As unmanly as it sounds, the first thoughts that ran through my mind when I first saw and touched the Saddleback Classic MacBook Air Sleeve was……’Ooooo, pretty’. To make it worse, I even took a (nice long) whiff of the leather as I was unpacking it….smelled wonderful. Saddleback’s rich leather, craftsmanship, and incredible attention to detail have never failed to impress me. So, when I upgraded from my 2010 13″ MacBook Air to the latest, more petite 11″ version I, of course, needed new tech-accessories to properly protect my new laptop and this sleeve is a great (stylish) place to start.

The Saddleback Classic MacBook Air sleeve is created from a single piece of thick, rich full grain leather.  A majority of Saddleback Leather creations are constructed of 4-5 ounce full grain leather, which comes from the top layer of the cow hide (the toughest part). In the case of the MBAir sleeve, the leather is folded over and double stitched along three of its four sides.

The front of the sleeve is stylishly embossed with the Saddleback logo; the only distinguishing nuance of this relatively simplistic, yet classically styled, laptop accessory.

Other than being a gorgeous piece of leather, there is little to note on the backside of the sleeve. The cutouts on the top and bottom make it easier to get the MBAir out of the sleeve. At the beginning, the sleeve was tight, needing two hands and a good deal of force to get my MBAir in and especially out. Over the past month or so of use, the sleeve has stretched a bit, enabling me to insert and remove my MBAir more easily.

That said, the sleeve remains snug and form-fitted enough so that the laptop will not accidentally/unexpectedly slip out. It still takes two hands to remove but does not take a huge effort.

The design of the Saddleback Classic MacBook Air sleeve really works well with the wedge shape of the MBAir. As you can see, the folding of the leather creates a rounded side for the thicker part of the sleek laptop. While the stitched side tappers to a near point for the thinnest part of the MBAir.

The smooth, curved edge is ideal, in terms of comfort and function, for carrying the sleeve and MBAir around in your hand.

As discussed above, the bottom of the sleeve has an access point to push on the laptop while pulling from the other side to more easily remove the laptop.

Even though some of the MacBook Air is exposed, the Saddleback sleeve does a good job of protecting a majority of its aluminum casing. The sleeve primarily protects against bumps and dings (vs falls and drops).

The inside of the sleeve is lined with pigskin (which has the 2nd toughest tensile strength rating of leathers (FYI: kangaroo is the toughest)).

As you would expect of any Saddleback product, the sleeve’s finishing and stitching are of the highest quality and craftsmanship. The stitching along the sides and bottom is done with a single strand of continuous-filament, marine-grade U.V. resistant polyester thread. Like all the Saddleback Leather creations I have seen/reviewed over the years, they are built to withstand the test of time. So far, I have yet to have one of their items even break in let alone wear out.

The MBAir Sleeve is available in Saddleback’s four usual colors:

• Chestnut
• Carbon black
• Dark coffee
• Tobacco

Specifications:

• Outside Dimensions – W: 8.625″ x D: 0.75″ x H: 12.625″ (21.91cm x 1.91cm x 32.07cm)
• Inside Dimensions – W: 8″ x D: 0.5″ x H: 12.375″ (20.32cm x 1.27cm x 31.433cm)
• Weight: 0.65 lbs
• Lining: Lined with pigskin

The extra small sleeve is designed for the 11″ MBAir and the small is sized for the 13″ MBAir.

Not only does the Saddleback Classic MacBook Air sleeve look professional, but it feels great to carry as well. The sleeve adds approximately 10 ounces to the 2.2 lbs MBAir, not a huge amount of extra weight considering the protection it provides. This sleeve radiates Old World charm, handmade quality that is difficult to find in today’s day and age. Considering it comes with a 100 year warranty, its cost of under $70 is very well spent.

Note: The links to Saddleback Leather on this page are affiliate links, which earns a small percentage of any sales that come from The Gadgeteer.

Filed in categories: Bags, Backpacks, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Laptop Sleeve, Leather

Saddleback Classic MacBook Air Sleeve Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 24, 2012 at 11:00 am.

In my mind’s eye, I am the protagonist in an adventure serial entitled Indiana Jacobs and the Quest for the Perfect Gear-Hauling Bag. Of course, that I’m from Indiana (“Hoosier by Birth; Boilermaker by the Grace of God,” as the saying goes) aids in spinning this yarn, but so does my very real quest.  The latest chapter was my opportunity to try out the new Cadet Laptop Bag by Tom Bihn.  The Cadet is intended to be a “minimalist” laptop bag, meaning it was designed to carry just the essentials and nothing more.  Will it meet my Holy Grail of Bags criteria?  Let’s check it out!

NOTE: All images in this review have been enabled with clickable enlargeability for your viewing pleasure.  ;-)

Background

As stated above, I’m one one of those people. You may know one of us. We’re on a quest for the perfect bag to carry our gear.  My criteria to meet this challenge is a bit of a nebulous, “I’ll know it when I see it” combination of features, but it is basically a mix of style, organizational features and capacity that seems right for my needs and tastes.  Several years ago, I spent about eight months researching before I purchased my first “real” gear bag, the Timbuk2 Commute messenger.  It was during this extensive research period that I first found myself at The Gadgeteer, reading a review of the Tom Bihn Super Ego Messenger Bag (of which I have since become I delighted owner).  I’ve always been partial to messenger-style bags, and the Timbuk2 Commute and Tom Bihn Super Ego are about the closest I’ve come to “perfect” for me.  Will the Cadet be my Holy Grail of bags?

Options

When ordering the Cadet from the Tom Bihn site, there are several options from which you can select: size, color, laptop insert and shoulder strap.

Size - The Cadet is currently available in a 15/13 Cadet for 15-inch or 13-inch laptops, or 11/iPad Cadet for 11-inch laptops, netbooks or tablets.

Color – Currently available color combinations (these can change periodically) are Black/Iberian, Black/Steel, Steel/Solar, Forest/Steel, Cardinal/Steel and Navy/Solar.

Laptop Insert –  These are available in 15-inch MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook/MacBook Pro, 13-inch MacBook Air, 11-inch MacBook Air and iPad/iPad 2.  Note that if you do not want a laptop insert, you can specify this and it will deduct $30 from the price of the bag.

Shoulder Strap – Standard or Absolute.  Selecting Absolute instead of Standard Strap adds $20 to the  price of the bag.

As Reviewed – The configuration of the Cadet I reviewed was a 15/13 size in Steel exterior (sort of a very stately slate gray) with Solar interior (a bright lemonish yellow with a grid pattern), a 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop insert and an Absolute Shoulder Strap.

Specs

From the Tom Bihn site:

• Location of manufacture: TOM BIHN Factory in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
• Exterior made of U.S. 1050 denier Ballistic nylon
• Interior lined with ultra-light yet super-tough Japanese Dyeema/nylon ripstop fabric
• 0.25 in / 8 mm closed cell foam on the front, back and bottom
• YKK Uretech® splash-proof zippers on main compartment (#10) and exterior pockets (#8)
• Volume, without laptop or Cadet Cache (ASTM Standard Measure):

Packaging

Tom Bihn’s packaging is minimalist and functional with a bit of fun thrown in.  Clamshell-style folding cardboard box.  Pretty standard.

Retro-style Tom Bihn logos on the outside of the box.  I dig their retro plane flying over the Eiffel Tower logo.  Simple, but conveys a sense of nostalgia, harkening back to the early days of air travel, when every flight seemed to hold the possibility of intrigue and adventure.  In fairness, I wasn’t around in those days, but that’s the feeling this logo give me anyway.

Nostalgic plane again, this time with QR matrix.

And finally, as allude to above, Tom Bihn has taken steps to be environmentally responsible in its packaging.

Unboxing

Pop open the cardboard box and the Cadet is presented front and center.  No foam peanuts, no bubble wrap.  Enviro-friendly and no mess.

Right out of the box, the Cadet has a nice, clean look.  Understated yet handsome.  Front…

…and back.

Organizer Pouches

We’ll get into the nitty-gritty of the Cadet itself shortly.  For now, let’s check out the extras.  Along with the Cadet bag itself, the thoughtful folks at Tom Bihn sent a few other items that help round out the whole ensemble and really complete the Cadet.  First up, two organizer pouches.  Tom Bihn sells these in lots of shapes, sizes, colors, materials and prices.  Each one features a plastic zipper closure to avoid  scratching the contents and a swivel snap-hook that allows it to attach to the O-ring features built into Tom Bihn’s bags.  They not only help with organizing small items, but also give an extra layer of protection against dings, spills and the like.  Neither of these come with standard with the Cadet.  In the two pics below, the pouch above is a size Small Clear Organizer Pouch in Steel color ($10).  The bottom one is a size Mini Padded Organizer Pouch in Black color ($9).  A shot of them from the front……and from the back.

Padded Pouch for Magic Mouse

Let’s take a closer look at the size Mini Padded Organizer Pouch.  These Padded Organizer Pouches are intended to protect small electronic gadgets. In fact, this particular size also happens to fit the Apple Magic Mouse perfectly, which is why Tom Bihn also calls this particular size the Padded Pouch for Magic Mouse.  All Padded Organizer Pouches feature a light layer of padding to protect against external bumps and dings as well as an interior of soft brushed tricot and a zipper with plastic slider to prevent scratching the contents.

Snug fit…

…but solidly protected.

Ultrasuede Screen Cloth

Tom Bihn’s peeps also included an Ultrasuede® Screen Cloth.  These are made from genuine Ultrasuede material, not a knock-off, and they are extremely soft.  Great for cleaning grubby fingerprints and smudges from your device’s display after you’ve told your significant other or youngling not to touch it for the umpteenth time.  It is washable (hand wash recommended) and even comes in its own logo-branded envelope.  There’s that plane again, beckoning wistfully toward your next travel adventure.  Note that the Ultrasuede Screen Cloth is not included with the Cadet, and is an additional $7.

The Ultrasuede Screen Cloth I received is in the Lapis Blue color.  What the heck is a lapis?  Lapis, or more properly lapis lazuli is a blue-colored semi-precious stone that, not so coincidentally, is very similar in color to the one pictured below.  Didn’t know that?  Neither did I—I had to look it up!

Tom Bihn’s classic logo, complete with the nostalgic plane, is embossed into one corner of the Cloth.

Absolute Shoulder Strap

Ever had to hump a laptop bag from one end of Chicago O’Hare to the other?  Or through a week long trade show or conference?  Even the lightest bags can start to cut into your shoulder like a cinder block hanging from a length of kite string.   One of the gems among Tom Bihn’s accessories is the Absolute Shoulder Strap.  The main feature is its “unique, patented internal control-stretch system” that combines a soft, durable neoprene pad with comfortable stretch backing that elongates under load and helps dampen the weight on your shoulder.  However, keep in mind that if you want to swap the Cadet’s Standard Shoulder Strap for the the Absolute Shoulder Strap, it will add $20 to the price of the Cadet.  That’s a nice discount, because the Absolute Shoulder Strap is $30 when purchased separately.

Like all Tom Bihn products, the Absolute Shoulder Strap is very well built, with durable materials and solid construction.  This thing just feels solid when you pick it up and attach it to your bag.  It also include two adjustment sliders, one on either side, for extra customization.

Very heavy-duty metal spring-hooks connect the strap to the bag.  The springs snap into place with a commanding click, and you actually have to apply a fair amount of pressure to compress them enough to release them.  So you don’t have to worry about these things coming off accidentally.

Even the strap attachment points on the Cadet are thick, chunky, solid slabs of plastic.  They were apparently designed by Tom Bihn himself and are made from DuPont™ Delrin® polymer “tested to 260 pounds each.”  Look closely and you’ll see little “Tom Bihn Designs” and “Made in U.S.A.” molded into the plastic.  I was a bit disappointed not to see a tiny version of the nostalgic plane here.  Total miss, Tom.  Just kidding.

Cadet Cache Laptop Insert

As mentioned above, one of the options you will select when ordering your Cadet is a laptop insert appropriately sized for your laptop.  The Cadet Cache is essentially the Cache, a basic laptop sleeve available separately from Tom Bihn.  It has 1/4 inch thick padding laminated with an exterior of four-ply Taslan and an interior of brushed tricot that cradles your laptop.   If for some reason you don’t need or want a laptop insert, you can indicate this when ordering and $30 will be deducted from the price of the Cadet.

The Cadet Cache differs from the standard Cache by the addition of two Gatekeeper clips at the bottom rear.  These attach to two vertical strips of webbing in the main compartment of the Cadet (more on this further down).

Closeup of the Gatekeeper clips.  Easy to open but secure once closed.

A shot of my 15 inch MacBook Pro inserted into the Cadet Cache.  Fits perfectly.

The Cadet Cache has no closure features—no Velcro®, snaps, buckles or others.  Just a simple flap that tucks down over the laptop.

