The Toshi Sling 6L has a lot going for it. I love the modular key leash, hidden straps underneath if I ever need to carry my umbrella, and almost every compartment. Key word there: Almost.
- The main compartment is the main flaw with this bag. It just feels like it's competing with every other pocket for space. That goes for every bag, each pocket pushes into one another. But it feels especially tight on the Toshi 6L. It just feels like the main compartment was poorly planned out. It has a general kind of dump area in front of the pockets and organization but if you use that space at all, then the front pocket becomes tight, I often had trouble getting my keys out.
I really think they could've made the front compartment smaller in favor of giving the main compartment a bit more room to expand/breathe. I love the front compartment overall but a small gripe I have, the mesh pockets feel a bit far back? Once again, if they made the front smaller, push those pockets forward a little bit, yes it would give up space there but in a front pocket, other than your keys, earbuds, and maybe some smaller things like hand sanitizer, what else are you putting in there for easy access? The larger space is nice but unnecessary for a front pocket in my opinion and it could be better used for the main compartment.
As for the organization in the main compartment, as somebody who doesn't carry a tablet/laptop, I always hate having a sleeve dedicated to those devices. The majority of bags have them, I'm in the minority I know. But it just serves no purpose for me. I didn't take any points off the bag for this, that would be unreasonable on my end to be upset over something I knew the bag had when purchasing it. More so saying it so that the Rework team can take it under consideration and maybe design a bag in the future without a sleeve. The mesh pockets being layered on each other is a interesting concept, the problem with it is that if you have any bulkier sort of gear, that gear will take up most of the space the other pocket would want to expand. Other than that, the only other pocket is a pen sleeve. I love this pen sleeve. It's the only one that I have found across the 6 other sling bags I own that can fit my pen. I have a custom made pen and it's fairly large. It fits like a glove in the Toshi's pen sleeve. Such a small thing but it makes me so happy.
- Time for the other pockets.
- The front pocket I already discussed for the most part, it's good but honestly a bit too large for the purpose it needs to serve in my opinion. The only thing I hate about this pocket isn't even in the pocket. It's the flap covering the zipper. The flap sucks. It gets in the way so often when opening or closing the bag.
- The top pocket. I love love love love this pocket. It's deceptively spacious and as an individual with autism, I often struggle finding a nice spot in bags to keep all my miscellaneous fidget toys, stimming tools, etc... This pocket fits all of it in a nice little dump space. It's easily accessible. The only downside is that it pushes into the main compartment but only on the top so don't pack taller items into your main compartment and you won't have an issue.
- The back pocket. One of the few back pockets that I have found that can comfortably fit both my phone and wallet at the same time. And still have space for more, I even packed in my slim Anker power bank there. I'm torn if I would like a divider in this pocket because with one, I most likely wouldn't be able to fit my phone, wallet, and power bank all together in one spot but that's also a trade off I would be willing to take for organization's sake.
- Last thing: The strap, I like it. It's nothing special, I do like that it has the extra padding, I am a fan of those sort of straps. Honestly wish the padding was even wider/bigger. But it's fine.
- Conclusion: As you can tell, I really like most things about this sling. Even though I spent the majority of this review tearing into the main compartment, I did so because I want to love this bag. It's so close to being amazing. But I just can't justify using this bag over something like my Bellroy Venture Sling 9L (Which is my favorite bag of all time... so far) or even my Alpaka Go Sling 6L. Even though this is also a 6L, my Alpaka sling just fits my EDC way better. It doesn't feel NEARLY as tight as the Toshi 6L does. The Toshi is fantastic for smaller items, but if you pack anything even slightly bulky like a power bank or a flashlight, then somewhere in the bag, you're going to have a tight fit where pockets are fighting each other.
If the Rework team fixes the constant struggle and fight for space between main compartment and the other pockets in whatever their next release is, it will be one of the best slings on the market for sure. But for now, it's honestly kind of a disappointment. I'll still use it here and there but it will not be my go to bag.
