I love traveling and aim to maximize every opportunity I get to do so. My husband and I will start planning months in advance, setting up alerts for flight and hotel deals, and creating spreadsheets with different tabs for budgets and potential itineraries. Even though a bunch of things are up as we plan out a trip, one of the first items we’ll always put on our packing list is the Dagne Dover Arlo Tech Organizer, a winner from our Organization Awards.
What’s So Great About the Dagne Dover Arlo Tech Organizer?
I have the Large version of the Dagne Dover Tech Organizer and it’s the first thing we pack no matter if we’re taking a short road trip or a longer bucket-list trip. It holds so much and doubles as a clutch, dopp kit, and an extra bag for damp clothes. But mostly, it’s a thoughtfully designed organizer that corrals all our tech gear that would get lost, forgotten, or left behind while traveling.
On any given trip, whether it’s a weekend in Maine or two weeks in the Maldives, we’ve got a drone, an extra battery pack, an external hard drive, a DSLR camera, a gimbal, two tripods, two sets of earbuds, and two (sometimes three) laptops. Oh, and a few converters if we’re traveling internationally. So yeah, it’s a lot.
Large items like the drone, camera, tripods, and laptops go in their own padded sleeves and cases, while everything else like external chargers, converters, cables, earbuds, and more go into the Arlo — and it’s still a lot! Fun fact: My laptop goes into an old Dagne Dover laptop sleeve, which has sadly been discontinued.
Inside the organizer, there are elastic bands to secure cords and cables, as well as mesh-lined compartments and Velcroed pockets for large, flat items like external hard drives and battery packs. The exterior offers another mesh pocket for extra gear, but I usually use it for face masks and an extra bottle of Touchland’s hand sanitizer. The Arlo’s neoprene construction keeps everything dry — even if you accidentally spill a drink on it.
The Arlo easily fits in a carry-on bag for convenient access mid-flight, and because it’s a soft-shell case, it’s easily squishable, too. The organizer unzips all the way so it lays flat, making it infinitely easier to grab items as needed — even if I’m stuck in a middle seat on the plane. The zipper itself is thick and chunky, so it’s easy to find without turning on the overhead lights, too. I never have to struggle with searching for the zipper or digging around the dark depths of a bookbag to find my earbuds or battery pack. It’s also surprisingly roomy despite how much we fit in there — I’ve always been able to fit a few non-tech essentials, like lip balm and snacks.
Its versatility goes beyond organizing tech gear. I’ve also used this little bag to pack damp swimwear that wouldn’t dry in time before a flight home from the Caribbean, organize jewelry and toiletries for a road trip upstate, and even serve as a clutch during a two-week trip to French Polynesia when didn’t want to bring a purse. The dark navy Storm color we have coupled with the boxy silhouette and lack of obvious branding works well with most casual outfits.
For such a small organizer, the Arlo offers a lot in the way of storage and organization. In fact, it’s already half-packed with a bunch of gear for an upcoming trip.