Cadet Bag

Now that we’ve warmed up a bit on some of the accessories, let’s move on to the item itself.  I’ve already mentioned its understated handsomeness, but indulge me while I expound further.  If this review happens to be your first exposure to Tom Bihn’s products, and you like what you see with the Cadet, then you are in for a treat when you view the rest of the product lines.  Since the early days, Tom Bihn’s designs have been all about three things: understated style, smart functionality, and durability.  I feel that they’ve hit the grand slam in combining these three aspects, and this is very apparent with the Cadet as well.

First, the understated style.  Tom Bihn’s bags have been consistently designed with a certain appearance and style.  To me, it is clean and simple, yet with an almost dignified touch.  Very appropriate for a business environment, but eye-catching enough that people might even ask you about it.  Second, the smart functionality.  All of Tom Bihn’s products, but especially their bags, have been designed by people who have a real sense of what is useful to a traveler, and maybe more importantly, what is not.  Third, the durability.  Tom Bihn uses extremely high quality materials in all of its products, and designs and builds them (in the USA) for maximum durability.

Combining all three aspects into one product does not come cheaply: these are some of the most expensively-priced travels bags you will find.  And not just because they have a “known” brand name, like Tumi or others, but in my view—and I’ve studied a few bags throughout my quest—they are among the absolute best.

The Cadet’s basic design is a “brief” style bag.  A descendant of the classic briefcase that your dad or granddad carried into the office with a newspaper under his arm and cup o’ joe in his hand, the Cadet is shaped to carry objects that are roughly 8.5 x 11 inches in size.  This style of bag typically has an opening on top to slide items into it, a couple of handles for hand carry and a shoulder strap.  The Cadet does indeed share these basic features with its venerable ancestors.

Closeup of the front of the Cadet.  Prolific Tom Bihn nostalgic plane logo visible throughout on multiple tags and labels.

As mentioned above, the Cadet has two handles, one on each side of the zipper opening on top.  The handles are internally padded, but very basic and no-nonsense.  Yet they are thick enough to feel comfortable and solid enough to lift an elephant.  That is, if you could fit an elephant in the Cadet.  Or maybe just a smallish object with the density of an elephant.  But I digress.  I’ve used bags with handles that are a bit more comfortable, but many times they are complicated contraptions and as a result they just don’t feel that solid.  These do.

This might be a good point to describe the materials from which the exterior of the Cadet is made (interior materials will be described a bit further down).  As mentioned above, the Cadet is made from U.S. 1050 denier ballistic nylon.  Sounds impressive, but so what?  Originally developed for flak jackets in World War II, “ballistic” nylon was intended to help protect the wearer from flying fragmentation-type debris.  However, it was not intended to protect against bullets directly (this would come later with the development of Kevlar material).  Further, denier refers to the weight of the fabric.  As the Tom Bihn site states, ”our Ballistic has twice the abrasion resistance of 1680 denier fabric.”  So this is genuinely tough stuff and will definitely wear well, to say the least, though everything from your everyday commute to globe-trekking adventures.  In addition, the Cadet has 1/4 inch thick closed cell foam between the interior and exterior on the front, back and bottom, which gives added protection and also helps the bag retain its shape.

There are a lot of bags out there that are made from some unspecified type of “nylon” material.  But 1050 denier is the good stuff.  And I don’t know what it is about the 1050 denier that Tom Bihn uses in their bags, but not only does it have a very solid and protective feel, it also feels relatively soft and supple, not rigid and scratchy like you might find with many of the tactical or military-styled bags that also use 1050 denier.  This may have something to do with Tom Bihn using a U.S. supplier of the material and being able to help specify the properties.  A quick anecdote on this.  My wife and daughter took the Cadet to the library to do some research recently.  Our daughter was carrying the Cadet and by the time she got home, the side of the bag was covered with brown fuzz that had presumably been removed from her pants leg as she carried the Cadet.  Admittedly, the pants she was wearing had sort of a soft, felt-like texture, so not much abrasion resistance, but something to keep in mind.

The Cadet, like most of Tom Bihn’s bags, utilizes YKK Uretech® splash-proof zippers on the main compartment (#10) and exterior pockets (#8).  If you’ve never seen or used these before, they are quite amazing.  The exterior of the zipper has two strips of urethane over each set of teeth which neatly separate during unzipping and then just as neatly join back together again when zipping to create a water-resistant seal.  I don’t know how many products use these babies (I’ve not seen them anywhere except on Tom Bihn’s stuff), but I was amazed the first time I saw them.  The urethane strips don’t impede the zipperin’ action in any way, and the seal they create is very uniform.  Now, these things aren’t going to enable you to throw your Cadet over your should and go snorkeling, but if you’re caught in a monsoon, or at ground zero of a drive-by curb splashing, your bag’s contents have a pretty good chance of staying moisture-free.

This is also a good time to mention that, to my knowledge, Tom Bihn does not use Velcro* in any of their products.  I suspect that this is because Velcro can be noisy and wears out over time, both of which would detract from the aesthetic and durability that are hallmarks of Tom Bihn’s products.

*[Update: Tom Bihn does use Velcro, or "Velcro-like material" in a handful of their products.  A Velcro-like material is used to affix the customizable Strips onto the front of their Ego and Super Ego Messenger Bags.  Their Strapeez are basically a strip of Velcro-like material used to assist in cable management.  And their Horizontal and Vertical Brain Cells utilize a Velcro-like material for the closures.]

Closeup of the small pocket on the front of the Cadet.  The interior is lined with Ultrasuede, the same super-soft stuff that Tom Bihn’s Ultrasuede Screen Cloth is made from–yep, same stuff as up above.  Placement and size of this pocket are perfect for quick external access to a phone or other small objects.

My old iPhone 3GS in Speck Candyshell case fits with a room to spare.

The rear of the Cadet, simple-looking though it may be, has some stuff going on as well.  Yep, there’s a pocket; pretty standard for bags such as this.  It’s big enough for a magazine or newspaper (so you don’t have to tuck it under your arm like Dad did).

Just another shot, this time looking down into the rear pocket.  It’s fairly deep and actually goes all the way to the bottom of the bag.

But that’s not all.  The rear pocket has a secret.  Under a little flap near the bottom rear of the Cadet is a concealed zipper.

Lifting the flap and unzipping the super-secret zipper turns the rear pocket into a band that can be slid over the handle of a rolling bag.  Tom Bihn calls this a “dual-function ‘roll-aboard’/magazine pocket”…

…as I shall now demonstrate, with my arm playing the part of a rolling bag’s handle.  I really wish that Tom Bihn would have included this feature in all of their messenger bags that include a rear pocket like this—especially in my Super Ego Messenger Bag.  Hint, hint, Tom Bihn folks!

The interior of the Cadet is Dyneema® fabric.  What the heck is Dyneema?  No, it’s not Wonder Woman’s real name.  Dyneema is an Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMwPE) fiber that is billed as the “strongest fiber in the world.”  It has extremely high strength-to-weight ratio, chemical and moisture resistance and durability.  Tom Bihn uses Dyneema in several of its products (for both external and internal applications), including the Cadet:

Inside the Dyneema tag.   Looks like marketing-ized scientific-type info, but it makes the case for Dyneema’s strength and durability compared to other materials.

Unzipping the larger of the two zippers on the front of the Cadet reveals an organizer compartment.  The bright yellow grid-pattern interior material is the Dyneema fabric.  The brightly-colored interior is an advantage when you are in dimly-lit surroundings and need to search for something small at the bottom of the bag.  Let’s walk through the organizer compartment’s features.  Starting at the top are two plastic O-rings, one on each side.  Below the O-rings are a row of pockets in various sizes.

Here, I’ve placed a few items that I normally carry with me in the Cadet.  Starting at the top, I’ve attached to the left O-ring one of  Tom Bihn’s Key Straps, which is included with the Cadet.  These are available in 8-inch or 16-inch lengths and are $2 each if you’d like to get additional ones.  These straps have many uses, one of which is to complement Tom Bihn’s organizer pouches (see above).  Depicted is one of Tom Bihn’s 8-inch Key Straps to which I’ll attach my car keys and toss them into the bottom of this organizer compartment, then easily retrieve them by grabbing the strap.  On the top right O-ring I’ve attached the Padded Pouch for Magic Mouse (see above).  In the organizer pockets below, I’ve placed a Sharpie, Paper Mate mechanical pencil, Pilot gel pen, small Moleskine notebook and the Ultrasuede Screen Cloth (folded and hidden behind the Pouch), and there is room for more.  What you put in here is up to you, but as someone who likes lots of organization features, I find this to be just about the right amount for a bag of this type—you’re not going to carry your whole office in here, or even as much as you would in a cavernous messenger bag, so you can just stick to the essentials and keep it simple and lightweight.  There is also sufficient room in this organizer compartment to toss in your power supply or other similarly-sized items.

The only criticism I have here is that at the far left and right of the organizer pockets there are two things that look like pockets at first glance, but only when you try to stick something into them to you realize that they are actually sewn shut.  I don’t know why Tom Bihn does this, but it is also this way on my Tom Bihn Super Ego Messenger Bag.  I suspect it may have something to do with strength and durability, but in any case it’s a bit frustrating to see what looks like two additional pockets that are in fact useless.

Now let’s dive into the Cadet’s main compartment.  I found it to be simple, but with just about the right amount of features.

The “front” of the interior (the side where the organizer compartment resides on the exterior) has a large pocket.  This could be used for papers, folders, magazines and the like.  Above it are two more O-rings that you can use however you’d like.  The “back” of the interior has two strips of webbing that run top to bottom.  These straps serve as the points for attaching the Cadet Cache laptop insert into the Cadet.

Here, I’ve placed the Cadet Cache down into the Cadet’s main compartment.

Looking down into the Cadet Cache.

In the photo below, you can just barely make out the Gatekeeper clips at the bottom of the Cadet Cache, which have been attached to the two vertical webbing strips.  Because the Gatekeeper clips can slide along the webbing strips, this allows the Cadet Cache—with laptop inside—to be slid out of the Cadet with the laptop still inside.  This feature is intended to be “TSA checkpoint friendly” and to comply with current TSA regulations which stipulate that you can leave your laptop in a sleeve when going through the X-ray machine at the airport.  Once through X-ray, just slide the Cadet Cache back into into the Cadet.  Quick and easy.  Two things to note.  First is that, because the main compartment must be unzipped for it to function in this way, it does leave the contents of the bag free to fall or slide out either when you pull out the Cadet Cache or place it on the X-ray belt, or even to pilfering in the security process.  I haven’t had this happen, but it does seem like a possibility.  Second is that, in my travels I have yet to encounter a TSA agent that actually allowed me to do this.  Every one yet has forced me to remove my laptop from my bag, despite pointing out that the regs have changed.  Frustrating.

A shot of my 15 inch MacBook Pro inserted into the Cadet Cache inside the Cadet.

Here, I’ve moved the Magic Mouse Pouch from the front organizer section and clipped to one of the two O-rings in the Cadet’s interior.  The O-rings and clips on various Tom Bihn accessories give the Cadet a lot of organizational versatility and customization.

Front view of the Cadet.

Rear view of the Cadet.

Below are two of the three ways of carrying the Cadet: over the shoulder like a shoulder bag and across the chest like a messenger bag.  Of course, the Cadet can also be carried by the handles, but I forgot to get a shot of this.  The Cadet’s minimalist design helps minimize the weight, and its slim profile makes it a comfortable bag to carry.  With the addition of the Absolute Shoulder Strap, it becomes almost effortless—I almost forget I am carrying it.

Price

OK, let’s talk price.  The total price of the Cadet and all accessories as configured above, if I’ve figured everything correctly, is about $216.  $200+ for a simple, minimalist laptop bag?  Yeah, that seems ridiculous to me as well.  But as I’m sure you’ve surmised by now, though the Cadet may at first glance appear to be ordinary and simple, it is anything but.  As I’ve stated above, the Cadet, like all of Tom Bihn’s products, is very high quality in design and materials—some of the best travel bags and accessories you can buy.  And this doesn’t come cheaply.  This is not a laptop bag like you would find on the clearance rack at Walmart.  These are investments, and should be treated as such.  If your needs are lower-demand, if you don’t travel that often or don’t need such durability, then Tom Bihn’s products may not be worth the price to you.  But if you travel frequently, or to exotic locations, or don’t want to have to replace your bag every year, then I would encourage you to consider Tom Bihn’s products.  There is a Forums area at the Tom Bihn site in which fellow owners tell tales of their travels, what abuse their bags have endured, how long they’ve had their bags, suggestions for improvements and so forth.  Many of those who have committed to purchasing a Tom Bihn product have only one lament: that the darn things last so long.  Because they can’t justify buying another one until their current one wears out!  That is a satisfied customer and brand loyalty.

Conclusion

As far as my Holy Grail of Bags quest, the Cadet does more or less meet many of my criteria, including understated looks, hard core durability and a decent amount of organizational features. However, for my daily commute bag I personally need something with a bit more organization and quite a bit more capacity, so my quest continues.  But that’s just me.  The Tom Bihn Cadet is a minimalist laptop bag that is designed to protect your laptop while also carrying your mobile computing essentials.  Like all Tom Bihn products, its features have been very thoughtfully designed, it has been built with the highest quality, most durable materials, and the styling is simple yet elegant and looks great.  The price is a bit steep, but with travel gear you really do get what you pay for, and Tom Bihn makes some of the best products on the market.  If a minimalist laptop bag is what you’re looking for, I highly recommend the Tom Bihn Cadet.

