Well here we go! My name is Scott Harrington and I am addicted to satchels. (Cue the crowd response: Hi, Scott!)
By the way, for those of you asking yourself what is a satchel, the official definition is: a bag carried on the shoulder by a long strap and typically closed by a flap. We here at the Satchelist will be a bit loose with our definition.
I am the guy that is always looking for the next great satchel to hold my stuff. The problem is I have a lot of stuff that I like to carry so I have a number of satchels for certain situations. A satchel to throw my laptop in to go to work. A satchel to carry my camera equipment. A satchel to carry my camera equipment and my laptop. You get the picture. And I am apparently not the only one that struggles with this as is evident here.
So we at the Satchelist came up with the idea to review the gazillion bags already over our shoulders. So right away we will be reviewing satchels from Booq, Brenthaven, Timbuk2, Marware, WaterField and Tumi. We will discuss a satchel’s usability, style, and reliability.
We will also be checking out the bags of today’s most admired figures in social networking and twitter fame. Keep checking back for new posts and the occasional celebrity satchel sighting.
A great pack for students and professionals that think they still look young enough to pull off a backpack. The main compartment positions your 15″ notebook securely next to your body in a padded velcro sealed compartment so it doesn’t bounce around; there’s also extra padding on the outside of the backpack between you and the computer so it’s quite comfortable to wear even when fully loaded. The main compartment also has a couple small pockets that nicely fit CDs and an audio player and it features a little rubberized port so that you can run your head phones into the pack while still keeping it fully zipped. The smaller compartment has more orgainization stuff for buisiness cards, pens, or spare change, and even has a little clip to throw your key ring on.
If you’re looking for a bag for to carry a notebook around in but think messenger bags scream “hipster” or just think that your pb&j and juice box look better in a backpack then I highly recommend the Triton. Since it’s easily found for around $45 the price is quite nice too.
The Casauri Laptop Brief is a super lightweight, ultra-hip bag for quick trips to the coffee-shop or a grab-and-go meeting. It’s not intended for long distance or wear-and-tear prone settings, there’’s just not enough padding to give you the confidence to go beyond gently setting this bag down. One major drawback is that the zippers, while elegantly placed and styled with the bag - afford no room whatsoever for adapters or accessories, I even struggled getting iPod headphones out of the pouches when the MacBook was zipped inside.
If you are looking for a quick ‘extra’ bag to have at the ready for your MacBook or similarly sized portable this bag should be on your short list.
She was a beauty. The very essence of simplicity. But she broke my heart, and I fear she’s going to do the same to many others like me. You see, the Blue Lounge SpaceStation looks like something new, something special; but in reality she’s nothing more than a very high-priced and underperforming hub. If I had it to do over again I’d have kept my $80 and my dignity and bought any number of other powered USB hubs on the market. If only someone would have told me ahead of time to not be so enamored with its smooth looks and simple elegance, then I’d be a happier man.
There have been a lot of MacBook Air sleeves hitting the market in the past few months, and the Red Maloo sleeve is one of the most unique. The manilla envelope trend is novel, but a bit less than useful. The Red Maloo sleeve’s felt construction is probably quite durable, although certainly not a protective case.
The design is undeniably European, sleek and contemporary. The biggest drawback seems to be the price - with a weak dollar this felt sleeve comes in at a $140 and change. What this sleeve lacks in frugality it certainly makes up for in style.
The combination of Timbuk2 and Threadless seems like a no-brainer, a combination of two highly recognizable brands makes for a formidable force. It will be crucial for the plan to work going forward that they find a way to get community involvement into the mix.
The Satchelist looks to bring you the best reviews and latest news regarding laptop bags and all the cool stuff of interest to today's road warriors and mobile mavens. If you have questions or want to contribute, feel free to contact us.
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