Carry Your Tech and Look Professional Doing It Part 1 – the Moshi Urbana Mini

My office is business formal. Men wear suits and ties, and women must wear skirts, pantsuits, or similar attire. It’s actually easy to dress that way once you’re used to it, but the dilemma for me is always in how to haul my gear. I am looking at the first of a few potential solutions in the Moshi Urbana Mini!

The Urbana Mini is a stealth geek bag. On the outside, it looks like a medium-sized purse, something you’d find on the shelf at TJ Maxx or DSW. Basically, it’s not a Coach bag, but you wouldn’t be embarrassed to carry it into an important meeting. It’s made of polyurethane leather, but it doesn’t smell artificial or look fake. There are two carry handles, as well as an optional shoulder strap if that’s what you prefer. The color scheme is quite nice, with a black body, brown carry handles, and beige zipper accents. It rocks two outside zippers on each side, one shallow and the other deeper with pen slots and a space big enough to hold several business cards. Meanwhile, on the inside there’s a padded divider with two smartphone sized pockets in it and enough room for an iPad Air on one side and an iPad Mini on the other.

Now, you’re not actually going to stock it with two iPads (maybe you will, and that’s your business), but that gives you an idea of how much space it has inside. When I first looked at it, I thought there was no way Sarah’s iPad in its Griffin Survivor Case would ever, ever, fit in the bag. However, to my surprise it fits perfectly, so there may or may not be some TARDIS technology in the Urbana Mini. In any case, I stocked the bag with my usual haul, and it held everything perfectly. For reference, here’s what I generally carry:

• iPad Mini in Knomo case
• EpiPen
• Wallet
• Keys
• Swiss Army Knife and Screwpop pliers
• Office access tag

All of it fit quite nicely and comfortably in the Urbana Mini, and at no point did it look like I was trying to lug a tablet around. It looked, as I said above, like a simple professional looking purse, but inside it keeps my iPad safely padded and hauls any gear I need. And if I did for some reason need to carry two iPads, well, it could fit that too! It’s a touch pricier than the average tablet bag at $99.95, but the look and feel is worth it!

Source: Manufacturer provided review sample

What I Like: Looks and feels premium; holds a lot of stuff without bulging; professional style.

What Needs Improvement: Would like an organization pocket in the main compartment.