[businezguy]

I realize there is a thread for bags already. I've read the entire thing, and my requirements are SO challenging, I've yet to find a bag that comes close to meeting my needs. I'm hoping somebody "in the know" can help me figure this one out.

I'm going to begin traveling by train 1.5 hours each way, and so I want to be able to carry my stuff in one bag! Here's the problem: I could potentially have a lot of stuff to carry.

I want to be able to carry the following:

17 inch Powerbook with powerbrick
My hot lunch (in a small but circular bag, making it take up a lot of storage space)
A relatively large organizer by Franklin Covey
My Treo 650 with case, charger, and sync cable
My Cannon G2 Digital Camera
About 6 inches worth of business documents
Some magazines
A newspaper
Pens
Keys
Wallet (might keep that in my pocket so I don't lose EVERYTHING if my bag is stolen)
Workout clothes with size 12 sneakers and/or business clothes
Toothbrush/toothpaste
a second generation iPod, sync cable, and powerbrick (so it's a larger than usual iPod)

Features I want:

I'd really like to have a headphone port so I don't have to take the iPod out of the bag
Quick Access to my newspaper and magazines without having to dig for it
The bag should look as little as possible like a computer bag
A professional looking back (I know, my last requirement and this one may contradict themselves)

I'm willing to spend a lot, so I'm not really on an extreme budget. I'd say I'd be willing to go up around $350 and possibly higher if needed. Obviously, I wouldn't mind an affordable bag.

Is there any advice on this anybody can give me? It seems like I'm really looking for the largest business bag they possibly make. I'd estimate I need a 5,000 cui bag, but I haven't seen one.

If all else fails, and there's no business bag that meets my needs, is there a hiking/outdoor bag with a large storage capacity, but also happens to take a 17 inch laptop as a feature?

I'm really hoping somebody can help me out with this. Greatly apprecated!

[iREZ]

i laugh at your criteria...

Timbuk2 Bags - Classic Messenger

check out the XL size, id think it'd hold all your stuff just put your notebook in a sleeve.

[highstakes]

I use this backpack for school, the one I use is a little older than this one, and it does'nt have the extra pocket in the front. It holds my laptop, the cords and whatnots, few books (even though I carry 2 or 3 at a time, I can easily fit about 5 or 6 textbooks in this thing), 20 oz. water bottle, PSP, and few other small office supplies.

[skacoreimplore]

you might end up having to get a wheel barrel or something lol

i was considering buying a big backpack at a military surplus store or something but thats probably to ugly for you

[wilsonng]

That's a lot of stuff you're lugging around.... I can't imagine the chiropractor bills with that kind of load.... Five thousand cubic inches? *whew* My back hurts just hearing that.

You might want to prioritize and determine which items have the most priority to take with you on your daily commute.

I had to get brutal and start trimming down what I really wanted to carry.

Maybe you can either get a smaller Franklin Covey planner or start using the PIM functions in your Treo a bit more. Heck, I carry a mini-notebook or a stack of 5x8 index cards with rings to take notes when I can't whip out my laptop. I also print out my task list/monthly calendar schedule and put it inside my small notebook and use it quite frequently. I add new tasks to my printed task list and appointments to my printed monthly calendar page. When I am reviewing my tasks and schedule at night. I add the new annotations from my mini-notebook, printed calendar and task list to my Now Up-To-Date/Contact PIM program on my laptop. It took some adjusting but I can emulate the features of my Franklin Covey right with the combination of Now Up-To-Date/Contact and a mini-notebook. I no longer need to lug around a Franklin-Covey planner with this setup.



Start getting picky about which reading materials you want to keep. How many newspapers or magazines will you really be able to read on the 1.5 hour commute in the morning and night? Can you find some of the same content online? If you can, then save it as a web archive or a PDF for you to read on your laptop at your leisure. You can also scan articles of interest from your magazines into a PDF or jpg file for you to read on your laptop.

