Everki recently supplied me with the Beacon Laptop Backpack w/Gaming Console Sleeve to review. Since school started back up, I have spent the past few weeks using it as my main gear bag. I am pleased with the style and ruggedness of the backpack with daily use; I am able to comfortably carry all of my gear and it is comfortable and looks great. Find out the particulars after the break…
Of all the laptop bags that I have reviewed over the years, and I can’t even tell you how many dozens there have been (possibly hundreds?), I can only remember having a perfect stranger approach me to compliment my bag twice: once for the ACME Made Courier, and the other time for this bag – the Waterfield Muzetto.
We recently released the introduction of the Camber Netbook Case-Sling from Everki (you can read the release here). Everki was kind enough to supply a Camber for me to review. This new case is super compact fitting netbooks up to 13″. The product is slightly too small to hold a 13″ MacBook Pro (they actually are 13.3″), but a version to accommodate the macbook is in the works for 2010. As the computing devices we use get smaller, so do the ways we carry them. See how the Camber stacks up after the break.
Tom Bihn is a company I have been following for a while now, ever since Judie reviewed the Aeronaut when she was still at The Gadgeteer. Tom Bihn is not only based right here in the United States, they make their bags in the US, which is a rarity among bag manufacturers. When Tom Bihn let me know about their new Synapse backpack, I jumped at a chance to review it. The exterior of the Synapse I was sent is made with Indigo colored 1000 denier U.S. Cordura, and the backpack is lined with Solar Dyneema/nylon rip-stop fabric. The Syapse is…
Yesterday Larry posted that Skooba is having a big 25% off sale for the next few days. The Skooba bag on the left in the advertisement is a new item from Skooba designed especially for netbooks. The Netbook Messenger is just the right size for carrying a netbook and a few assorted accessories during a day of running around. I’ve been using one for the last two weeks. Let’s take a look…
Netbooks are tiny. Finding a stylish netbook case is difficult. You can generally find sleeves and some smaller bags but sleeves generally fit your netbook a bit tight to fit the power cord too. If you want a mouse or a few other accessories, you can forget taking just a sleeve. Bolt Bags aims to change this with their new netbook line.
I recently reviewed Shinnoire‘s custome iPhone Leather Flip Case. I had a lot of fun selecting my personal color choices for the case. It’s not often you get to pick and choose the exact colors which will go into your case and then have it personally hand crafted. Shinnorie offers the same level of customization for their bags as well and I was also allowed to custom build a laptop bag for review. The bag I had built is their Skinny Slim Bag. It’s a slim bag good for short trips, daily commutes to and from work or meetings. The…
I’m a huge fan of Speck’s various cases. On any given day there is likely to be a Speck case on my iPhone or my iPod touch and there is always a Speck shell on my MacBook Pro. I like the companies approach to design which, for the most part, is rather minimalist while offering superb protection and full accessibility to the device in question. Turns out, the company also makes some pretty slick bags for carrying your gear. They were kind enough to send me a review unit of their PortPack. I’ve been using it for a few days…
It is not a so-well-kept secret that I travel quite a bit for my day job. While 2009 has seen a slow down in travel for me, I still will easily make my American Airlines Platinum status for the 4th year in a row. As a reminder to everyone: Airline status is not something to be proud of. It means that you spend too much time on airplanes and that you know exactly which seats and rows have power outlets… but I digress. Since September 11, 2001 the single biggest challenge with air travel has not necessarily been the airlines…
I. Am. A. Mobile. Computing. User… Period. I live for converged devices, laptops, netbooks, and data on the go. I’ve got unlimited data on my Smartphone account; and have tethered my laptop to my phone when I need to be online in a pinch. When I travel, I need to take it with me; and when it comes to airport security, I dread the TSA required aerobics and mandatory disrobing… Thankfully, to help make things easier, Skooba Design has created the CheckThrough Backpack. Let’s take a quick look to see how (and if) this thing makes traveling easier…
I’ve never been a huge backpack fan. Instead, I have always been partial to messenger-type bags such as the Acme Courier Judie and I both reviewed a few months ago. The H.A.L. Backpack from Timbuk2 may just change that. It is versatile, well-designed and pretty impressive! Let’s take a look.
