Like most professionals in the high tech world in which I work, I carry a laptop around with me very frequently. Also like most high tech professionals, I have a lot of different gadgets and various cables I need to carry along with me. We can go a step further and add a couple of notebooks, a pad of paper, some books (or Kindle/iPad/Tablet), power cables and/or folders. In short – I have a lot of stuff the carry around.
Currently I am lugging around a 17″ Macbook Pro w/power cables, external firewire hard drive with FW cable, half a dozen flash drives, two notebooks, one folder, one pad of paper, a couple books and an external hard drive connection kit to use to collect forensic images. For the most part it all fits in my Timbuk2 messenger bag which I got a few years ago. I am, however, now looking for a new bag to hold all of my stuff. While I love my Timbuk2 bag, it doesn’t have enough carrying capacity for me – I need something that can carry all of this stuff without it feeling cluttered and.. well… FULL.
I quite like the bags from Timbuk2, and am considering trying to find another messenger bag from them that can carry everything and not feel so cluttered.
And now I ask you, dear reader, if you have any suggestions. If you were in my position, what would you buy?
Kyle has a Swiss Army laptop backpack that has proven terribly useful. While I don’t find the backpack look too fashion-forward, having two nicely padded, strong straps really decreases the disproportionate weight that the single strap messenger bags entail. His backpack holds a ton in neatly organized pockets, and we have both taken the bag on out-of-state business trips. Plus, it’s green
P.S. You have a shout-out on my blog!
Yeah I’ve got a similar bag (though it’s a mix of blue and silver, but is still swiss army) for my 15″ MBP and like it. the padded straps really do help when carrying heavy loads (such as my laptop and all of my camera gear).
Sadly, it doesn’t fit my 17″ MBP, which sticks out just a tad too far preventing the bag from zipping. Despite the added strain they cause, I quite like messenger bags. I like the style, as well as the utility. They hold quite a lot of “stuff”, but remain easy to access on the go without having to take the bag off.
I appreciate the shout-out, and kind words! I need to take the time to post more. I will do so.
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019M4FZ4/ref=oss_product That is the bookbag in question. I love it, I wanted to get a Timbuk2 but didn’t want to pay the price. It has room for my 15″ macbook and it’s cables, portable hdd, and other geekery.
I have a similar backpack through work – and I did indeed like it a lot. The problem I ran into is that my 17″ MBP doesn’t fit in the laptop compartment – sticks out too far and the bag can’t be zipped up. I’ve kept it around for use with my 15″ MBP, though, and sometimes use it to haul around my camera gear (it got a lot of use in May and July for the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400).
You know – I kinda wish I could find the bag pictured above… I really like the way it looks. I wonder if it’d fit a 17″ MBP?