A lot of magazines have page with a lot of advertisements or articles I don't care about. I usually rip out the pages with articles of interest and take it with me. The rest of the pages are left at home for me to review to keep or toss.

A more compact hot lunch container would help you immensely. Be on the lookout for any streamlined lunchbox that would fit better inside the backpack. I'm betting some of the luggage outlet shops will have some really interesting designs that might fit you best.

The problem might be having too much stuff to lug around. Your backpack needs to go on a diet. I'm always on the lookout for substitutes to what I have now that will make my backpack load even lighter. Trim that load down and you might be able to find a bag that can fit.....

With that said, The Booq Bags Python XL is a large backpack that can hold a 17" PB. It also has the earphones port for you to thread your headphones through. I have a small Booq Bags Mamba for my laptop. A colleague of mine loves his Python XL.

Laptop Backpacks by booq (R)

It's solidly built and made from high quality materials.



Just a satisfied customer...

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by iREZ 

i laugh at your criteria...

Timbuk2 Bags - Classic Messenger

check out the XL size, id think it'd hold all your stuff just put your notebook in a sleeve.

When I visually look at that bag, I can't imagine it holding all of that stuff. The whole problem with that company is they completely depend on me looking at the bag and judging it for myself because they give me ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how many cubic inches the bag holds. Do you know? Otherwise, what leads you to believe that bag will do the job. It sure doesn't LOOK like it, and while I realize I shouldn't go by the picture on a webpage, that's pretty much what that company expects me to do before I buy their product!

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by highstakes 

I use this backpack for school, the one I use is a little older than this one, and it does'nt have the extra pocket in the front. It holds my laptop, the cords and whatnots, few books (even though I carry 2 or 3 at a time, I can easily fit about 5 or 6 textbooks in this thing), 20 oz. water bottle, PSP, and few other small office supplies.

That actually is one of the bags I was looking at, although I'd probably go with this version:

http://www.jansport.com/js_product_d...id=43&pid=TFH0

The problem is, I'm not so sure that bag, which certainly isn't designed for laptops, would do for my use. It sure looks like it'd fit a lot. It sure does LOOK like an unprofessional, hiking bag though, and I'm afraid I'd be laughed out of work (that's probably because it IS a hiking bag).

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by skacoreimplore 

you might end up having to get a wheel barrel or something lol

i was considering buying a big backpack at a military surplus store or something but thats probably to ugly for you

I would LOVE to get a bag like the one I cited above. That would end all of my troubles. The problem is, I don't have the guts to challenge the norm, especially in a work environment where I want to continue to get promotions, etc. I guess I'm just a rebel with the balls.

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by wilsonng 

That's a lot of stuff you're lugging around.... I can't imagine the chiropractor bills with that kind of load.... Five thousand cubic inches? *whew* My back hurts just hearing that.

You might want to prioritize and determine which items have the most priority to take with you on your daily commute.

I had to get brutal and start trimming down what I really wanted to carry.

Maybe you can either get a smaller Franklin Covey planner or start using the PIM functions in your Treo a bit more. Heck, I carry a mini-notebook or a stack of 5x8 index cards with rings to take notes when I can't whip out my laptop. I also print out my task list/monthly calendar schedule and put it inside my small notebook and use it quite frequently. I add new tasks to my printed task list and appointments to my printed monthly calendar page. When I am reviewing my tasks and schedule at night. I add the new annotations from my mini-notebook, printed calendar and task list to my Now Up-To-Date/Contact PIM program on my laptop. It took some adjusting but I can emulate the features of my Franklin Covey right with the combination of Now Up-To-Date/Contact and a mini-notebook. I no longer need to lug around a Franklin-Covey planner with this setup.



Start getting picky about which reading materials you want to keep. How many newspapers or magazines will you really be able to read on the 1.5 hour commute in the morning and night? Can you find some of the same content online? If you can, then save it as a web archive or a PDF for you to read on your laptop at your leisure. You can also scan articles of interest from your magazines into a PDF or jpg file for you to read on your laptop.