Filed in categories: Bags, Backpacks, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Tom Bihn

Tom Bihn Cadet Laptop Bag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 20, 2012 at 8:00 am.

MacCase makes a variety of leather bags and accessories for your gear, like these Premium Leather Shoulder Bags.  The bags are available in a small size to fit 13-15″ laptops and large size for 15-17″ laptops.  They have organizer pockets on the front and padded iPhone/iPod pockets on the sides.  The bags are made of a premium textured hides with a light-colored fabric inside to make it easy to find things.  A thickly-padded shoulder strap, front and back zippered pockets, and stainless hardware finish the bags.  They’re available in black, tan, chocolate brown, red, dark vintage, and distressed vintage (shown).  The bags have a lifetime warranty.  Either size is $249.95.

Filed in categories: Bags, Backpacks, News

Tagged: Laptop Bag

MacCase Premium Leather Shoulder Bags originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 14, 2011 at 8:00 am.

New from STM is their Velo laptop messenger bag.  Packed with lots of organizational features, yet spacious enough to just toss stuff in.  The Velo could be a solid daily commute bag for your laptop, tablet, accessories, jacket, shoes, hat, raincoat, keys, journal, pens, water bottle, lunch, manicure set…  OK, maybe it won’t hold ALL that, but it looks pretty roomy and organizational-y.  Small for 13″ laptops, Medium for 15″ laptops and available in black and mushroom colors, each for about $100 from online sellers Altrec.com and eBags.com.  Got a favorite laptop and gear hauling messenger?

Filed in categories: Gear, News

Tagged: Bag, Laptop Bag, messenger bag

STM Adds Velo Laptop Messenger Bag To Lineup originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 9, 2011 at 8:00 am.

Some bags are big enough to carry all your gear and the kitchen sink.  That’s great if you need and want that, but they are overkill for when you only need your laptop, phone, and a couple of other items.  Tom Bihn has designed the Cadet for those of us who like to carry a minimum of things.  The Cadet is designed with Apple computers and the iPad in mind, but other gear will work with it.  (Check their fit list to see if yours will fit.)  It comes in two sizes: 15/13 Cadet for 15″ and 13″ MacBook Pro, 13″ MacBook, or the 13″ Air; and the 11/iPad for 11″ MacBook Air and the iPad.  In addition to the main compartment, there is a large organizer pocket and zippered slip-in pocket on the front.  The case is made using the normal, sturdy fabrics and the same quality construction methods always used by Tom Bihn.  It’s available in several color combinations.  The Cadet is $170 and comes with a Cadet Cache laptop insert sized to fit your computer or iPad.

Filed in categories: iPhone, iPad, iPod related, Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: iPad bag, Laptop Bag

Tom Bihn Cadet Minimalist Laptop Bag originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 7, 2011 at 8:09 am.

I sometimes have back pain and carrying heavy gear bags often makes things worse.  I’m constantly on the lookout for a sturdy, protective bag that’s big enough for my computer must-haves but won’t add a lot of weight itself.  We’ve used neoprene lunch bags from Built NY for years.  These lunch bags wear like iron, and they’re very lightweight.  Built NY (or Built as they seem to call themselves now) expanded from food and beverage bags into gear bags sometime ago.  I finally decided I’d give their Neoprene Tote Bag for the 13” MacBook Pro a try.  I placed my order at Amazon and got my bag delivered the next day.  Let’s see how it works.

Some of the pictures can be clicked for an enlarged view.  The top picture is courtesy of Amazon.com (because I couldn’t get the bag to stand up nicely); all the other pictures are mine.

Built uses wetsuit Neoprene to make their bags.  I don’t have calipers to measure the thickness of the Neoprene.  It feels thicker and much more dense than some Neoprene bags I’ve had, like the Neoprene pouch that came with the Sony PRS-600 ebook reader.  The material is compressible, but it is not so spongy that you can completely flatten it between your fingers.  The stitching on the bag is very even and straight.  The raw edges are bound with a black jersey fabric.  The only branding on the exterior of the bag is the “Built” name in a plastic iron-on applique on one side of the bag.

Like most of their products, the Neoprene Tote Bag is available in a variety of patterns and colors.  I ordered the Graphite Grid color.  The interior is lined in a medium blue fabric.  Both the interior and exterior fabrics seem to be a synthetic material in jersey knit.  I’m not sure that guys would like the shoulder-style of this particular bag, but the color and pattern should work for men.

The bag measures about 15.25” at the widest point at the top and about 13.4” across the bottom.  It’s about 4.25” deep at the bottom (exterior dimension).  The bag is about 21” tall including the handles.  The bag itself is 10.5” tall.  The double straps have about a 10” drop, so there’s plenty of room to place this bag on your shoulder.  The bag weighs only 1 pound, 1.5 ounces empty.

Sturdier material used for bottom and sides of the bag

The bottom of the bag and most of the sides of the bag are made of a sturdier material.  This material seems to be a heavier, less compressible Neoprene with a sturdier fabric on the exterior.  This should protect the bottom of the bag from wear and provide a little more protection for the contents of the bag.

Velvet interior of the laptop sleeve

This particular bag is designed for the 13” Apple MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops.  It has a laptop sleeve sewn into the sides of the bag.  The sleeve doesn’t reach all the way to the bottom of the bag, so the laptop will be suspended in the middle of the bag.  The Graphite Grid bag has a solid black laptop sleeve with a blue velvet lining.  The sleeve has a nylon zipper with a metal slider and a large, black plastic zipper pull in a figure-8 shape.

My 13″ MacBook Pro just fits inside the sleeve without a millimeter to spare, and I was afraid that the zipper slider would drag along the edge of my laptop and scratch it.  I haven’t noticed any scratches yet, but I do put my finger under the zipper slider as I take it over the corner of the laptop, where the fit is tightest.

Front open compartment

Open back compartment with zipper pocket on exterior wall

Zipper pocket

The laptop sleeve divides the bag into two sections.  The front section (behind the iron-on Built logo) is completely open and empty.  I carry my iPad 2 in its back cover and Smart Cover in this section.  I have plenty of room to carry a notebook or magazines in this section, too.   The back section is the same size as the front section, with the addition of a zippered pocket on the exterior wall.  The pocket has a plastic zipper with a metal slider and a plastic figure-8 zipper pull.   I chose the front pocket for my iPad because I didn’t want the zipper to scratch it or put pressure on the screen.

I carry the large Levenger leather pouch (shown in the picture of my gear, below) in the back open pocket.  The Levenger bag is almost 11” X 5” X 2”, and it’s packed with cables and connectors for various gadgets.  There’s plenty of room in that large compartment for more.  I have a 1TB Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex external disk and its Firewire connector plus the power supply for my laptop in the small zipper pocket.   The Neoprene is stretchy, so I could probably fit something else in there, too.  You can see the size of the zipper pocket outlined in stitching in the picture of the back of the bag (above).

Of course the bag is heavy when fully loaded with all my gear – because the gear is heavy.   At just over 1 pound, the Built bag is the lightest I’ve had for my computer.  The Neoprene straps are soft and stretchy enough that they seem to “give” under the weight of the stuff loaded inside, so they don’t feel like they are cutting into my skin.

I used the Neoprene Laptop Tote during a trip last weekend.  I found it fit everything I wanted to take and had room for more.  It was comfortable during the time I was carrying it.  I felt my MacBook Pro was protected in its cushy, suspended sleeve inside the Neoprene bag.  One thing I didn’t like about the bag is that it won’t stand up on its own.  Unless I leaned the bag against my chair, the fully loaded Built bag fell over on its side.  The only other quibble I had was there was no closure for the bag.  The laptop sleeve zips closed, as does the interior small pocket, but the two main compartments are completely open.

I don’t see how I could possibly find a smaller, lighter bag for my MacBook Pro unless I used only a sleeve that had no storage for anything else.  The Built Neoprene Tote Bag for the 13” Apple MacBook/Pro is now my go-to computer bag.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Neoprene

Built Neoprene Tote Bag for 13” Apple MacBook Pro Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 21, 2011 at 2:00 pm.

All types of people love Molekine notebooks – writers, artists, tech-lovers, and everyone between.  Moleskine eventually realized that people even wanted a way to make their electronic devices look like their notebooks, and they issued official covers for iPad, iPhone, and Kindle.  Now they are introducing gear bags that are inspired by their iconic notebooks.  The Moleskine Messenger Bag is made of black polyurethane and has a molded base so it can sit on its own.  It has a double flap – held closed by an elastic strap, of course – that can fold under itself to hold an umbrella, newspaper, or the like.  It has a divider inside that can accommodate Moleskine multi-purpose cases, and the optional Moleskine Storage Panel “which offers padding and compartments for complete organization.”  It’s 16.5″ x 11.75″ x 3.25″, so it can hold up to a 15″ laptop.  The Moleskine Messenger Bag can be ordered from the official website for $129.95.

Filed in categories: Gear, News

Tagged: gear bag, Laptop Bag, Moleskine

Moleskine Messenger Bag originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 5, 2011 at 1:30 pm.

We Gadgeteers have a, shall we say…fondness.. for our gadgets, am I right?  Rhetorical question ’round these parts.  Some cling to a mere handy handful of essential EDC, others find a BSA-like array necessary for preparedness.  Some commute via public transportation through vast, sprawling urban metropoli for a day at the grind, others trek stoically across campus to hole up in the lab or library for a night of bleary-eyed study.  And, though everyone’s ideal solution may vary, one thing we all have in common is a need to protect and organize our gadgets while transporting them.  I’ve been a laptop messenger bag dude for a while, but I’d been considering a laptop backpack.  Along came a chance to try out the Revolution Medium Laptop Backpack from STM, and here it is.

NOTE: All images in this review are clickably enlargeable for your viewing pleasure.

Backround

As mentioned above, I’ve been a laptop shoulder bag user for many years now.  More specifically, I’ve been using a Timbuk2 Commute messenger bag for about 3 years now, and I’ve loved it.  So in the interest of full disclosure, that’s where I’m coming from.  However, I’d been thinking about trying out a laptop backpack.  So, let’s get to it!

Specifications

Australia-based STM’s Revolution line of laptop backpacks consists of two sizes, small (fits up to 13″ laptops) and medium (fits up to 15″ laptops), which is reviewed here.  Per STM, here are the specs on the Revolution Medium Laptop Backpack, which from this point forward I’m going to shorten to “Revolution M” for convenience and also because of the logo below (top) which is on the pack itself:

lining: 210D water resistant nylon
main fabric: 300D water resistant micro ripstop
lining: 210D water resistant nylon
laptop space: 14.8 x 9.8 x 1.6 in (37.5 x 25 x 4 cm)
external bag: 18.9 x 11.8 x 7.9 in (48 x 30 x 20 cm)
weight: 3.80 lbs (1.72 kg)
components: high density nylon webbing, duraflex buckles and clips, compressed EVA padding, high quality load bearing stitching
price: $99.00

Packaging

The Revolution M comes in biodegradable plastic bag, a nice touch for the enviro-conscious, which IMO we should all be in this day and age of earth friendliness.

First Impressions

The Revolution M is available in two color schemes, orange and carbon.  I selected orange for a bit of pizazz, something different from the droves of dutifully understated business neutral-colored (read: drab) packs on the market.  It did not disappoint.  This pack is big(ish), and it is orange.  I haven’t tried it on a plane, but I suspect that it might be difficult to get it to fit under the seat when fully-loaded.  My very first thought was of its resemblance to one of my favorite yet obscure cartoon characters, “Gossamer,” the hulking-yet-lovable orange furry monster who tangles with Bugs Bunny.

Back to the Revolution M, the color is not a bright hunter vest or hazard cone orange, yet almost a burnt orange in color with black and carbon gray accents, and I quite like it.  The material is tough-feeling nylon with a faint grid pattern, similar to ripstop fabric.  The other aspect I noticed about the pack immediately was the weight.  Even empty, the Revolution M is fairly heavy.  More on this later.

Features – External

The Revolution M is quite simply loaded with features.  Let’s focus on the external first.

Quick-Access Zipper Pocket

Integrated into the front of the pack is a quick-access pocket with vertical zipper.  The location of this pocket seems to have been designed so that you can slip your arm out the left shoulder strap, sling the pack around front under your right arm, and get into the pocket easily.  Great design for righties like me, but for lefties, probably not so much.  The zipper is about 6 inches long with a slick zipper pull.  Regarding the zipper pulls, they are emblematic of the attention to detail in this pack’s design.  Each of them is grey paracord-style cord with an over-molded, rubberized fobs that bears the STM logo.  Nice.

To protect whatever delicate contents you may place within the quick-access pocket, it is lined with baby-diaper soft fleece.  Super soft!

