Travel Stationery Pouch: Inside My ALPAKA Tech Case

I want to talk about what people keep in their journaling kit, their tools, the things that they like to use on their desk and on the go. And I wanted to share mine, because I've been trying to make it my own and trying to improve it over the years.

Watch the full video for everything shown on camera.

Short answer: the ALPAKA Elements Tech Case is roomy, opens flat on a desk, and stands Tombows upright. Skip it if you want a slim pen case, because it is easy to fill.

Two kits

I have two kits. One is my on the go kit. And the other one is more stay home, on my desk, one that I carry around the house if I need to.

And sometimes on longer trips I will condense everything into it and pack it.

Why this pouch

I've been considering getting a pouch obviously designed for stationery. I just found that this one really met the needs I have.

And I already had one around, so I decided to put it together and use it.

It has some loops that attach a strap, and you can use it as a sling. And that's how I used it for a long time.

But I found that, honestly, the height and everything that I can fit in it is perfect for stationery.

What I like about this is it lays perfectly on the desk. It just sits there, and I typically just fold it out, and I can see everything.

One of the nice things is it fits Tombows perfectly, so I usually just stand them up and have them popping up so I can see exactly what's in there.

Best for a desk kit that opens flat and shows everything at once.

The pens up front

I go through these from the front to the back. That's how I like organizing it and how I like to think about it.

So I have the vintage collection of the Zebra Sarasa.

These are my favorite pens and they write extremely nice. I really like the clip and the color they produce.

I actually ended up swapping a few of those for different colors. I believe one was a little too dark for my taste, so I took the Muji insert and just put it in there.

It's a typical Pilot G2 style, and it's a very common gel insert that's really easy to swap if I ever find a better red or a better blue.

So those stay out there, those are my color pens, and I keep them there whenever I'm planning and journaling and when I just add some color to my pages.

The customized Space Pen

I recently added this Space Pen, which is from Field Notes.

I have a couple of those. I have the matte black one and the chrome one, and I just swap one of the ends. It looks like a nice two-tone color.

I like customizing the ink to make sure it fits what I want. And this one was a super easy swap.

I'm not really in love with the Fisher Space Pen insert. It's a ballpoint and it works fine.

But this one is actually one of the Zebra Sarasas for the multi pen. And honestly, all I did was just cut it to size and add some tape.

So it doesn't just go flying out the front, because it's a little thinner than the actual insert.

One of the things to watch out for when you're swapping inks is the tip. Make sure there's not a lot of gap, to have a lot of tip wiggle.

It does stay there pretty well. So actually, it's a perfect swap.

Mildliners and the pencil

I have some of the Mildliners. These are pretty popular in the stationery world. And there's not much to say about these.

I think Zebra does a great job at their tools, and I just like how they look more than anything.

I've been scavenging some of the ones I like, and I actually have one that I keep with me, which is the olive color.

I do have a mechanical pencil. This is the Pentel mechanical pencil, nothing special. It fits perfectly in my hand.

This is the one I've been using for years. This one is one that I may want to upgrade in the near future. I have a bunch of those and they just work nicely.

An eraser to go along with that mechanical pencil.

The tools pocket

But in the zipper pocket I have some essential tools.

I have scissors. I believe these are from Muji. I got them at their London store a while ago.

And then some tape runner. I found that this one is very sticky and stays pretty well.

I do have a ruler. I believe it is the Muji ruler, one of those I fold in half to add some extra length.

I have some sticky note flags. When I'm reading, when I'm doing some planning, these are always handy to have.

I have a pencil sharpener. I don't have a pencil in there, but I often carry either a Blackwing or some other pencil around.

Just some tools that help me either do some scrapbooking or just pasting something in journals.

Tombows, Microns, and stickers

There's a bunch of Tombows.

I need to probably consolidate some of my favorite colors, but overall, I'm a big fan of the greens, of the earthy tones.

For now, I just haven't decided what colors I need, and I typically find myself using each of those for different use cases.

A lot of times, the Mildliners get used for some Bible highlights or for some random things in the notebook, and then maybe the Tombows get a little more used for sketching and drawing.

On the back, there's a few extra things, like all the different Microns.

I have a hunter green, one called the royal blue, and then I have a bunch of black ones. Different tip sizes from the 005 to the 12, so different lines.

I have the other Tombow, the Fudenosuke.

I do keep an insert from Traveler's Company, which is a sticker release. And it just stores all my stickers.

Something that I do like to keep here is stickers that I find at places that I travel or things that I enjoy using in my journal.

The last thing, I got these for Christmas last year, some color pencils, nothing special. The black edition from Faber-Castell.

I'm not an artist or anything trying to win any prizes, but these do the job.

And I like that I can just fit them here. They stay semi-protected, so the tips don't break.

Skip it if you want a slim case. There's a ton of space in this one, and it fills up.

The smaller kit

Some of the same principles transfer here, in the smaller kit.

We got the green pen.

This one usually stays with me on the notebook. This is the Pilot Vanishing Point in the fine nib. And one of my favorite fountain pens.

Having a click and just being able to just pop it out and write, super convenient.

A Kaweco in the olivine collection, and a pencil with a Blackwing insert. I cut the Blackwing in half and put half of it there, and the other half stays on my desk for whenever I need it.

And then inside you have the color pencil. This is the Pentel Multi 8, a lead holder with eight colored leads, for when I'm drawing, sketching, doing anything like that.

A couple of fountain pens with a couple of different inks.

I have a Micron, and a Fudenosuke. This one is nice because I can do very fine lines or very broad lines.

I have a ballpoint pen, and that one stays there, fits very nicely. This one is the Traveler's Company ballpoint pen.

And as you can imagine, I swapped the ink. It's a Uni Jetstream insert, which is my favorite ballpoint pen insert.

I don't use it much because I much prefer writing with fountain pens or gel pens, but every now and then you just gotta write with a ballpoint pen.

The gear worth a look

• ALPAKA Elements Tech Case: the pouch my whole journaling kit lives in.
• Zebra Sarasa Clip Gel Pen: my color pens.
• Field Notes Space Pen: customized with a Sarasa multi pen refill.
• Zebra Mildliner Highlighters: for highlights and a little color on the page.
• Tombow Fudenosuke Brush Pen: fine or broad lines from the hard tip.
• Pilot Vanishing Point: the clicking fountain pen in the small kit.
• Pentel Multi 8: a lead holder with eight colored leads.
• Traveler's Company Brass Ballpoint Pen: with a Jetstream refill swapped in.

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Related reading

• Pocket Pen Case Setup: Every Tool I Carry Daily
• What I Actually Carry My EDC Stationery In (And Why)
• My Everyday Carry Setup: Aer Day Sling Max Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the ALPAKA tech case good for stationery?

It's not designed for stationery, but honestly, it fits everything I need. The height and everything that I can fit in it is perfect for stationery.

Do Tombow markers fit in it?

It fits Tombows perfectly, so I usually just stand them up and have them popping up so I can see exactly what's in there.

What refill do you put in the Space Pen?

It's actually one of the Zebra Sarasas for the multi pen. All I did was just cut it and added some tape. It's a little thinner than the actual insert.