One tote, three weeks: what actually fits in a 38 cm bag

Dimensions in centimetres are hard to translate into "will my laptop and lunch fit". So we packed one 38 × 30 × 14 cm tote three ways and weighed the result.

Commute — 3.4 kg loaded

• 14-inch laptop, flat against the back panel
• A4 folder, a hardback notebook, a pencil case
• 500 ml bottle upright in the corner
• Lunch box, 700 ml
• Cardigan folded on top

Flight — 4.1 kg loaded

Same laptop, plus a paperback, a wash bag, a scarf, a 1 litre bottle and a packing cube of two shirts. It went under the seat of a short-haul aircraft with the top compressed, though not comfortably.

Weekend — 5.6 kg, and too heavy

Two days of clothes, shoes in a dust bag, wash kit and a book. It all fits, and at 5.6 kg on one shoulder it should not. Above about 4 kg an unpadded flat leather handle stops being pleasant after ten minutes. Worth knowing before you buy a tote as a travel bag.

Rough conversion for anyone shopping by numbers: a 38 cm width takes A4 landscape with room to spare; 30 cm of height is about a stacked laptop plus a folded jumper; 14 cm of depth is what lets a bottle stand upright.