Also, the pocket is plenty large to house items up to possibly the size of a 7″ tablet, if you were so inclined to trust such an item of preciousness to a pocket on the outside of your pack.  It could possibly hold up to a 7″ Galaxy Tab or something similar.  In fact, my WoPad fits in there quite nicely.

Side Pockets & Compression Straps

The sides of the pack each have quite deep elastic mesh pockets for water bottles, umbrellas, power bricks, newspapers, telescopes, bananas, loaves of French bread—I could go on and on, but you can probably come up with even more creative uses for them than I.  Also on either side is a compression strap with quick-release buckle.  Easy to tighten down if you find yourself with only a few items inside and would like to go a bit more low-profile, or to unhook if you’ve loaded it to the seams and need some extra space.

Carry Handle

The Revolution M’s carry handle is one of the finest I’ve evaluated.  Thick and beefy, it is sewn securely and integrally into the top of the pack.  On top, the handle has the same ballistic nylon material as the pack, and a breathable mesh on the underside with padding sandwiched between.  The result is a very solid, comfortable-feeling grip, not so thin that it cuts into your hand when hauling it for extended (or even short) periods.  The only drawback I can see to this handle is that you are somewhat limited in how it can be used to hang the pack from something.  It should hang from a coat hook or door knob fine, but it doesn’t do so well if you try to hang it from something like the post on the back of a chair.  Perhaps a minor point, but might be important to some, depending on how you use it.

Suspension System

The Revolution M’s suspension system, like the rest of the  pack, is well-designed and built.  For starters, the shoulder straps themselves are of a design that is becoming more common on packs of this type.  Instead of being attached to the pack separately, they are combined at the point where they are attached to the pack, forming a sort of “U”-shape.  This may be a minor point, but I think this makes the pack slightly more comfortable to wear, due to this curved inner “U” shape the contacts the body in the back of the neck region.  Maybe I’m making too much about nothing, but it does seem to feel a bit more comfortable to me with this feature.

The main shoulder straps are thickly padded, which, like the  carry handle, helps prevent that feeling of the straps cutting into your shoulders when the pack is heavily loaded with wares.  The straps at the bottom also allow adjustment.

A word about the padding in the back of the pack.  That word is THICK.  The back of the pack is covered with the same breathable mesh material as on the underside of the carry handle.  Under this layer, inside the pack, are two thick foam pads that run the length of the pack, with a deep channel in between, presumably for ventilation.  The padding here is the thickest I’ve ever seen on any pack of this kind.  This combination of features is great for overall comfort if you’ve got this pack loaded for bear.  On a related note, as mentioned above, the Revolution M is quite heavy, even when empty.  Likely this is due to the materials used in the pack, which are heavyweight and high quality, and the amount of padding used throughout the pack, both for the suspension system and laptop protection.

The shoulder straps system is well-designed and sturdy.  In addition to the shoulder straps themselves, there is a chest strap that secures with a quick-release buckle.  The chest strap is adjustable in two ways.  The length of the chest strap can be adjusted, and the height can be adjusted by sliding along a “rail” on either of the shoulder straps.  In addition, there is a small length of gray webbing on both sides for attaching carabiners or other items.

But that’s not all.  There’s also a waist strap that can be deployed then employed for additional support.  By that I mean this: near the bottom of the bag, just behind the foam back pads is a pocket on either side into which can be discretely tucked the two halves of a waist strap.

This waist strap is adjustable from both sides and has a very beefy quick-release buckle.  The straps themselves are wide enough for you to attach items like a knife, multitool, flashlight cargo pouch, or other necessities that you may want handy, but don’t want to attach to the belt holding up yer breeches.

Below is a shot of the fully-deployed waist strap.

The right shoulder strap also contains an elastic mesh pocket designed to hold a phone, music player or other device you may want to have within easy reach and near your noggin.  It’s shown below, and on the left with my wife’s iPhone 3GS in Speck Candyshell case stuffed into it—a bit tight, but still fits fine.

Features – Internal

Now, let’s dive into the belly of this beast.  Once again, it’s features o’ plenty.

Front Compartment

Unzipping the front compartment reveals a multi-pocket organizer along with several other pockets for keeping gadgetry in its proper place.  To demonstrate, I’ve stocked it with several of my own daily office commute essentials: keys, pens, Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000, and my Timbuk2 In Flight Case slid into the pocket in the front.  Two minor beefs I have with the setup here.  One is simply…needs more pockets.  I’m an unapologetic pocket-a-holic.  I like lotsa pockets for all my stuff, and I don’t like to throw all of my small items into one or two large “bins” and let them rattle around while I’m out and about, only to find a jumbled mess when I open the pack.  Also, the wide pocket along the inside of the compartment’s flap, though having a nice capacity for tossing in items, could use some improvement.  Although the location is OK, when opening the flap, items tend to slide out of it because there is no closure.  A zipper or strip or two of Velcro would have been good here.

The zippered pocket in the organizer has a mesh panel at either end, providing a bit of visibility to the contents.  Another couple of shots below to show additional detail.  That’s a standard-sized Moleskine notebook in the shot on the right, to give some scale.

Main Compartment

As with the rest of the pack, there’s quite a bit going on in the main compartment.  Unzipping to peer inside reveals the main compartment to actually be further subdivided into three  areas.  The first, shown below, is what I would call the main main compartment—an open space into which the user can either haphazardly toss or neatly stack lots of stuff, whatever may be your style or mood.  Show below left in the empty state and at right with a few items thrown in—my iGo power brick for my work laptop and my Timbuk2 In Flight Case.

In addition to the wide-open main main compartment, the second area is a pocket that is intended to slip in an iPad or other tablet device.  Like the front-access zipper pocket, this pocket is lined with soft fleece to protect your tablet’s screen.  STM bills this as a “unique fingerprint-removing brushed nylex.”  I’m not so sure it would actually remove fingerprints without pressing on the tablet and rubbing vigorously, and even then it may not remove those pesky fingerprints.  Still, a nice touch.

Pulling on the loop above the tablet pocket reveals the third area, another whole compartment which as been designed to hold your laptop safe and snug.  This compartment is fairly well concealed, but I’m not sure there is a point to concealing it when it is already inside the main compartment.  Concealment aside, I found it to be a fairly intriguing design.  One thing to note here is that, unlike most laptop backpacks designs that place the laptop up against the back of the pack, this laptop compartment is actually more towards the front of the pack.

The laptop compartment has a 2-inch wide lip that covers and wraps around the edge of your laptop.  The lip is actually made from an elastic material, so it has some stretch, which makes it easier to insert your laptop down into it and capture it.

Closing and securing the flap via Velcro strips encases your laptop in a protective cocoon, the inside of which is lined with the same ubiquitous, fleecy material as the quick-access zipper pocket and the tablet pocket.  Look how snug my Big Black Brick Bulletstopper (my 15.4″ Lenovo T60p work-issued laptop) looks all tucked in there.  It’s a pretty beefy laptop, and fits with just a bit of room to spare.  It could probably fit two or three MacBook Airs.  However, the Velco strips, while allowing quick access, don’t really secure it all that well.  I found that I had to consciously and firmly press the Velcro pieces together to get them to attach, and even then it felt a bit weak.  Upon opening the pack, I frequently found that this flap had worked its way open.  Still, with the laptop compartment situated where it is, it may not really matter, because it seems quite secure.

Here’s a shot to illustrate how to access the laptop with other cargo.  In the main main compartment, I’ve stuffed the iGo, the Timbuk2 In Flight Case and a fleece pullover.  Still got some room to spare, and it’s not that difficult to access the laptop compartment.  One thing to note here is that this pack is extremely front-heavy.  Even when loaded with a few items but without the laptop, it tends to fall forward, but insert the laptop and forget it—it does a faceplant every time.  I definitely prefer my packs to stand upright on their own if possible, but this guy is never going to do that.  You’ll have to lean it against something.

OK, here’s a feature that baffles me a bit.  On one side of the pack is an elastic access port from the main main compartment to the outside.  At first, I thought it was almost certainly a headphone port.  Then, I thought it might be a drinking tube for a water bladder, as with a Camelbak.  But that doesn’t seem too logical on a tech-type pack like this.  So, I guess you can use it for whatever purpose you like.

Rain Cover

The last feature to cover is well…the cover.  The tuck-away rain cover, to be exact.  This little baby is tucked into a hidden pouch in the bottom of the pack.

To deploy the cover, just open the pouch, which is secured closed with a little Velcro strip, and pull it out.  It stays attached to the pack via a small strap, presumably so it doesn’t get lost if it should be blown loose while you trudge through gale-force winds or the like.

The cover is made from a material that certainly feels waterproof.  It fits over the pack and has some elastic around the edge to keep it in place.  One thought I had here was, why not just make the pack itself waterproof?  I suppose it is, to a point, but this cover seems like it would really protect your stuff in the event of getting caught in a pretty heavy downpour, and it doesn’t take that long to deploy and get in place.

The cover also has an elastic strap with toggle that you can cinch down tight, to further secured it in place.

Here you can see the little strap that secures the cover to the bottom of the pack.

In Action

Below are a few shots of yours truly wearing the Revolution M.  On the left are the empty pack, on the right are the pack loaded with a good portion of my daily commute gear.  [Also not sure why I look like a bobble-head on the first shot.]

Final Thoughts

I’ve been giving the Revolution Medium Laptop Backpack a test drive  as my daily work pack for a while now.  Although, as stated above, I’m a laptop messenger bag fan, and will probably ultimately return to that style of gear-hauler, I do like the Revolution Medium.  It’s extremely comfortable to wear, its design has great functionality and attention to detail, and the quality of materials and construction are top-notch.  And it looks cool and yet doesn’t scream “HEY!  LAPTOP IN HERE!  STEAL ME!” as with some packs.  Considering all of these features and advantages, and comparing to other tech-type laptop backpacks, I actually think this pack is a steal for $99.00.  The only real nags I have are the weight of the pack and its front-heaviness; however, I think the benefits far outweigh these two relatively minor drawbacks.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Backpack, Laptop Bag

STM Revolution Medium Laptop Backpack Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 14, 2011 at 10:30 am.

STM, an Australian company that makes very nice bags, has been featured here before. This time, I get to review one of their full-sized laptop bags- the medium-sized, vertical shoulder bag. It’s a great looking bag and I could not wait to try it out!

When I look for a bag, I want something that will carry my stuff in an organized way, be good quality for the cost, and look OK doing it. The STM Vertical Medium Laptop Shoulder Bag runs $70 from eBags.com and is a good size- 16.3′ x 11.8″ X 3.1″ with a laptop slot that is 14.8″ x 10.4″ x 1.3″ and holds my 14.5″ HP with a little room to spare. The proportions are such that they feel OK on both me, a very large guy, and my slender wife. The removable shoulder strap is generously cut and easily adjustable. The bag also features a handy and very sturdy grab handle, which I really like in a bag.

STM bag proportions

The bag is very well made. As was noted in the previous review, there is a lot of attention to detail- sturdy hardware, interesting and strong zipper pulls, and a really well-done shoulder pad that does not slip and is very comfortable. The main pockets are lined with a grey fleece material with some quilting that feels nice and soft. I do not worry that anything will be scratched in these pockets!

The lining fabric, zipper pulls, and shoulder pad. Notice the Velcro on the front pocket- that is what holds the main flap down.

Shoulder strap hardware

So, high marks for looks and quality. (Forgive the fuzz and mild wear- I’ve been using this bag now since I got it and I carry it daily, and we have a cat, so…)

The bag features a large main pocket for the laptop or whatever you want to fit in it, a full sized back pocket, a pocket in the outside main flap with a zipper on the side, a large pocket in front of the laptop pocket almost as wide and tall, another one about 2/3rds that size (which seems to be designed for an iPad), and an organizer pocket with an exterior pocket, a large gusseted opening, several pen-type slots, another zippered pocket behind them, and a key clip.

Organizer pocket

Back pocket and grab handle

The bag can hold quite a bit without looking bulgy, although since it is a vertical bag, it is designed to be rather thin and does not particularly like thick stuff. It cannot easily handle things like water bottles, lunches, and even big ‘power bricks’ well although it is fine with magazines and files. The photo below shows everything I was carrying when I took the photo. There was still plenty of space, but mostly for rather flat stuff. In fact, the camera shown sort of has to be ‘positioned’ in the top part of the organizer pocket so it does not make a bulge.

Everything in the bag on photo day

There are a couple small things about this bag that bother me a little. The laptop flap and the main flap just secure with relatively small areas of Velcro. In fact, the Velcro area for the main flap- the wide oval shape on the organizer pocket shown a few photos up- really does not allow for much variation in bag thickness. The other minor thing is the relative inability to hold thicker stuff. If I was taking this on a plane or trip, I would need another bag for bulkier items. If you need bulkier storage or more secure front flaps, consider the Scout bags, or one of their other shoulder bags.

They have a nicely worded warranty, but since the company is in Australia it would be interesting to know how it actually applies.

