The Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag is a stylish, modern tote bag. Not only that, it’s very functional and versatile. It’s designed as a carry-all for work and weekends, with lots of compartments and organization. How would this work for photographers? Let’s have a closer look!
Note: Troubadour Goods sent us the Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag to review and keep. However, this is a completely independent review. All thoughts about this product are our own.
Pros
- Great for work, hiking, street photography, traveling, air travel, and utilitarian purposes
- Stylish, clean, timeless yet modern appearance
- Very functional
- Fantastic organization
- Exterior rear pocket also functions as a pass-through luggage sleeve, perfect for air travel
- Expands into a rather large 16.5 L bag
- Extremely versatile
- Padded laptop pocket with neoprene hood fits up to a 16″ laptop.
- Two interior pockets for bottles (with magnetic closures!)
- Light-colored interior makes it easy to find things inside the bag
Cons
- It’s not inexpensive, but wow, it is nice!
Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag — Technical specifications
All specifications for the Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag are from the Troubadour Goods website.
- Width: 18.5”/47 cm
- Height: 19.7”/50 cm
- Depth: 2”/5 (presumably “cm”)
- Capacity: 16.5 L
- Weight: 2.2 lbs / 1020g
- Fits up to 16″ Laptop
- MATERIALS: Recycled polyester fabric, recycled polyester lining, vegan leather trim
Troubadour Goods provides a five-year guarantee against any manufacturing fault, also paying return shipping costs during the first year after its purchase.
- FortiWeave fabric, spun from recycled plastic bottles, for lightweight, waterproof carrying
- Waterproof, tear-resistant lining to protect your gear
- Waterproof zippers help to keep your gear dry
- Lightweight vegan leather trim for durability
- Padded laptop pocket with neoprene hood to keep your computer secure & optimise space
- Packed with clever storage for easy access to your wallet, passport, phone, keys, water bottle, snacks, cables, chargers, iPad, AirPods and AirTag
- Mesh pocket gives you an at-a-glance view of your tech essentials
- Two internal pockets for bottles or umbrellas
- Exterior rear pocket transforms into a luggage sleeve for seamless transitions between city and airport
- For all-day comfort, the non-slip detachable shoulder strap is triple bonded with vegan leather, neoprene and lightweight fabric
- Recycled metal zipper pulls for a refined, luxe finish
- Refined structure works equally well for work and casual trips
Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag — Ergonomics and build quality
The Troubadour bag shines here. It’s really well-made and elegant. Everything oozes class, whether the design, material, stitching, or even the Troubadour name tag.
Although I didn’t douse the bag with liquid, water does bead and run right off the exterior.
It’s extremely comfortable to carry. And yes, the included shoulder strap is comfortable. It’s very wide and well-cushioned, somehow making the bag feel lighter.
Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag — In the field
One of the first things you notice is how easy it is to use, and how comfortable it is. Everything just works. Zippers feel solid and easy to use. They’re not tiny little zippers, but decent-sized, smooth zippers. Even the two drink holders inside the bag have magnetic seals. This is fantastic, as the drink pouches stay out of the way if they are not being used, but are easy to open with one hand if necessary.
The bag zips up, making everything more secure. Since the zippers as well as the material are waterproof, this would help keep your contents nice and dry.
I love that the interior of the bag has a very light color. This makes it far easier to find things.
Organizing pockets
There is a padded laptop/tablet pocket inside. Outside that is another pocket various accessories. And outside that are two mesh pockets for organizing electronics, keys, or other accessories. On the other side of the interior, there are two more small pockets. With these and the aforementioned two pockets for drinks (or umbrellas), there’s a lot of organization.
No, it’s not your average tote bag.
The exterior has two more pockets. One of those pockets unzips from the bottom so that it can double as a pass-through for attaching to your luggage. Excellent.
Troubadour Everyday Apex Tote Bag — What gear can it hold?
This tote bag holds up to 16.5L. In other words, quite a lot. And given its numerous pockets and organization, it can be used for photography.
A bonus here is that it doesn’t scream, “I’m a camera bag!” This might be good for a variety of photographic pursuits, including event or street photography. The included shoulder strap makes this tote bag even more useful.
So what’s in my bag? In the above photo on the left side, I have a Nikon D750 DSLR with attached Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens, a 24 oz. water bottle, and inside the laptop pouch, a ProtoMachines LED2 handheld light. This light could also fit in the other drink pouch, leaving lots of room for a laptop or tablet. The organizational pockets can hold SD cards, cables, batteries, and much more. And this still leaves the exterior pockets for more. Perfect for the night photographer on the go.
By now, you are probably guessing that this would excel as an “everything” bag. It would be excellent for working at the office, air travel, casual travel, various weekend jaunts, or photography. It’d also be a great beach bag, especially given that the material and zippers are waterproof.