Sympl Tech Kit Review

How do you carry your tech? Do you toss everything into an open pouch, tuck it into the pockets of your daypack, or prefer a well-organized tech kit? If you lean toward the latter and also want durable materials, the Sympl Tech Kit might be a good fit.

So, how does it perform? We put it to the test to find out.

External Components

The sample we’re testing is made from recycled CORDURA® re/cor nylon. It has a good amount of structure and isn’t too shiny, as you sometimes find with nylon bags. This tech pouch looks polished and protective of your gear, with the Sympl Studios name on a Hypalon-like tab on the front for minimalist branding. It comes in X-Pac, too, if that’s more your vibe, but we like the nylon material we’ve been testing.

In keeping with the durable structure, the zippers are YKK AquaGuard models. You’re unlikely to have a tech kit out in the rain, but this can protect your gear from splashes, whether from a leaky bottle in your daypack or a spill at the cafe. The zipper on the front tucks into a garage at the end for additional protection, and all of the metal pulls have Hypalon-like tabs woven through them for easy grabbing.

The back panel features a diagonally-stitched pattern and a low-profile webbing handle. It’s large enough to fit most hands through, but it’s more helpful when sliding your hand in, palm-down, to keep it in place as you hold the kit rather than holding it the other way like the carry handle of a daypack.

The Sympl Studios brand is stitched into the handle as well, but everything is black-on-black for a minimalist aesthetic.

Inside The Kit

The real party happens inside the kit, though, so let’s dive in.

There’s a zippered pocket on the front for gear you want to grab quickly en route. Perhaps you slide your wallet or cash inside if you’ll be traveling remotely, or use it for a microfiber cloth to clean your screens instead. It’s a large space, so what you put there really depends on your use case. Some might want it for a battery bank and cord, while someone else might want to stuff it full of colored pencils. There’s so much organization inside that we didn’t actually end up needing it, but it’s nice to have a place for gear without having to dive inside if you want.

The main compartment opens fully clamshell with a dual-headed zipper, so you can lay it flat on your work surface and see everything at once.

Against the front panel is a plethora of stretchy pockets. Two larger ones are against the back panel, and we used them for large cords. In front of those are three stretchy mesh pockets: two on the left and one on the right. The larger one is a good size for a wall charger, and the other two fit our corded headphones and AirPods.

Centered between the two halves of the kit is an elastic loop for a pen or stylus. It’s large enough for a wider pen yet still holds skinnier ones without a problem.

The back panel features even more organization. The very back is a large, microfiber-lined slip pocket for your phone. It’s held in place with a magnet when there’s nothing inside, and is even large enough for a foldable wireless keyboard, though it’s too small for a tablet or Kindle. A stretchy slip pocket in front of that, on the left, is the perfect size for our Apple Magic Mouse, though you can also use it for a tracking card to help you reconnect with your kit if you accidentally leave it behind.

The rest of the face of that divider pocket includes a zippered pocket for tiny tech gear like dongles or cards—basically anything you want to ensure doesn’t fall out if the tech pouch takes a spill off the table while it’s open.

Finally, there are three elastic loops—a larger one in the middle and two narrow ones on either end—on the face of that zipper pocket. If you want to slide in a USB adapter or a memory stick, they’re a good place for that, but they lie flat if you don’t need them.

That’s a lot of organization packed into a small footprint, but it can be useful if you like to organize a lot of tech. How useful it is depends on the gear you’re packing inside, since trying to layer thick gear on top of each other can cause minor issues. In general, we didn’t have an issue fitting everything we needed. Our primary tester carries an average amount of tech, but we think you’ll have enough space even if you want to carry a bit more, since she had space left over after packing it up. The structured design means good protection for your gear. However, it might not compress as much as you’d like when you carry less, so keep that in mind before trying to shove it into a smaller bag.