Not quite my ‘dream bag*’ but a nicely put together bag that will probably hold up for a long time with daily abuse. (*- I want a nearly impossible collection of mix-and match components so I can carry what I want when I want without spare bulk and not shuffle items from bag to bag. Dream on, right?)

Filed in categories: Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Shoulder Bag

STM Vertical Medium Laptop Shoulder Bag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 13, 2011 at 10:08 am.

If you want a laptop bag that doesn’t look like everybody else’s bag, check out Gnana handmade bags.  Gnana is a Sanskrit word that means “knowledge of the ultimate truth”, and the folks at Gnana thought it was an appropriate name for a bag designed to carry around an implement of learning.  The laptop bags are made by skilled artisans who use high quality material to make the bags.  Each laptop bag has a separate casing to hold the laptop and pockets for organizing your gear.  The bag shown is made from 100% cotton canvas fabric that has been decorated with traditional Indian gold and silver Zari embroidery and gold and silver crystals.  This bag is 15″W X 11.5″ H X 5″ D, holds a 15″ laptop, and costs $73.00.  Gnana offers several other bags in various sizes, fabrics, and styles.  Prices range from about $63 to $89.  They also make Fair Trade handbags and totes ranging from $27 to $72.

Filed in categories: Gear, Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: handmade, Laptop Bag

Handmade Laptop Bags by Gnana originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 9, 2010 at 11:15 am.

When you are going through airport security, what’s the most important thing?  I mean, aside from making sure your socks don’t have holes in them, that is.  You want to get through it fast, right?  And it sure is a hassle having to remove your laptop from its bag and then put it back in the bag on the other side.  Well, no more worries mate.  The MobileEdge ScanFast Checkpoint Friendly Briefcase 2.0 is the bag for you!

UPDATE:  new pictures added at the bottom of the review.

In the past month I went on 2 trips so I had to go through airport security in several different airports around the country.  I was intrigued by this bag that claimed I didn’t have to remove my laptop before going through security, because they are pretty strict at airport security, right?  I wondered how all the airport security folks around the country got the message about this bag and what I was gonna say if they made me remove the laptop.  I wondered if Julie was gonna bail me out of jail for refusing to remove the laptop, because my review just wouldn’t work if I had to remove it!  Luckily, Julie didn’t have to come to my rescue.

I was successful at every airport getting through security without having to remove the laptop from the bag, and it was simply a breeze with this bag!  As you can see from the picture below, you just unzip the main zipper and open the bag completely flat.  Lay the bag on the conveyor belt and shazam, that’s it.  I didn’t have to get an extra bin to put the laptop in, thereby saving me a couple minutes and lots of hassle.  If I traveled alot, this bag would be extremely valuable because over the long run the minutes you save having to stand in line add up.

As you can see from the pictures, I took them in my office and not at the airport.  I was pretty confident in Julie’s ability to negotiate with airport security, but I wasn’t going to push my luck by trying to take pictures of the bag as it went through the scanner.  I wasn’t interested in being on the CNN evening news!

Let me tell you some of things I love about this bag.  For such a small bag, there are a ton of pockets.  On the front of the bag you have 2 outside zippered pockets, as well as 2 horizontal zippered pockets.  I used these horizontal pockets to hold my travel papers, ID, baggage claim tickets, etc.  It made it very convenient to get to these items without having to unzip the main zippered compartments.

The bottom of the bag has rubber feet to allow the bag to stand by itself without falling over, and I really liked this.  I did pack it really tight one time and it was heavy on one side of the bag, which caused it to tip over.  But most of the time it did a good job standing up.  The bag is padded everywhere, literally.  This bag was made for traveling because no matter which pocket you choose, padding is everywhere.  The stitching and quality of this bag are also top notch.  From the zippers, to the handle, to the hooks on the end that hold the strap… it just feels like quality and not cheap at all.  The shoulder strap is also padded and made of some kind of elastic because it stretches and gives a little bit.  This made it easier on my shoulder when I carried it.

Inside the main zippered compartment where the laptop goes is a large zippered pouch that is perfect for holding file folders, magazines, books, etc.  The other large zippered compartment is where all your other gear is stored.  It has specific storage slots for flash drives, which is a nice touch, as well as 2 zippered mesh pouches to allow you to see what’s inside the pouch.  There are also slots for pens, your business cards, and 2 velcro pouches to hold misc items.  There is also a small hook on a strap to hold things like your keys so they don’t get lost in the bottom of the bag… nice touch!

I am very pleased with this bag, and even though it can’t hold as much stuff as some of my larger computer bags, this has become my daily-use bag of choice.  And because of the quality of materials, and a lifetime guarantee, I think this is going to last me a long time.  Some added benefits of the bag for traveling are that it fits in overhead bins of course, but also, because of its small size it fits under the seat in front of you.

MobileEdge has several different varieties of these ScanFast bags, from this briefcase, to messenger bags, several backpacks, and even a Netbook bag.  So there is a bag for everyone.  My only complaints are trivial… the tassels on the zippers sometimes got in my way as I was closing the main compartments.  But the convenience of having the tassels to close the zippers outweighs any hassle you get.  Also, as I mentioned, it will tip over if you pack the bag with too much stuff or let it get heavy on one side.

I have used lots of laptop bags to travel with over the years, even some really expensive ones that had wheels and a handle.  But the lightweight, durable quality of this bag, combined with the ease of use going through security means that I won’t be traveling with any other bag.

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UPDATE:  The pictures below show me holding the bag, which can hold up to a 16 in. PC or 17 in. Macbook.  The pictures also show everything that I currently have in my bag… 15 in. laptop, power cord, misc cables, CDs, chargers, iPad, adapters, headphones, and a 1 in. file folder.  I could easily double this and still fit it all into the bag.  And I actually find the laptop bag attractive, especially considering bags I have owned in the past.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Shoulder Bag, Travel gear

MobileEdge ScanFast Checkpoint Friendly Briefcase 2.0 Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on October 30, 2010 at 1:00 pm.

Have you ever dropped your laptop bag with your laptop in it? Ouch! If you are accident prone Brenthaven may have a bag or two to lighten the blow. Laptop bags have become ubiquitous. So many varieties, shapes and sizes to fit ones needs.  Brenthaven makes a large variety of laptop bags and sleeves and is one of several companies that designs laptop bags that can sustain impact to protect the contents within it. The Brenthaven Prostyle SlimPack is a laptop backpack made with high density foam protection and a number of pockets and nooks and crannies to stash your gadgets and things.

The SlimPack is just as the name implies, SLIM. It’s also lightweight. Many backpacks including others made by Brenthaven weigh 2 pounds or more for the bag itself. The SlimPack is less than 1 pound. To their credit, larger and heavier bags can carry more, but the main focus of the SlimPack is to provide a slim and sleek backpack for a laptop and  other accessories (e.g., peripherals, phone, iPod, pens, digital camera). The color choices include black/red, black/white, and grey/orange.  The external dimensions are 12.5″ W x 18″ H x 3″ D. The internal dimensions are: 9.5″ W x 15.5″ H x 1.25″ D.  It was easily able to fit my 15 inch Macbook Pro.

Its size and weight make it a good choice for daily commuting and travel. I could see it being especially ideal if you use a bike or motorcycle to get around. The built in rain cover accommodates this type of use.  The side pockets also make it easier to extract your laptop from the bag in airport security.

The thoughtfully placed pockets and zippers provide convenient storage places for all your items.  You can reach your laptop from the side accessible pull down zipper without having to open the large flap.  Two other zipper pockets are also placed at the perimeter of the bag, which allow easy side entry without having to open the pack up. The front side pocket is lined in a soft fabric. While the two side pockets are easy to access, they are thin.  Large items like a portable mouse may not fit well in the tight space.  A more appropriate device would be a phone or iPod for convenient accessibility.

A large Velcro flap covers the body of the SlimPack and clasps to the bottom. The flap itself includes a zipper opening at the top. I can only guess why this is here.  My bag did not come with a zipper pull for this pocket, which makes me think it’s not meant to be opened for regular use.  When I did manage to open it I felt the waterproof lining inside the flap. I am guess it could be used to extra storage or to provide extra rain coverage.

The top flap opens up to an organization panel and several other pockets. The red org panel integrates a side zipper and snap that allows accessing and organizing this pocket more convenient.  The red lining material, which also lines the laptop compartment, isn’t my favorite part of this bag, but it gets the job done.   At the same price, the gray/orange Prostyle SlimPack comes with a softer and more attractive lining.  It would have been nice to see this in the black SlimPacks.

The pouch in front of the org panel is sewn with extra material that can bulge out, if needed. This would be a good place for the larger perpherials like a portable mouse.  The large compartment above the org panel can fit  books, notebooks, magazines, and papers.  In keeping with the slim nature of this bag, this pocket maxes out after a couple one-inch thick books. Anymore than that made the pockets in front too tight to comfortably access.

The body is constructed of a durable water resistant external shell that is made of military grade ballistic nylon.  The bottom back pocket stores a rain cover that covers the front of the bag.  The zipper pulls and stitching carry the color detailing subtlety through the exterior of bag.

The high density foam provides ½ inch thick padding around all six sides of the laptop.  The HDF system, as they call it, provides impact protection while suspending it above the bottom of the case. I tried to feel around the bottom to check out this suspension system. What I found was extra HDF padding lining the bottom of the bag and space between the laptop compartment foam and bottom foam.

In addition to the foam protection, the back straps are thick for shoulder comfort. Adjusting the straps is made easier with quick release shoulder straps that tighten and loosen without much effort. The cushioning against the back gives soft support and is reinforced by the padding of the laptop compartment. The shoulder straps join together with a unique adjustable chest clip to accommodate comfortable positioning for different body types. The chest clip can slide up and down a thin piping built into the bottom half of the shoulder straps. This is extra neat!

The Slimpack sits comfortable on the back but because of its unforgiving rectangle shape it sits high against the back. This is adjustable to comfort level.

100% lifetime guarantee is an added plus.  The Brenthaven ProStyle SlimPack is available for $79.95.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: Laptop Bag

Brenthaven Prostyle Slimpack Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 11, 2010 at 4:18 pm.

The Angelina bag from Theresa Kathryn Bags is a leather laptop bag for women.  This bag looks more like a purse than a laptop bag.  It’s made of calf leather with patent leather accents and a satin brocade lining.  There’s a padded pouch to hold up to a 14.1″ laptop and organizer pockets to hold smaller gear.  The Angelina is available in black, gunmetal, or bordeaux and is $499.00 at the Theresa Kathryn website.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Leather bags

Stylish Laptop Bag for Women from Theresa Kathryn originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 7, 2010 at 10:27 am.

Obviously, this one is for the ladies…  Vera Bradley has introduced a laptop backpack that is almost guaranteed to look like you’re carrying anything other than computer equipment for safer commuting.  It has a padded compartment for a laptop (up to 15″), an organizer compartment on the front, and another compartment with room for more things.  It has a feature that lets you slip it over the handle of your rolling luggage for easier travel.  The Laptop Backpack is available in the 17 current patterns for $98.00.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Vera Bradley

Hide Your Laptop in Plain Sight originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 25, 2010 at 12:52 pm.

And so, the Gadgeteer Bag Lady falls in love again.    The CODi Dispatch Vertical Messenger Laptop bag is yet another move in the right direction towards forward thinking accessories manufacturers who recognize that not everyone carries around a full sized laptop.

And CODi makes this one travel-friendly. The outside flap that tucks in behind the CODi band has what ALL laptop bags vertical or otherwise should have:  an outside pocket.  Seriously.  An outside pocket to hold keys, cell phone, Mp3 player….whatever… outside pockets on bags are a must.  There is nothing clumsier that having to lift up the flap of a messenger back because some designer didn’t think an outside pocket was a good idea.  CODi does.  And it gets better.

Carry pens, notebooks, cords, ear buds, sunglasses etc in Dispatch’s three roomy pockets.

Carry pens, notebooks, cords, ear buds, sunglasses etc in Dispatch's three roomy pockets.

Flip open the flap and you are greeted with a series of three smaller pockets and an elastic pen/pencil holder.  There is also a plastic pocket that could hold owner’s ID but I almost never use those. The three smaller pockets can hold a variety of objects:  power cords, CDs, notebooks, more pens and pencils, ear buds, etc.   Easy to store, easy to access.

Once you zip that down , you come to the area that I call Travel Light.   Ten mesh pockets of various sizes line the entire length of the bag.  You can pretty much hold anything in these mesh pockets and God knows I’ve tried.  I even tucked in a travel lint roller and my book light just to prove a point. The padded case, of course, holds your computer.   14.1” laptops to be specific.  In my case, I was able to fit my Nook, a book and my netbook.  No shoving, no stuffing, everything fit nicely.  In fact, I could have fit even more into the padded pocket as well as the mesh divided pockets.

Ten mesh pockets in the Dispatch allow you to hold a myriad of necessary equipment safely.

Ten mesh pockets in the Dispatch allow you to hold a myriad of necessary equipment safely.

