on the right side divider.

Turning the divider, the mesh pockets are constructed well and provide a secure fit for items without the worry of anything falling out. The back mesh pocket is large enough to hold a stylus and a #12 5x5 Rhodia dot pad. The mesh pocket is just large enough to only hold a small Moleskine sketchbook without anything else in the pocket.

Overall

This is probably one of the best cases that I have to keep my pens organized and everything ready to go. The shiny nylon material of the case is great because it seems to resist stains or marks. It can be simply wiped down with a damp cloth to remove any type of dirt or marks. The case is thick enough to accommodate all of your pens and items without it being too bulky. The one drawback is the lack of some type of strap or handle on the back of the case for carrying. I would have preferred a strap that was sewn on the back similar to my Brenthaven iPad case where I can just slip my hand through and easily carry it.

Verdict

This is a must buy case for anyone that like to keep their top collection of pens organized and accessible for travel. This is by far the best case that I currently own and it works perfectly for me and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Rating 4.5 out of 5 pens

Pros

* Compact design with large capacity

* Holds 17-24 pens comfortably

* Case thick enough to accommodate every pen.

* Great shiny nylon material

* Contains everything in one item

Cons

* No strap or handle to carry

* Difficult to store bulky items in small mesh pocket

* Front cover pockets limit storage

(Ed. Note: These sold out so fast at JetPens.com that I wasn't able to get one myself. Be sure to to sign up on the product page to be notified when they restock.)