Tech Traveling with A Hedgren Tote

I’m easy to spot at an airport or blogger meeting.  I’m usually the one with a CES (Consumer Electronics Show) black and fluorescent green backpack slung over my shoulder.  I love this backpack, it has a pocket for everything!

But there are 2 things that I don’t like about it. 1.)  It doesn’t look too stylish and 2.) It doesn’t stay well on my carry-on luggage as I wheel it around the airport.

I recently traveled with the fun Hedgren Adela Tote…and left my CES backpack behind.  I was excited to travel with a beautiful bag that looked stylish, suited my tech travel needs, and came in a big beautiful bold red color!

My Travels

I usually end up putting my backpack on my back because it keeps falling off my suitcase.  This leads to a tired and sore back…due to the amount of  heavy tech items I usually travel with.

It was such a relief to get my luggage out of the car and put my Hedgren Tote on my luggage handle.  As I maneuvered my 1/2 mile walk to the terminal, I had no worries of my Hedgren Tote falling off.

I walked through the airport hallways with ease.  No issues hoping on one of the airport trains, going down the escalator, or walking through the tight aisle on the plane.  My Hedgren Tote was securely fastened onto my luggage.

The only issue I had was that the unzipped pocket was just a little too tight to easily fit over my luggage handle.  Putting it on took a bit of maneuvering…as well as taking it off.  But if fit!

The Hedgren bag fit a ton of gadgets in it too.  I carried my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro ultrabook, Samsung Note 8 tablet, Samsung Note 4 phone, a battery charger, my PicoAir family projector, and a number of chargers…in addition to my wallet, magazines, and snacks.  The outside pocket was great for keeping my airline tickets handy.

Once at my hotel, I emptied out all of my gear and just placed in things I really needed like my meeting agenda, phone, pens, hotel key, and snacks (gotta have snacks!) in my tote.  The Hedgren Tote was very light and easy to carry around.  As I gathered more papers throughout the day, I placed them in my tote.

Hedgren Totes

First, let me tell you a little bit about Hedgren.  They are made of a signature nylon material that they incorporate in all of their bags of many sizes and colors.  Hedgren was established in 1993 in Antwerp, Belgium, where they are fully immersed in the vibrant Belgian design scene.

Creator, Xavier Kegels employs practical yet minimalist designs in all bags made for both men and women.  Hedgren has stores in Belgium, Paris, Shanghai, and Hangzhou.

Adela Tote Features:

• Double handles
• The top zips up completely so nothing drops out
• Adjustable crossbody strap that can be detached
• Large pocket on the outside can be unzipped from bottom to become a luggage strap
• Outside storage for water bottles
• Nice silver tone hardware details on the outside of purse
• Quilted look
• Inside features a triple compartment including a padded tablet pocket, two front wall pockets, and a middle laptop compartment, big enough to fit a 15.6″ laptop

Pros:

• I love the versatility of this tote – you can carry your laptop, tablet, and more for travel, but also use it as a nice tote for business meetings
• The soft pocket inside is a nice touch to safely carry your tablet
• There is plenty of room for a number of gadgets
• With it’s 3 compartments, the tote opens easy to find just what you need, it is not a black hole like most purses/totes
• My Hedgren bag never fell off my luggage…not even once!  I can’t tell you how many times that’s happened with my backpack
• It’s a stylish tote than comes in 3 colors to work with any wardrobe

Cons:

• The zipper pocket that opens so you can secure the bag on the handle of your carry-on luggage is just a little too snug, making it difficult to easily slip it over the handle
• I would prefer 2 outside pockets, as you lose a pocket once you unzip it to put over your luggage handle
• The double handles could be a little bit longer to fit more comfortably on my shoulders

The Hedgren Adela Tote , available in red, black, and grey, sells for $159 on eBags.com.  See a larger selection of Hedgren bags on eBags for travel or everyday style.

*  I was given the Hedgren Adela Tote in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.