The shoulder strap is made from good solid nylon web, fits well and expands easily and is stitched in very well.   There is also a rubber and nylon handle stitched into the top of the Dispatch but I wasn’t too happy about the stitch work on this handle.  Given how well everything else was made on this bag, I have to think this was just an isolated incident on my bag.   This bag is the perfect size and construction to take on airplanes and any other mode of travel.  With airline baggage restrictions the way they are these days, it behooves travelers to pack light which could be difficult even with today’s technology.  If schools ever opt to put textbooks on Nook readers, this is pretty much the future of backpacks.  You get a lot in a little space.

A book, a Nook and a NetBook computer safely stored in Dispatch’s padded pocket.

A book, a Nook and a NetBook computer safely stored in Dispatch's padded pocket.

What I especially like about this bag is that it can easily double as a good hiking or backpacking bag.   If you are going on day trips, shopping trips, hikes, Race for the Cure Walks, this bag will easily carry water bottles, power snacks, Mp3 players, sweat towels, etc.  I like bags that can multitask and your average laptop bag simply doesn’t do that.  In this day and economy, I love bags that can double as something else because you never know what that something else could be.  My only gripe about this bag is that there is no external pocket on the back of the bag.  I’m  a pocket girl which is more of an excuse for me to put keys, sunglasses, receipts et al (and then forget about them later of course).  But that’s really my only real “con”.  At the online price of $53.99, the price beats most laptop bag prices on the market today. On a the Coolness Factor, this bag rates a solid 9.

Filed in categories: Gear, Laptops and Gear

Tagged: Laptop Bag, vertical laptop bag

CODi Dispatch Vertical Laptop Bag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2010 at 11:56 am.

Tired of the same old laptop bag styling?  Loop laptop bags may be just what you’re looking for.  Featuring curved shapes and zip-around flaps that allow you greater access to your stuff.  Available in briefcase, messenger, tote, and sleeve styles and the new Transit series, as well as several different color combos.  Prices vary by size and type.

Filed in categories: Gear, Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: Laptop Bag

A loopy twist on laptop bags originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 18, 2010 at 7:42 am.

Ok.  Anyone who has read the Gadgeteer knows that I love laptop bags.  I have no idea why…some people collect stamps… I collect laptop bags.   I have two sizes of computers… my large Dell and my 10.2 inch Acer Aspire One Netbook.    I’m a writer so I lug my laptops around with me everywhere and when I mean everywhere….I’m serious…they go where I go.   When I am out and about and there’s a chance I’ll sit for a moment, I drag the netbook with me because it’s smaller, lighter and more portable.   Until now, I thought I had a decent netbook bag but honestly…it’s a little small for all the schtuff I carry.

Bag features side flaps that fold in and prevent things from slipping out like pens, pencils, etc. Very cool design. Slimmer over all than average laptop bags.

Be.ez has solved my dilemma with a fabulous netbook messenger bag that fits my 10.2 and will also accommodate a MacBook 13.3.   Measuring ten inches across and a little over 14 inches long, the “LE Vertigo 13 Lime Art” is a lot slimmer and much more compact than your average laptop bag made for full sized laptops.

It has the padded section for your smaller machine, sectioned compartments for Mp3 player, cell phone, pens, pencils and larger sections for power cords, notebooks, plus a zippered pocket for whatever.

For a slimmer laptop bag, this be.ex LeVertigo Lime Art carries plenty.

I like the unisex charcoal gray woven exterior which is water repellent and the cool chartreuse lining with the “e” in be.ez  stitched into the Velcro closure…nice touch.   And here’s an extra bonus for this bag, there is NO WAY any airline will deny you this bag on the flight.  It’s large enough to carry your MacBook 13.3 or your 10.2 Netbook along with  cords, boarding pass…whatever and will stow neatly under your seat.  It has an attached extendable webbed strap so you can hang the bag from your shoulder or across your body like a messenger bag.

I LOVE the construction of this bag.  It’s tough, very well made, well stitched and compact.  This bag will handle all the abuse I give (unintentionally) to my bags and it will last.  At $59.90, you will be able to find less expensive netbook bags, but  you will get what you pay for.  This bag is well worth the price.  I’ve seen bags for at least ninety dollars or more that are nowhere near as well made.

One complaint that I have about this bag is that there are no external pockets.  I love my external pockets for storing sunglasses, car keys, tissues, Chapstick… the small things I need that I don’t want to have to go digging in my bag for.  But otherwise, this is a fabulous bag, terrifically made, good price and built to last.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Macbook, Netbook

The be.ez Levertigo Notebook Bag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 15, 2010 at 5:45 pm.

About six years ago, my employer presented me with a laptop to use as my primary work computer.  It was handed to me along with an ugly little basic black laptop bag, and soon I was carrying this bag with me to and from work every day.  It wasn’t long before I abandoned that bag for a much more attractive and reliable laptop messenger bag from Timbuk2, and I’ve been using that bag ever since.  For over six years, that bag has traveled with me to and from work every day, and during some weeks, it also travels with me everywhere else that I go.  The bag has held up surprisingly well for as much use and abuse it has taken, but it’s starting to show its age just a bit.  Naturally, I jumped at the chance to review one of the newest products from BBP Bags, the Industries High-Back Messenger.  I’ve carried this bag exclusively for the past week, and here is what I’ve come away with.

Features

• Industrial stylo, meant to be worn across the chest on the opposite shoulder and high on the back
• Pockets galore
• Oversized shoulder pad for lefties or righties
• Pleather wrapped top grab handle (that’s right, pleather)
• Breathable backside pad
• Luggage handle pass-through
• No snag and low noise hook/loop for the front flap
• Tough exteriors with eco-friendly TPE or PU backing
• Bonus removable 15-16″ padded laptop sleeve included
• Additional sleeve sizes (10″, 13-14″, 17″) available
• Limited lifetime warranty

BBP Bags has been around for about five years now, making backpacks and messenger-style bags with a focus on ergonomics.  The Industries High-Back Messenger bag is a break from their standard messenger bags in that — as the name suggests — it is designed to ride higher on the wearer’s back, resting above the waist rather than at or below the waist.  In order to make the bag ride higher, the shoulder strap is shorter (though the length can be adjusted).  To be perfectly honest, I found this quite awkward at first… I’m accustomed to just slipping the strap of my bag over my shoulder and going.  With a shorter strap, putting the bag on is a process that has to be more carefully calculated.  If you wear glasses or sunglasses you may find yourself knocking them off of your head or face the first several times you try to put this bag on or take it off.

However, once you get the strap over your shoulder and the bag settled into place, the benefits of the high-back design become apparent.  The bag rests comfortably and securely, without even requiring an additional strap across the chest.  With my old bag, bending over to pick something up off of the floor or even a low table meant either holding the bag in place with one hand or risking having the bag slip off of my back and swing around in front of me.  Nothing quite like reaching down to grab a cup of coffee off of a coffee table only to have your bag come swinging down to knock it out of your hand.  Riding high on the back, the Industries messenger bag stays put.  I could bend down to perpendicular with the floor, and the bag wouldn’t shift a bit.

The bag also has pockets aplenty:  two zip pockets on the front flap that are just the right size for a smartphone or a portable USB hard drive, two more zip pockets on the front of the bag itself, a large zip pocket on the back, two open pockets inside the bag, and a zippered pocket on the laptop sleeve itself.  The laptop sleeve features a hook-and-loop closure tab to keep your computer in place, and the sleeve itself is removable, securing to the inside of the bag via small hook-and-loop closure patches.  This is a great feature especially if you might need to carry books or other items instead of your laptop… you just remove the sleeve, and now you have more room for other things.  BBP also sells additional sleeves in different sizes, so if you might be upgrading from a smaller laptop to a larger one at some point, you won’t have to replace the entire bag, you can just get a new sleeve.  Likewise, if you have a couple of laptops that you have to swap between, you could store them each in a sleeve even when they aren’t in the bag.  The zippered pocket on the sleeve itself is a great addition, as you can place your AC adapter in the pocket, and easily swap that out along with the laptop.

The back of the bag is heavily padded, which is great for comfort.  In addition, there is a channel behind the back padding, allowing it to be used as a luggage handle strap.  I don’t do air travel with my laptop often, but based on the few times that I’ve had to, I can absolutely see how this would be a must for a frequent flier.

As much as I’d like that to be all that I have to say about this bag, there are some issues that I have found with the bag that I can’t leave unaddressed.  First of all, while I’ll admit that I can never have enough pockets on a bag, placement can be an issue.  Specifically, I dislike that there are pockets in the front flap of this bag.  I’m accustomed to just flopping the front flap of my bag over onto the table, and I’ve done that a few times already with the Industries messenger, remembering that I had my iPhone or a hard drive in the front flap pockets only after I heard them whomp down onto the table.  I’m sure that this is one of those things that you just get used to in the course of owning the bag, but it’s triggered the panic response in me enough times in a week that I think I’d have to make a point of putting nothing in those pockets that can’t take a beating.  Cables, perhaps.  Or gum.

Second, the closure system for the front flap concerns me.  Like many bags, the Industries High-Back Messenger utilizes a sort of redundant closure system, one that keeps the flap down when simply laid in place, such as a Velcro closure, and then one that ensures that the bag doesn’t come open unless you want it to, usually a clasp system of some sort.  BBP utilizes two strips of low-noise, no-snag hook-and-loop closure under the flap, and then an odd plastic clasp system that I’ve not seen before.  The problems here are two-fold.  The hook-and-loop closure is not terribly strong, so while it might keep the flap down in a stiff breeze, that’s about it.  Any serious pressure seems to cause this closure system to give way.  Granted, I didn’t go to the effort of manually pressing the closure strips closed, I just laid them on top of each other, but the point is that I shouldn’t have to do that.  The hook-and-loop closure system on my old bag, when closed with the same amount of effort (that is to say, none), would keep the contents inside even when the bag was turned upside down.  I could forgive the weak hook-and-loop closure on this BBP bag but only if it weren’t for the fact that I have little confidence in the clasp system as well.  This bag has a strange domed clasp, and while it seems to hold well when latched, it is fairly easy to think you’ve closed the clasp, when in fact it hasn’t fully latched.  This is bad news, when you consider that the hook-and-loop closure isn’t going to do much of anything to back it up.

The third issue with the bag is actually somewhat related to the previous one.  The pleather handle, while comfortable, is badly-placed.  Instead of attaching at the back of the bag or just where the front flap meets the bag, it is placed more on the front flap itself.  This means that when you lift the bag by the handle, the weight of the bag is being transferred to the flap closure system, which as I’ve already pointed out, isn’t exactly foolproof.  Any time you lift the bag by the handle when it has any significant weight in it (in my case, a laptop and AC adapter only), the stress on the front flap is enough to separate the hook-and-loop fastener strips.  You can hear them give way, and then the weight of the bag shifts as the flap attempts to come free.  Fortunately, the plastic clasps are there to catch the weight and keep the bag from opening completely, but imagine what would happen if one or more of the clasps hadn’t latched all the way?  This exact thing happened to me on the third day of carrying the bag, and needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled with the moment of panic that ensued as I could feel the weight shifting towards the front of the bag, and see the front flap flying open.  Fortunately, one of the plastic clasps was fully latched, but that experience was enough to get me to swear off the handle completely.  The handle either needs to be further back on the bag, or it shouldn’t be there at all.

In a nutshell, the BBP Industries High-Back Messenger bag is a nice, comfortable, subtly stylish, convenient bag with a highly-questionable closure system and a handle that you might as well cut off entirely.

Just a note, BBP: I’m not in the habit of wearing anything bearing the word “steez”, and I’d prefer to keep it that way.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Laptop Sleeve

BBP Industries High-Back Messenger Bag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 12, 2010 at 2:21 pm.

First off, I REALLY love Saddleback‘s motto of ‘They’ll fight over it when you’re dead’. That is saying something in today’s disposable society; where electronics are engineered to last a few years before their battery dies, motherboard fries, or they simply self destruct. Saddleback believes their products are so well made they guarantee them for 100 years.

I have had the opportunity to tryout many laptop bags over the years here at the-gadgeteer.com, most very nice but none of them perfect enough to make me switch permanently (aka I roll through them pretty regularly). I have read most of the Saddleback reviews Julie has done over the years and always wanted to see/try one for myself. Well, I have finally been given the chance to try one out. I will be looking at Saddleback’s Briefcase Thin a thinner, lighter version of their standard briefcase Julie reviewed a couple of  years ago.

The first thought that ran through my mind when I first saw the Saddleback Thin Briefcase was that it reminds me of the Old West. A bag not made by a machine in a factory in China but one hand-made by an artisan, constructed to last a lifetime….truly a world of difference.

The main flap is secured in place by a belt type of latch. Both sides of the closure are stitched and riveted to survive being latched and unlatched countless times over a lifetime. It has taken me some time to get use to the added time and (for lack of a better word) complexity needed to open and close/secure the flap. A minor thing that I am sure will become easier as the leather of the belt closure breaks in.

