Laptop Bags ... aka. Tom Bihn rules.

There is a thread on the Ubuntu Forums discussing laptop bags. I just got a new bag and decided to write about it, since I am starting to become a Tom Bihn collector it seems.

I have been toting around a Buzz (the sling bag on the left) for a few years now since it was recommended to me by Scott Collins. Like many other Bihn fans, Scott is very committed to the brand and evangelizes it to anyone he talks to. Since then many of my friends have been infected by the Bihn bug. (And yes, some of us are starting to become pretty zealous in recommending them to other people).

For some events I have been outgrowing my Buzz, specifically shows where I would buy shirts and carry around a coat (like FOSDEM), so I picked up the Id. (The one in the middle of the picture). I can't say anything bad about the Id, it's a great messenger bag. But even then I was running out of room at FOSDEM.

Yesterday I was hanging out with a friend who has an Empire Builder, and preferred it to his Super Ego, which was sitting in a closet doing nothing; so I bought it from him. (The one on the right, all black). This bag is pretty large, it can easily hold a 17" notebook and a few day's worth of clothes.

So now I have a new plan, for local events I'll continue to use the Buzz, then for larger events I will use the Id, and for really large events when I am abroad I will use the Super Ego. I can also mix and match, for example when flying to San Francisco for 2 nights I can put the laptop in the Buzz and clothes in the Super Ego without having to bust out the carry-on luggage. This seems like a super expensive way to solve a traveling problem doesn't it? Heh.

At our last mug.org meeting I noted that Jim McQuillan had picked up the Zephyr as his new briefcase. It looked very nice but I'm not a briefcase-using person, so I am still unfamiliar with it. I look forward to hearing what he has to say about it.

Note that they are expensive when compared to other bags. I think it's worth the price considering they have a lifetime guarantee and you really don't need to ever buy another laptop bag again; unless of course you buy multiple bags .... ;)

Discuss.

Comments

[tlord]

What are the odds? Scott Collins just talked me into Tom Bihn as well. And I just ordered an all-black Super Ego this morning. Now if only I were on my Ubuntu-based laptop (Linux Mint, actually) rather than this MacBook Pro, the chain of coincidence would be complete. However, apparently there is a minor criminal penalty for putting inside a Tom Bihn bag anything but an Apple laptop, and I don't (yet) have Ubuntu as a real dual-boot on this machine, only as a guest OS under VMware.

Cheers,

timothy