Last Sunday was the one year anniversary of the day I walked into my local Tumi location and purchased my current bag, Tumi’s Annapolis Zip Flap Bag, in Hickory.
When I reviewed the Annapolis last year, I praised it effusively, and I’ve raved about it to many people since then. In the last year, I’ve used it intensively, enough that I eventually decided I wanted to write this, a retrospective on the Tumi Annapolis with my thoughts on the bag after a full year of solid use.
Spoiler alert: I have never owned a better bag in my life. Never.
Zombie Bag, Car Bag, Vacation Bag
The way I use the bag hasn’t changed much in the last year, I’m one of those people who tends to stick with a system if i find one that works. The only update of note is that in November I quit carrying the mini first aid kit I’d been carrying, in various forms, for 8 years. I recently began exploring photography, so these days that space is now occupied by my Nikon COOLPIX S3700 as well as its charging cable and external batteries in a Maxpedition Micro Pocket Organizer in OD Green.
The versatility of this bag continues to bring me joy. It remains my daily driver, a combination purse/get home bag that I refer to as my zombie bag. More than anything, I consider it a work bag, the first time I’ve ever sincerely thought of a bag that way.
What do I mean by that? In the last few years, my artistic pursuits have become increasingly important to me, and the versatility of the Annapolis gives me the flexibility to pursue them to the fullest, especially given that I’m doing more and more while on the move. I need solutions I can take and use anywhere, and that’s exactly what the Annapolis is for me.
I’ve used it as a surface to write on many times, whether it was addressing mail, filling out greeting cards, or writing in my beloved Moleskine notebooks. Many more times I’ve balanced my iPad Mini 4 and Brydge 7.9 Backlit Aluminum Keyboard on it to write or read while away from home; I’m doing this very thing as we speak as I complete the review from my mother’s house. The iPad Mini and Brydge Keyboard slip into the bag perfectly, either into the main compartment or the open pocket on the back of the bag. My camera, external batteries, and charging cord fit nicely as well.
The Annapolis continues to serve nicely as a car bag, and I continue to mostly use it the same way I originally described- looping the bag’s strap around the back of the passenger seat, and leaving the bag open to ensure quick and easy access to anything I need while on the road. This bag has been on a lot of vacations and impromptu adventures in the last year. North Myrtle Beach. Nashville. Cincinnati. Churchill Downs. When I went skydiving last year, It was waiting for me on the ground. It has come with me to many parties. There have been numerous times that I’ve crammed a computer mouse or laptop cord into it when I was running to a meeting and didn’t have the time to bring my laptop bag. Wherever I go, whatever I’m doing, it fits in perfectly, and is never out of place.
How Full is Too Full?
Like most people, I decide which items to carry given what I expect to encounter each day. I try to keep the load to no more than a medium because overfilling it, especially its front external pockets, makes it harder to use. In particular, overfilling inhibits usage of my favorite feature, that delicious slip pocket nestled between the top of the front flap and the front of the bag. The thing about this bag is that I’m so used to cramming everything into it that it’s easy to overfill, especially given that it’s expandable. I would caution against overfilling, if you can avoid it.
(Not) Wearing and Tearing
One question I had while writing the initial review was how visibly worn the Annapolis would be after a full year of use. The answer? Not very.
After a year of strenuous use, I can detect only 4 signs the bag has been used at all, all of which are cosmetic and do not affect its functionality. The bag’s straps are woven so closely and tightly that I can detect only a trace of wear at the edges.
The metal piece that threads through the adjustable-length rubber strap that secures the bag’s front flap has a few superficial scratches, and the fact that there are only a few scratches impresses me given how roughly I’ve treated the bag.
Lifting the flap up, there is a slightly lighter area of fabric under the flap, an artifact of where the zipper located in the external pocket closest to the front of the bag sticks up slightly, and rubs against the underside of the flap. (Notably, the external pocket fabric itself isn’t worn at all. I adore Ballistic Nylon.)
Speaking of that pocket, you may remember that my initial review mentions a touch of wear in the stitching at the trim toward the top of the pocket. That wear remains, and is exactly as worn now as it was nearly 10 months ago.
My Only Wish(es)
The biggest criticism I had of the Annapolis last year was that it didn’t have a handle. It felt like a miss to me that it didn’t have one, even though the dimensions and design of the bag would’ve made adding a handle difficult. I feel differently about it now. I no longer feel its lack, and have trained myself to grab the points where the straps connect to the bag. The only thing I wish for now would be for the strap itself to be detachable, and maybe attached to the sides of the bag instead of the back. It would make the bag far easier to use as a car bag.
Well, I take that back. There is one more thing I wish for.
Earlier this year, Tumi refreshed their Alpha Bravo collection. When they did, they discontinued the Annapolis Zip Flap Bag and replaced it with the Arnold Zip Flap Bag. I really wish they hadn’t done that. Most of the core components of the Annapolis are also present in the Arnold, and I like that the front zippered pocket of the Arnold appears considerably larger than that of the Annapolis, but I greatly dislike the refreshed aesthetics of Tumi’s Alpha Bravo collection, so I doubt I’ll be buying one. I do, however, plan to purchase at least one more Annapolis, if not more than one, to hang onto for the day I wear mine out.
I don’t see mine wearing out anytime soon, though. I think I could easily use it for at least another 5 years if I wanted to, if not more, and I may do just that.
Summary
Tumi’s Annapolis Zip Flap Bag is an uncommonly functional, durable, stylish bag that I simply adore. It allows me the ability to easily write, read, and photograph on the go, giving me everything I need to live the life I want to live in the way I want to live it.
I highly, highly recommend this bag, and still can’t believe Tumi discontinued it! They’re fortunately still pretty easy to find on the secondary market, and I suggest you do so before they’re gone.