The back of the briefcase has a slim slipper pocket ideally sized to hold paperwork or a magazine. Definitely quicker access than the main compartment.

All seams are stitched with a thick industrial marine grade polyester thread. All points of stress have rivets to further ensure they will not fail. The top of the thin briefcase has a very strong, well engineered handle for carrying the briefcase.

As I said, the chrome tanned leather is as Old West as it can get. It is 2-2.2 mm thick and extremely rigid. It will take years to fully break in and soften up.

According to Saddleback, the thick vertical leather seams absorb the shock from an impact or a fall. I must concur, the 5mm thick vertical seams not only act as a shock absorber but holds the briefcase vertically when you set it down.

The three seams on the bottom of the case also help to enable it to stand upright by itself. Although I doubt it will be able to stand on it own when the bag fully breaks in and has aged a bit.

All of the corners of the briefcase have D-rings to clip things/items/stuff to the bag like a water bottle, flashlight or set of keys.

The interior is lined with a tough pigskin leather. The inside is relatively spacious and easily holds all my tech-stuff.

These are the items I travel with both daily and on trips:

• 13″ unibody MacBook w/Vaja i-volution Leather Suit
• Work (day job) credentials
• 3.5 mm input cord
• Sunglasses
• SureFire Pen II
• Verizon USB727 data-card
• Etymotic Research hf5 High-Fidelity Earphones
• USB extension cable
• SuperTalent Pico C thumb drive
• Plantronics Discovery 975 bluetooth earpiece
• iPod Touch w/Vaja i-volution Top Holster
• MacBook power brick

Saddleback’s thin briefcase is available in two sizes:

• 15″ Medium – 15″ x 11 ½” x 4 ¼” (38.1cm x 29.21cm x 10.795cm). Weighs approx. – 4 ¼” lbs
• 17″ Large – 17″ x 12 ½” x 4 ¼” (43.18cm x 31.75cm x 10.795cm). Weighs approx – 5 lbs.

And four colors:

• Chestnut
• Carbon black
• Dark coffee
• Dark tobacco

The front and rear compartments are both 2 1/4” deep and as I said….spacious. But my two complaints are the lack of interior pockets and padding on the bottom of the back compartment. Saddleback has included a single pocket and two pen slots in the front compartment. I would have preferred 2-3 mid-sized pockets. I do not like my equipment flopping around, willy-nilly. Plus it would be nice to have the option to order the briefcase with additional padding on the bottom of rear compartment, as added drop protection for laptops.

There are a total of 10 D-rings (5 on each side) plus one O-ring on the thin briefcase. All designed to either carry the briefcase or to hang/carry items on the bag.

The O-ring allows you wear the bag as a backpack. I do not know if I will actually wear this bag as a backpack but I am surprised just how comfortable it is in this mode.

As Julie has mentioned in a majority of her reviews, Saddleback bags are extremely heavy. The Thin Briefcase is no different, at 5 lbs it starts out heavy and only gets heavier as I added my tech-stuff. Total weight is over 13 lbs; that is a fair amount of weight to lug around.

To suspend the weight, Saddleback includes an equally well made shoulder strap that is engineered to carry the briefcase around for a 100 years. Like the bag itself, the ends of the strap are riveted and stitched. The shoulder pad is comfortable and the clips are nicely made as well.

Weight aside, this case sure looks good, feels good, smells good….you get the picture. I have received many comments on how nice the briefcase looks and one friend ask if they could have it if I decided I did not want it (doubt that will be the case). Overall I really like Saddleback’s Thin Briefcase, (definitely) enough to keep it around for a while. Like many other Saddleback bags, their Thin Briefcase is not cheap. At over $400, this is a relatively expensive item. But if you breakdown the cost (based on the 100 warranty), its just $4/year, $0.34/month, or about $0.01/day; a pretty darn good bang for the buck for a rugged, Indiana Jones fashion statement that is made to last several lifetimes.

(Note: The links in this review to the Saddleback Leather Company website are affiliate links.)

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: Bag, Laptop Bag

Saddleback Leather Company Briefcase Thin Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 8, 2010 at 12:00 pm.

The new laptop bag by Keen Inc., made entirely of used, unwanted materials in effort to reduce landfills.

Whether being environmentally conscious  is the “thing” to do these days or whether they really mean it,  Keen Inc., appears to really mean it.  Making the right choices in the materials they use in their lifestyle apparel products is the hallmark of the Keen mission statement.  As a recycler in a disposable society, I can seriously get behind this kind of thing.  I’m a big fan of Use It Up or Recycle It and Keen is too.  Their line of laptop bags are manufactured from unwanted materials that would otherwise end up in landfill.  Keen calls it “Reclaiming unwanted fabrics…and Repurpose(ing) them into this bag”.  I also like their “Redefine its potential” attitude towards unwanted fabrics and materials.  Rather than calling it recycled materials or landfill fodder, this company “redefines” it and finds a way to “repurpose” it.

Roomy, able to hold a laptop computer in a suspended pocket and plenty of pockets for MP3 player, cell phone, books, notebooks and whatever else you can think of to carry.

The Cornell II laptop bag is great bag.  It’s roomy, compartments for pens, pencils, package of gum, mouse, books and an adjustable shoulder strap with a  folded over moveable pad. It also has a nice, comfy cozy suspended laptop compartment.   Being a klutz, I really like the suspended laptop sleeve feature.  It’s made of repurposed materials which means no two bags are exactly alike.  So essentially, you get a cool bag which is unlike anything anyone else has (if you’re into that) and you’re a pal to the environment at the same time.  My Keen bag is a bit loud in the color department…rather looks like it got sideswiped by the Partridge Family bus but…I can pick it out of lineup against all the Black Laptop Bags out there and let’s face it… if you’re an individual, you get a designer looking bag without the designer price.

My Cornell II bag is from Keen’s Harvest collection and retails for about $90.00.  Given the durability, roominess and utility of this bag, I’d say that was a fair price.  I’ve seen many other bags with less utility, fancier names and substandard construction that cost far more.

If I had to complain about the Keen bag, I’d have to pick on the design.  My last laptop bag had water bottle pockets on the in and outside of the bag.  I would also like to have some exterior pockets for easy access to keys, rail pass, coffee-house frequent buyer card or MP3 player.   I’m also not in love with the aluminum hooks closures on the front of the bag.  I find them a bit clumsy but in its defense, at least I’m not snapping the skin on my fingers with the plastic locking fasteners common on backpacks and bags today.  The Velcro on the underside of the panel helps to keep the bag fastened if you choose not to employ the aluminum fasteners.

I’m also no fan of the big advertising patch on the front of the bags which explains, in 40 words or less, the mission statement behind Keen’s environmental stance on using repurposed materials.

This patch is displayed right smack on the front flap of the messenger bag.

Fortunately, these patches are sewn on using a wide tensioned  zig-zag stitch which is stitched on to only the first layer of the panel… the thread does not go all the way through to the lining of the flap..  A very sharp pair of small embroidery or nail scissors or a nice sharp seam ripper and the patch comes off easily.

This patch is simple to remove by using a small pair of sharp embroidery scissors or a seam ripper. Insert under the zig-zag stitching and cut the threads of the stitching.

There will still be some thread attached. This patch was sewn onto one side of the panel but not to the material that makes up the entire flap so it will be easy to remove the cut threads by picking them out. Once the threads are pulled, run a piece of clear tape over the area to catch stray threads.

Once you remove the patch and the threads, there  will be a visible outline of where the patch used to be.  I’m not concerned about that.   Eventually, use of the bag will iron that out and in transit, the outline is hardly noticeable.

There is some outline of where the patch had once been. With usage, this outline should wear away in time. It's not noticeable in transit.

Aside from that, the Cornell II is more than just a decent laptop bag.  It does what it is supposed to do, it’s durable which is great because I carry a really big lot of stuff, you can put a lot of stuff into  it,  it’s very well made and sturdy, my laptop is safe from my clumsiness and it’s using recycled materials.  It’s a solid product.

Filed in categories: Gear, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, messenger bag

Keen Cornell II Laptop Messenger Bag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 25, 2010 at 4:19 pm.

Timbuk2, makers of the recognizable 3-panel messenger bags (which are great for holding our gadgetry) have recently redesigned their very popular Classic Messenger Bag.  The “Classic Messenger 2010″ has added functional features which some thought were lacking in the previous version.  As in the past, it is available in two styles, pre-built and custom.  Both feature the new Napolean Pocket, TruFit Cam Buckle, and 3-Zip Front Organizer.  The custom also includes an optional Laptop Loveglove, choice of binding color and a bunch of new fabrics and colors that allow you to fully customize the look of your gear-hauler.  The pre-built is available in XS to XL sizes, $70 to $110.  The custom varies in size and price depending on features you select, but start at $100 to $140.

Filed in categories: Gear, Laptops and Gear, News

Tagged: gear bag, Laptop Bag

Improve on a Classic? Timbuk2 has done it. originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 27, 2010 at 12:08 pm.

I wouldn’t consider myself someone who collects lots of tools.  But I do have enough tools that it has gotten a little out of control in our garage.  It has reached a point where I have to question myself about where that tool is that I am looking for.  So I jumped at the chance to review the Veto Pro Pac LT-XL Laptop Toolbag.

My first impression when I pulled the Pro Pac out of the box was “wow, this thing is made of tough stuff”.  You can tell by looking at the corners and at the places where the pieces of the canvas fabric are put together.  You can tell by picking it up too.  The handle is beefy.  The zippers are thick and sturdy. And the various hooks and pouches are just plain tough!  I can see this bag lasting me a very long time.

Now, let me say that about 3 years ago I went to my local big box store and got me a big toolbox to replace my average, smallish toolbox.  Several birthdays and Christmas’ later, my big toolbox wasn’t sufficient enough to hold all my new little tools.  So the Veto Pro Pac came at just the right time.

The shoulder strap is wide, and padded, and the toolbag itself is tapered from the bottom to the top making over-the-shoulder use realistic.  All the zippers on the bag can be pad-locked, which is great.  I have owned a lot of over-the-shoulder type bags, and the first thing to break on me has always been the handle d-rings because of flimsy design.  It looks like they got this one right.

The Pro Pac was designed for the techy side in me as well, because this bag can carry 2, that’s right, 2 laptops!  Just on either side of the handle are 2 padded zippered slots for laptops, or file folders if you want.

On the outside edge of both sides are large zippered slots that completely open the inside of both sides.  Or you can only unzip the sides halfway down and snap the top of the flap to the side of the bag, which is a nice touch.  One side is designed to hold 75 tools with a ton of pouches.

The other side is meant for business, with larger pouches meant for sunglasses, cellphones, digital cameras, calculators, power cords, notepads, pens, business cards, and so on.

My old toolbox is looking very empty and lonely now because I moved my most-used tools to the Pro Pac.  What I really like about the Pro Pac over a regular tool box is that all my tools are standing up with the handles sticking out so it is extremely easy to find the tool you want.  With a regular toolbox the tools are all laying down on top of each other like the silverware in the kitchen drawer, and it is a hassle to find what you want…. you end up having to remove half the tools in the toolbox just to find that one tool in the bottom of the box.

Some other nice touches are that there are 7 hooks/loops on the outside of the bag so you can attach things that you need quick access to… keys, tape measures, etc.  There are also 2 hooks inside the bag.  The shoulder strap is removable of course, and each end of the strap connects to the aforementioned D-hooks.  In fact, every time I look at the bag, I seem to discover some new pouch, or nook, or cranny (did I just say cranny??).  The bag measures almost 17 inches wide and 10 inches wide, and about 20 inches tall.

Now, there are a few final things about this bag that I should mention.  The bag isn’t big enough to hold larger tools, like a power drill or a sander.  If you load it up with a bunch of tools and a laptop, it can get quite heavy.  You do have the shoulder strap to help, and the beefy handle is comfortable, but it can still get heavy.  And I do wish that the metal strip that runs down both sides of the handle had a ruler on it.  Every toolbox I have ever owned had a ruler somewhere on the box so you can quickly lay something down to see how long it is.  The handle on this bag is the perfect place for this!

I love this bag.  It isn’t cheap though at $225, and it won’t replace every toolbox or storage bin that I have in my garage, because it wasn’t designed to hold everything I have.  But it will hold the tools I use the most.

Note: Links in this review are affiliate links. The Gadgeteer earns a small percentage of $’s for any sale that comes from this review.

Filed in categories: Do-It-Yourself, Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Toolbag, Tools

Veto Pro Pac LT-XL Laptop Toolbag Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on January 3, 2010 at 10:39 am.

LapDome Inc. makes a line of the most unusual laptop bags I’ve seen.  These bags, when collapsed, look like more regular laptop bags.  Some are padded and used to carry your laptop;  some are not padded and are meant to be carried in your regular laptop bag as an accessory.  All pop open to make a dome-shaped tent for your netbook or laptop.  Why do you need a tent?  LapDome says these pop-up tents provides shade that make your computer screen visible when you’re using it outdoors.  The back of the tent has slots for your power and security cables, and the tent front has a lockable zipper.  They range in sizes from the Junior, which works for netbooks and portable DVD players to the Planet Rambler for notebooks – even a 17″, with a snug fit.  Prices range from about $25 to about $80, from LapDome.

