Tom Bihn Cork Swift Bag

It's been hard to knit this summer as it's been full on wildflower heaven here in Crested Butte. However, recently I've taken some very long flights, like Denver to Frankfurt, and finally found time to catch up on my knitting projects that I started during ski season and never finished.

Tom Bihn's Swift bag is an ideal travel bag for knitters. It has a flat, tough ballistic nylon bottom so it sits nicely on the floor, making it a piece of cake to retrieve my knitting. I love the handles--I can wear the bag on my shoulder or carry it like a tote bag. The padded handles are super comfortable. There's a clear, zippered pocket on each side of the inside of the bag. They're big enough for a couple of skeins of yarn, a selection of needles, a pattern guide--all my little accouterments.  

The Swift Cork bag comes with a stuff sack made out of rip stop nylon (and also has a clear bottom so I can see what I'm working on when I have more than one stuff sack in my Swift.) The stuff sacks have a drawstring opening that can be cinched tight. Since I like to knit on the plane, I love that the stuff sacks can clip into the top of the insides of the bag so that it's easy to keep everything super neat and organized.

There's a single button closure on the outside of the bag with three size adjustments so I can overstuff this baby when I come home with new wool.  

The best part of the bag though is that it is made of cork.  Yup, Cork.  The cork "fabric" comes from the bark of a cork tree, and it's absolutely beautiful.  It is also surprisingly very durable, and as an added bonus, pet hair doesn't stick to it.  Now that my Swfit Cork bag has made a few trips to Switzerland, to Seattle (its hometown), to Salt Lake City, the cork is "aging" and taking on its own, rich character.  I've been stopped and asked about it in every airport.

Eco Creds: Made in USA. Contains cork, a sustainable resource.

Bottom Line: As the carry-on bag wars continue, the beauty of this bag is that it looks like my purse and is big enough to also hold my book, wallet, iPod, headphones, etc. Still, I can get my overnight bag on boards, too.  In fact, you don't even need to be a knitter to love this beautiful, functional bag.--S.W. (Aug 09)

Price: $120 (purchase on manufacturer's site)

Manufacturer's Site: www.tombihn.com

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