Laptops have their own bags so why can’t tablets? Tablets are small enough really to fit into a purse, but if you’re a guy, a purse isn’t an option. I know we could carry our tablets in a backpack or messenger bag, but those can be too large to carry and it just feels like a waste using such a large bag to carry a tablet around in. So what’s a person to do? Think Tank Photo might have the perfect solution for you with their new My 2nd Brain Tablet Edition Cases. This is a laptop-like shoulder bag, but it’s smaller in size (perfect for your iPad), which means you won’t mind carrying it around with you because of its smaller size and much lighter weight. It’s also pretty good looking and not geeky or too serious looking like a laptop bag would be.
Design
Because this is a tablet edition bag, it’s smaller than a laptop bag, about half the size. The My 2nd Brain Tablet Edition Case does however look like a laptop bag, but it is laid out vertically instead of horizontally. It is meant to hold both the larger iPad as well as the iPad Mini, though there is nothing really stopping you from holding other types of tablets, even though Think Tank Photo specifically made this to hold Apple’s iPad / iPad Mini.
The case is made of durable water-resistant fabric, plus the fabric underside has a polyurethane coating for superior water-resistance. It is the same type of fabric that they use on all their other bags. It’s 420D velocity nylon with 600D brushed polyester on the exterior. The bag I got was black so looking at it from the outside, it’s very low-key and minimal. This keeps prying eyes away. The only thing that breaks up all the black is the nickel-plated hardware with brushed aluminum finish. They even included a nice Think Tank metal plaque up front. The interior is made mostly of 210D silver-toned nylon with closed-cell antilon foam.
There are 4 zippered compartments on the My 2nd Brain Tablet Edition Case. The front zippered compartment opens up to reveal organizational pockets from such items as pens, business cards, styluses, and other small items. There’s also a pocket for an iPad Mini that is lined with Nylex to pamper your iPad and keep it from being scratched up.
The second zippered compartment after that is a smaller compartment that is used to hold your iPhone if you don’t want to keep it in your pocket. This compartment is also lined in Nylex. There’s also a small mesh pocket in there that can hold your earbuds if you want.
The third zippered compartment is what I would call the main compartment of the bag. This is the largest of the compartments and has a ton of pockets inside. There are 4 mesh pockets that you can use for the charging blocks, cables, adapters, or any other accessories you would need for your iPad. In this compartment, there’s also two clear accessory compartments that you can use for memory cards, thumb drives, or whatever else you can think of.
The last zippered compartment is used to hold the larger iPad 2, 3, 4, etc. It is fully padded and is lined in silver nylon. This compartment isn’t lined in the Nylex material that the other 2 compartments have for the iPhone or iPad Mini. I don’t think it matters much here though as this compartment is on the large side for a regular iPad so I don’t think you have to worry about it getting scratched up. Plus, nothing else would go in here anyways so you should be fine. This compartment also has a neat little message printed on the inside that asks, “WHERE would I be without YOU?”
Lastly, there is an outer pocket on the back that is held shut with Velcro. This pocket can be used to hold documents, small instructional booklets, etc. It’s not very big though so you’re limited to what will fit in this one.
There are two ways you can hold the My 2nd Brain Tablet Case. You can either use the built in padded handle located on the top of the case or you can use the removable padded shoulder strap. The strap is adjustable in size and seems to be quite durable and strong. What’s cool about the strap though is that it has a dual-cross buckle that allows you to hang bulky headphones, water bottles, or anything else that is too large to fit inside the case.
Usage
I recently went on a small trip and decided I would try to use the My 2nd Brain tablet case instead of my usual backpack that I stuff everything into. That did mean however I would have to pick and choose what I brought with me, but surprisingly, it was still a lot. I was able to in an iPad mini, a Galaxy Note 3, my iPhone 5, my in-ear headsets, a stylus, my keys, 2 charging blocks, several charging/sync cables, an AC Adapter for the Galaxy Gear, the charging dock for it, a spare backup power unit, and my glasses in a case. That’s a lot for such a small little case.
Not only that, it was still very easy to carry around because of the size and it didn’t feel like I was carry a bunch of stuff at all. It also doesn’t look like a “man purse” and just looked like a really small laptop bag. Also because I picked up the black version of the My 2nd Brain, it’s very discreet and doesn’t draw a lot of attention to itself. That means I can walk around and not have to worry about watchful eyes thinking I have something valuable to steal.
Final Thoughts
Though I am usually against carrying around messenger bags or laptop bags, the Think Tank Photo My 2nd Brain is actually a very good tablet bag to carry around if you want to go light, but still have room to carry around a bit more than just your tablet. It’s very well made, very well thought out, and the perfect companion piece for those who carry around more than one gadget on a typical day.
You can pick up the Think Tank Photo My 2nd Brain from their site here. The Tablet edition of the case starts at $74.75 and is available in three different colors – black, harbor blue, and mist green. It’s also available in 3 other larger sizes to accommodate Macbooks of any size.