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, News, Travel Gear

Tagged: Laptop Bag, Outdoor Gear

LapDome Laptop Bags with Popup Shade originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 27, 2009 at 10:48 am.

More then just funny capitalization (yes, that’s really how they spell it) Kamiliun uses a modular system to create a flexible backpack/bag system from mix-and-match components. I received the Chicken or the Egg package consisting of a ‘letterbox’ back on the left, above, designed to carry a laptop or other large slab-like objects, and a ‘shell’ front on the right, above. where you stuff the rest of the things you want to carry. It sounds good on paper, but is it more or less then the sum of its parts? I replaced my normal roomy multi-compartment Targus clamshell case with the Kamiliun backpack to see how it worked for a ‘business user’. I also took it on a few family outings in place of the normal backpack we’d grab, and as the ultimate test of coolness, I allowed my tween to use it for hauling her life around for a bit. The results were interesting!

Some Assembly Encouraged

The whole point of this bag is flexibility. When mated together, you end up with a two compartment backpack. The parts can be used separately as well, as a light-duty backpack and a messenger bag.

The bags attach and detach easily. Two clips on the sides, two on the bottom, and away (or together) they go.

When assembled, it wears like a normal backpack

The front compartment (the SHeLL) is a roomy 19.3 x 11.5 x 3-4 inchs (with a belly bump at the bottom adding another couple of inches of depth) bag that zips completely open, with three interior zipper mesh pockets.

On the top, set wide enough for an NFL linebacker, are the two lightly padded shoulder straps, that extend from the front of the bag, over the zipper opening, and then attach via clips to a pair of rings at the bottom corners of the SHeLL.

The shoulder straps have breathable material on their undersides, but the back of the SHeLL is the same nylon as the front, and is not padded at all.

The back compartment (the LEttERbOX) is a tombstone-shaped slab measuring 19.3 x 11.5 x 2.33 inches.

When using solo, a diagonal strap arrangement works very well.

It has a padded back, and a single large pocket with a Velcro strap – this pocket is intended to hold your notebook.

With a bit of wiggling my largish (14 x 10 x 1.1 inch) laptop just fit, as did the kid’s somewhat longer and thicker (15 x 10.12 x 1.5 inch) low-end notebook.

I expect if you’re more inclined to go for those “air” style notebooks, it will slide right in. Other then the one pocket, the rest of the interior space is open. In addition to the thick back padding, the entire LEttERbOX is somewhat padded, although there is no additional padding or protection on the bottom – take care when slinging this thing to the ground with your notebook inside. The interior and exterior material look quite durable, and the zipper (which opens the top half of the back) is very heavy duty The LEttERbOX has a handle (nylon, unpadded!) on top, four attachment points (plastic rings attached via nylon loops) at the corners, a couple of quick-release clips at the bottom, and a pair of nylon loops on the top for mating with the SHeLL or for stand-alone use with the included (and padded) shoulder strap. The back of the LEttERbOX is made of a breathable weave that might keep your shirt from getting soaked with sweat.

All for one, and one for all?

So how does this thing work? If you use it like a notebook backpack (The Working Tech Guy use case), it’s got several shortcomings, at least for me. The two that jump right out at me are the total lack of exterior pockets, and the design/placement of the shoulder straps.

First, there’s a bunch of loose stuff that goes with me – various cables, small electronic components, H1N1 defense kit (hand sanitizer, tissues!) keys, phones, devices, bricks, hard drives, etc. – that have no easy place to live in this bag. I can pick between the front or the back compartment. If they’re not gonna work themselves out of the mesh, I could put them into one of the mesh pockets.

The strap placement is really awkward. If I want to GET to anything, I have to remove the pack from my back (even if I use a helper) since the straps attach over the zippers – with any weight on the bag its nearly impossible to unzip a compartment and root around either section. So, remove pack from back, loosen up the two halves to free up enough slack to unzip, unzip (spilling out contents of the SHeLL) and then root around for whatever it was I wanted. After a week of this, I was very happy to go back to my clamshell case!

Hoping it was just me and my junk that didn’t work well with it, I moved on to use case two: The Active Family Guy. On the weekend Active Family Guy and his family (wife & tween) are often found dashing off for a day trip to the beach, or to the mall, or to Ikea. Grabbing great gobs of stuff and shoving it in backpacks, they head off. Gobs of stuff might include additional clothing, electronics (mostly cameras and/or entertainment systems), and food. Here the combined system faired much better for a couple of reasons, but still suffered from the lack of external easy access pockets and awkward strap layout. Also, a new issue appeared. But first, the good news…

The dual bag system works really well if you are the pack mule on an expedition, like I am. Once you’ve hauled the small mountain of stuff you can hand off the relevant half to one of the family members (for example, the tween and her pile of clothing and snacks) while retaining your cameras and whatnot, as you each go off to do something. We often bring a smaller pack or bag with us when traveling or even just on outings so we don’t have to haul the big backpack everywhere, and in that case the combined Kamiliun bag was very nice as well – using the SHeLL as the ‘day pack’ worked just fine. We longed for external beverage pockets and easy access external zipper pockets, but overall the pair proved effective and useful.

The new bad news was somewhat apparent in the first use case, but became more obvious with the typically much longer wearing time of The Active Family Guy. This thing is just plain uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time when loaded with gear. The shoulder straps don’t have nearly enough padding, and they are set so wide that you feel like the thing is going to slip off your back at the slightest turn. The wide set straps put the weight of whatever you carry onto your collar bone, vs just outside of your neck as a typical backpack does. The breathable material worked well, at least, so while it was uncomfortable to carry, the bag did breath well.

The last use case is Active Tween, and here the bag scores big points for coolness. I’ve watched my kid go from roller backpack to massive near frame pack bag to minimalistic three compartment backpack over the years. Nearing the end of middle school, fashion rules over function, and the more funky the better. My daughter took to this thing like a duck to water. She shoved her laptop in the back, heaped in brick & cables, crammed the front with a change of clothing and who knows what else, and was off to DJ a school dance. Ditto for normal school use – heavy books in back, personal stuff in front. Apparently the division of stuff into two lumps was sufficient for her. I asked about comfort – she said she noticed it felt different, but it was OK. I asked about the lack of external pockets – she was unconcerned. She liked the flexibility of being able to haul a lot of stuff in and out of school, but stashing the back half in her locker and using just the SHeLL during the day. This clearly is the sweet spot for this combo bag.

Putting it all together

The Kamiliun system of interlocking bags use high quality materials and look to be very durable. They’re designed to give you maximum flexibility in your ability to carry stuff. There are some costs associated with that flexibility – essentially each individual bag is not quite as perfect as a single purpose bag designed just for that function, and even the combined bag isn’t as ideal as a single purpose bag with similar configuration. You are spared the hassle of juggling multiple bags, and (if you’re of a certain age) you’ll score big points for coolness.

Filed in categories: Gear, Laptops and Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: Bag, Laptop Bag

Kamiliun cHiCkEn oR tHe eGG Messenger Style Backpack Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 26, 2009 at 2:00 pm.

Traveling by air post-9/11 is a hassle. Segregating liquids, removing laptops, pulling tape from camcorders, taking off your belt and shoes – it’s all a royal pain, to say nothing of the juggling act required to recover your stuff on the other side of the x-ray machine and metal scanner. Aerovation is among a small group of companies that has been certified by the TSA to manufacture and market approved cases that allow you to not have to take your laptop out for the trip through the x-ray machine. How do these bags work, and are they worth the effort? We’ll see.

I fly at least once a month, either to our home office or to do training with our help desk. Both of these usually require an overnight stay, which I have reduced to my regular bag, plus clean shorts, socks, shirt and handkerchief and a toothbrush. Everything else I need – shampoo, soap, lotion, etc. is provided at the hotel, along with evening tea and breakfast coffee. This means I don’t have to check a bag (which, with my favorite airline, Southwest, doesn’t cost extra, but can result in a wait or the occasional loss of a few hours.) It also prevents me from being “that guy” who tries to wrestle a roll-aboard the size of a dead yak into the overhead while balancing a laptop bag on my shoulder. (Trips in the early spring, winter and fall can require more, given the need for sweaters and gloves at one end of the trip. But the spring/summer flights are a dream.)

Aerovation has designed this series of bags in two parts: one to hold the laptop and only the laptop, the other to hold everything else. The bags split apart and ride through like an open-face sandwich through the toasting oven at Quiznos®. On the other end, you just need to grab the handle that has connected them, and they fall back together, hooking together with Velcro® to join them back into a single bag. A great plan, and actually, it almost works.

I tested two bags: a laptop bag designed for 15″ laptops,

The Laptop bag. Note the hardware connection. You can actually detach them and only carry one, if you'd like.

and a trolley cart bag, designed to hold 17″ laptops and overnight supplies.

The hardware for the trolley takes up a little room in the third section, but it is solid hardware. The laptop section can be zipped off for carrying separately.

The Laptop bag is actually two bags joined by a common handle and hardware. They can be separated and carried independently, if desired. The laptop compartment is lined in black, entirely covered by instructions printed in bright yellow. (More on this later.) The non-laptop section (easy to spot by the complete lack of instructions) has a zipper that extends from halfway down each side across the top. There are a few pen loops, a tier of credit card pockets, and a pouch that would hold a candy-bar phone on one side, along with some full-size non-gussetted pockets behind. The rest of the section is all one compartment, just like the laptop section. There are also a few tight single-magazine pockets on the outside of the bag, but nothing that’s going to hold anything thicker than a half-inch or so.

The laptop section of the 17" bag. Note the detailed instructions screen-printed onto the lining. I sure hope that information doesn't change. Or maybe they send you a new bag when they do. Who knows?

The trolley cart is actually three compartments: one for the laptop only (up to 17″, and lined in bright yellow with explicit instructions not to put anything else into it — again, more on this later), the trolley and clothing section, and the “other stuff” section, where you would put the usual laptop bag items. This section is similarly configured to the laptop bag, with tight, small, non-gusseted pockets. Again, the laptop section can be detached.

So, the non-laptop pocket on both of these bags is where you’d carry your power adapter, umbrella, iPhone charging cable, point-and-shoot camera, pad holder, pen pouch, business card holder, earbuds, bag of “fluids” (nasal spray, chapstick, eye drops, hand lotion, toothpaste, etc.), and the million other things you usually carry in your gear bag. All this in a single, narrow, pocket-less rectangle of cordura. Is anyone seeing the problem here? Right! – There’s no way to organize and handle this stuff! Placed in a single large square-ish pocket, it all slides down to the bottom. When you grasp the handle to rejoin your laptop section to this part of the case, it’s like trying to meld a book with a football! Nothing seamlessly rejoins, unless you stop, open the “support” area, pull things up, press on the Velcro® to ensure the seal, and zip things back.

Laptop section to the left, gear section to the right. Notice the lump caused by everything being loaded into one pocketless section. Guess what happens when you pick up the handle?

If you only carry a power adapter and two magazines with you, you’ll be fine. Or, as Julie and others have done, if you use packing cubes to organize this area, you would probably not have any issues. But most of the folks I know – especially gear-a-holics – will have too many iPods, chargers, USB drives and other detritus of the life of a modern digital nomad floating around to have it stay this flat. While that doesn’t preclude us from using the case, it does overwhelm the convenience factor of the grab-and-walk on the far side of security – which is the whole point of the system.

There is another thing, which I must mention, because it really drove me to distraction: obsessive labeling on the exterior and within the laptop area. The trolley cart is very professional, and would blend in nicely, except for the bright yellow warning painted on top, beside the handle: “RETRACT HANDLE BEFORE SCANNING.” OK, maybe I’d need to be warned of that once. A simple tag will do. But permanently marking the bag is like tattooing your phone number to the back of your hand. Do they really think I can’t learn this simple fact and not do it? And if I do, TSA will stop me and remind me that I’m an idiot, and I’ll never do it again. Why deface a nice bag this way? (Of course, I remove the airbag/childseat warnings from my cars’ visors. I know not to put child seats in the front, and don’t need to be reminded. Why leave the tags there? My youngest child is 20!) Same goes for the bright yellow & black printing inside the laptop compartment. It totally detracts from the elegance of the case to have 42 rules and regulations silk-screened to the lining.

So, while I really wanted to love this product for the idea, the execution and lack of organizational pockets killed it for me. The excessive overprinting added insult to injury.

Three stars: Four for concept and workmanship, two for design and signage.

15.4 Inch Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bag $69.95
Checkpoint Friendly Trolley Bag with Removable Laptop Compartment $199.95

Filed in categories: Laptops and Gear, Reviews, Travel Gear

Tagged: cases, gear bags, Laptop Bag

Aerovation Checkpoint-Friendly Laptop Bag and Trolley Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on November 22, 2009 at 5:22 pm.