A lot of magazines have page with a lot of advertisements or articles I don't care about. I usually rip out the pages with articles of interest and take it with me. The rest of the pages are left at home for me to review to keep or toss.

A more compact hot lunch container would help you immensely. Be on the lookout for any streamlined lunchbox that would fit better inside the backpack. I'm betting some of the luggage outlet shops will have some really interesting designs that might fit you best.

The problem might be having too much stuff to lug around. Your backpack needs to go on a diet. I'm always on the lookout for substitutes to what I have now that will make my backpack load even lighter. Trim that load down and you might be able to find a bag that can fit.....

With that said, The Booq Bags Python XL is a large backpack that can hold a 17" PB. It also has the earphones port for you to thread your headphones through. I have a small Booq Bags Mamba for my laptop. A colleague of mine loves his Python XL.

Laptop Backpacks by booq (R)

It's solidly built and made from high quality materials.



Just a satisfied customer...

I'm sorry, you are suggesting I compromise. You don't understand....I HATE to compromise. Besides, we live in one of the best examples of a free enterprise society in the wealthiest nation in the world...where innovation is above and beyond that of most.....surely there is a bag out there in our vast market that meets my needs and somebody knows about it!

The whole problem with the Booq XL is that it SOUNDS big, and they advertise it as big and they refer to it as "XL". Now exactly what does that mean? What EXACTLY is the size of this bag, and very simply, how many cubic inches is it? Or liters? For goodness sake, they are trying to SELL this bag, aren't they? And they are trying to do it on the INTERNET, aren't they? Perhaps they might want to ELABORATE exactly the specifications of the bag they PRESUMABLY want me to buy. Although mind you, maybe they don't want people to buy their bags, and that's how come they don't give the consumer enough information to make a decision.

[businezguy]

By the way, maybe these bag companies are on to something, and car companies should take note and advertise cars with great gas mileage, and then not mention the milage and when the consumer gets it, it gets like 5 miles to the gallon (or 100, for all we know).

[wilsonng]

Sorry if I offended you (if you took it as such). I'm not the bickering kind. I don't see my suggestion as compromising. I see it is as a quest to find products and methodologies that improve my life by thinking outside the box. Adapt other items that you haven't explored and it might just provide a solution to something that's vexxing you.

The easy way to solve a problem is often through brute force or just throwing money at a project and hope it produces something. Or in this case, just find the biggest bag to throw everything in.

Oftentimes, it takes a while to figure out alternative ways of doing things. Whenever I go out to my office supply show or Sharper Image outlet, I like looking for unique items and how it can be used in alternative situations to improve my workflow. That's where innovation comes in.... A wise man once said "necessity is the mother of all inventions."

In almost every case, most web sites have an e-mail address and/or 1-800 number for their customer service department. If they cannot answer your question about the cubic measurements of their product, then scratch them off your list. It doesn't hurt to do a little legwork via e-mail or phone. Don't quit on a product just because you can't decipher what the web site is trying to sell. That's why the customer service department is a very helpful tool that is sadly ignored by a lot of people looking for instant answers on the internet. The web sites will show the product and provide a brief introduction. For further inquiries and questions, just call customer service or your e-mail program. When I'm at a shopping mall, I often look at products on the shelf. If I have further questions, I ask a customer sales rep. It's that simple.

You can adapt a product to fit your needs. That JanSport bag you linked to would probably be suitable for you. All you need now is to get a 17" laptop sleeve to protect your PB inside the Jansport backpack. Then get a little camera pouch or mp3 player pouch that can hold your mp3 player, secure it to the laptop bag's shoulder straps and you no longer need to find a bag that has a headphone outlet. Problem solved.