CASECROWN is a southern California based company founded by self described gadget lovers. They make some of the most affordable cases around, and they were kind enough to send me one of their Classic Slim Cases for laptops to review. Here’s a quick overview of the case from the CASECROWN web site: – Perfect Fit For Your Notebooks – Premium Quality Shock-Absorbing Double Memory Foam Interior – Water & Wear Resistant; Zipper Scratch-Free Exterior Material – Light & Thin Compact Design – Internal Supporting Bands To Secure Your Gadgets How does this laptop case match up? Read on to find…
To frame for a second just how eco-centric my family is, let me give an example: on our recent vacation to Ohio, we returned with two trash bags full of recyclable materials because we found the recycling in the area we stayed inadequate. Also, a recent report showed that simultaneous to an explosion of ‘green’ advertising, as many as 98% of all ‘green’ product advertisements are misleading. So, when someone claims to make an eco-friendly product, I am immediately skeptical. Therefore the Mobile Edge ECO Messenger gets a double-look here: first and foremost for its utility as a messenger bag,…
It is not often that I’ll spot someone carrying a bag which prompts me to ask questions about it, but that is exactly what happened at Digital Experience, when I saw Vincent carrying his black ACME MADE Courier. His bag looked sharp; it was stylish, not bulky at all, and I liked the way it conformed to his hip. Vincent flipped open the front flap to show me how much room the bag had and how the sections were laid out, which brought on something I have not felt in ages…bag envy. Bag envy is an ugly beast; even after two…
I have always read the reviews Judie has done on Tom Bihn bags, and have always wanted one. Judie recently gave me her Aeronaut; I used it for my vacation and I really like the packing cube idea. I also think that the construction of the bag is top notch. However, the Aeronaut is simply too large when you just have to stay one or two nights. Also, the Aeronaut may have some issues with smaller ERJ-145 overhead compartments; that’s where the Western Flyer comes in. photos by Kevin
Ever since 9/11, air travelers have been forced to take their shoes off, take their laptops out of bags, and…well you know the drill. Now the TSA has worked on developing a standard for letting us keep our laptop in its bag as we go through through the checkpoint. I got to take a look at Skooba Design‘s version, called the Skooba Checkthrough. The bag is actually a lot smaller than it looks and a lot larger than it looks. I know; how can it be both? Well when all zipped up, it’s a little thinner than the backpack I…
I’ve got a thing for notebook bags and over the years I have collected quite a few. This was, however, my first experience with a Tom Bihn bag and boy am I impressed. This is among the first of the new, TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) approved notebook bags that do not require removal of the device while winding your way through the security checkpoint gauntlet. The new TSA rules allow a notebook to remain in its case as long as there is an unobstructed view for the x-ray machine. That means there can be nothing blocking the notebook and that…
One of the many conveniences I’ve encountered while owning a MacBook Air has been the ability to slip the ultra-slim laptop into almost any bag for a quick carry solution; this includes larger laptops bags as well as some of my roomier purses. There are times however, when I’ve wished that I had a bag made to specifically transport the Air: something slim, streamlined, but still large enough to carry any peripherals and doo-dads I might need. Tom Bihn has released just such a bag; similar in style to their Cafe line, the Ristretto Messenger Bag is built with different…
For the last month or so both my wife, Elana, and I have both been using MacBook Pros almost exclusively. What amazing machines they are. As strong as their aluminum cases are, however, they are still delicate electronic devices that require gentle handling and a good case for transport. New notebooks… new search for the right bags. For the last couple of weeks we’ve both been using bags by Ice Red. Read on for our thoughts…
There are so many good reasons why you might be interested in getting a clip-on safety light; perhaps because you ride a bike at night, or you walk in darker areas, or simply because you need a way to look inside a big gear bag in a darkened room. The story goes that Tom Bihn spent three months searching for a light that would meet his expectations, and the result of that search was the Guardian Dual Function Light. Make no mistake about it, this is no cheap flasher that will break after a few uses; the Guardian Dual Function…
Lapstrap is a simple concept. Take a length of wide nylon “strap” (comfortably padded – with a nice inner rubber grippy surface), buckle the strap for form a big loop. Now sling the loop through your laptop and close it. What you have is a quick and easy way to carry your laptop without the hassle of opening and closing your laptop bag. What you don’t have is any of your laptop accessories like the charger or external drives. The makers of this device sent me one yesterday, and I’ve been trying it around the office. My initial impression: Great…