Or get the 17" laptop sleeve and put that in a suitcase with roller wheels. It will definitely look more professional than a backpack. Many commuters often have roller suitcases so it's a normal sight for me to see. it certainly would also be easier on your back. You have to take that into consideration when you're lugging 5,000 cubic inches of stuff. I see kids nowadays at the elementary school with little roller suitcases to hold all their books. That was a unique way of thinking outside the box. Heck, luggage companies have started putting out kid-themed version of these roller suitcases covered with pictures of Spider-Man, Dora, and whatever cartoon is the in-thing at the moment.

I loved my my Classic-sized Franklin Covey planner when I was using. But it was just too big. I tried to find ways to do without my Franklin Covey planner. By using a mini-notebook to quickly capture thoughts or anything that caught my fancy and using my PIM program to keep my schedule and task list, it proved a very suitable alternative to lugging around my beloved planner. And my back is thanking me for it now. It's one less item to carry and a few cubic inches shaved off my load.

I still use many of the methodologies associated with Franklin Covey but in a different way now. My PIM manages my schedule and task list. I print out a copy of this week's task list. Any new tasks can be written on the back of the task list for transferring to my PIM. Then I have this month's schedule printed out. I can pencil in any appointments and then double-check with my PIM later.

I had to purchase 5 different laptop bags before I finally settled on the one that fit my lifestyle best. I just gave away my first four bags away to my nieces and nephews since I didn't need it anymore.

It never hurts to try something different. If your test trial doesn't work, you can always go back to looking for that Jansport backpack. From my personal experience, if you do a little big of legwork and perseverance, you'll often find something better than what you originally envisioned. Don't knock it 'till you try it.

Originally Posted by businezguy 

I'm sorry, you are suggesting I compromise. You don't understand....I HATE to compromise. Besides, we live in one of the best examples of a free enterprise society in the wealthiest nation in the world...where innovation is above and beyond that of most.....surely there is a bag out there in our vast market that meets my needs and somebody knows about it!

The whole problem with the Booq XL is that it SOUNDS big, and they advertise it as big and they refer to it as "XL". Now exactly what does that mean? What EXACTLY is the size of this bag, and very simply, how many cubic inches is it? Or liters? For goodness sake, they are trying to SELL this bag, aren't they? And they are trying to do it on the INTERNET, aren't they? Perhaps they might want to ELABORATE exactly the specifications of the bag they PRESUMABLY want me to buy. Although mind you, maybe they don't want people to buy their bags, and that's how come they don't give the consumer enough information to make a decision.

[solofx7]

Originally Posted by skacoreimplore 

you might end up having to get a wheel barrel or something lol

i was considering buying a big backpack at a military surplus store or something but thats probably to ugly for you

that is soooo funny, very true, but funny... i carry alot o crap too...

[businezguy]

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across as offended. I wasn't in the least, and I thought your suggestion was a pretty good one with respect to the bag you suggested. That was my attempt at some humor.

I just love my Franklin Covey organizer, and I simply can't live without it. The more I use it, the more it becomes a part of my work flow.

I'm really getting into the idea of traveling by train, and I'd just love to bring the comfort of the office with me while I travel, so I have very high expectations for what I want.

I do agree that I'll have to do a bit of footwork, but right now I'm so challenged on time, I might not be able to look into things much beyond the Internet. I just got home, ate dinner, and went to bed, and it's already 12 AM in the morning. Who can I call to ask about bags now? Such is life, I suppose.

I think your suggestions are great, and I'm really going to consider the bag you thought might fit my needs. I'll certainly try to track down details for these bags.

A rolling suitcase might be the trick, but I know some people would think I was being silly bring one in. In fact, I already own one, but I'd probably get one that functions more like portable office than a suitcase. Maybe I should look into that. That's another great suggestion!

[iomatic]

Crumpler or Timbuk2.

I've had them all (my family complains that I have a bag fetish; 'nuff said).

Stick with the larger Crumps. with a cross brace.

Backpacks are better for you, but a pain to dig stuff out of... the Booq bags have the best designs by far.

[wilsonng]

For myself, I consider roller suitcases a normal aspect of life. If it's a conservative color with a dominant black or gray color, I don't think you'd be laughed at. You definitely won't be laughing when you get a backpack that just kills your back and shoulders. Over time, you'll get a carpal-tunnel-syndrome kind of feeling from all that weight and it isn't nice (*sigh* coming from experience). You have to add the weight of the bag to the weight of the items you're carrying. It's almost like walking around with a 5-gallon bottle of water on your back.

Some reviews said that the Python XL has room for a stack of books that total 5" to 6" thick. I didn't want to hype up the Booq Python XL because I don't have one. But all the reviews in my Google search have been nothing but positive about it. I'm happy with my Booq bag.

I got a 10% discount off the sticker price at the time I purchased my Booq bag by doing a Google search for Booq review discount. I've seen it in the ads of the back pages of MacWorld as well as online at review sites like LoopRumors! and PBZone. You can PM me and I'll dig up the discount code.


Google is your best friend. Type in Booq Python XL review and you'll have dozens of reviews online. Do the same for some of the other bags...

Just a sample:

Legit Reviews - The Booq Python XL Laptop Backpack Review - The Ultimate Backpack for the On-The-Move Enthusiast
Apple Matters | Review: BOOQ’s Python™XM[system] Laptop Backpack
ATPM 13.02 - Review: Python XL System
Booq Python XL Review - a photoset on Flickr

I agree with iomatic. Look for backpacks that have large comfortable shoulder straps AND a cross brace. Some kind of strap that goes across your sterum. You don't want to bear the whole load on just your shoulders alone (unless you have a masseuese on hand).

And least but not least, don't forget to inquire about the limited warranty options if they are available.

I'm sure you'll be able to call the 1-800 numbers during a few minutes at work. Your bag is work-related (I assume) so I'm sure the boss wouldn't mind you scouting for bags.

If you get a backpack or roller suitcase, get a sleeve if it doesn't have a separate laptop compartment for added protection.

Good luck in your bag search. Please post up your review when you finally find *** THE ONE ***

[pcryan5]

I have a lousy back and carry too much.

I like my WT Digital Pack backpack by Victorinox Swiss Army. (Not the lower cost "Swiss Army" packs.
Victorinox Swiss Army - Travelgear - Backpacks

~P

[Harry Schaefer]

Have a look at tumi
Forsyth Computer Backpack - TUMI
I just bought this bag. It is both a backpack and a roller bag. I use it to carry a 17" macbookpro. It is very roomy and has an ipod cell phone out port. I also carry a smal tumi bag for my files and on a curent rip is also carrying a 12" macbook. They work well together

[00hkelly]

check out crumpler bags. i have one and they are the best quality bags i have ever used mine has been going strong for over 2 years and there is basically no sign of wear. and they are definatley waterproof because i dropped mine with a bottle of pimms in it and no pimms came out at all when the bottle smashed!

[iREZ]

fyi...timbuk2 is made for bike couriers originally, and the XL size holds a TON of stuff. apple stores sometimes carry these items and i saw their XL notebook bag which has less room than just their regular messenger bags like the one i linked you because it has special compartments for laptops n stuff, and it was pretty huge. just so you get an idea, i have a timbuk2 commute right now (built for 15" notebooks) and when in school i had my

15" macbook
charger
one 2"+ thick text book
another 1.5" novel
4 manilla folders equaling about an 1" thick together
3 120pg notebooks equaling about another 1"
firewire, ipod wire, usb wire, extra set of headphones, camera charger,
over 15 writing tools (pens, pencils, markers, etc...)
ipod
external mouse
my canon s500 (in its own case)
cellphone

and i still have some extra room for more stuff if i need it, and let me reiterate that i have the medium sized commute bag. the XL commute bag is a lot larger than the medium, but the standard XL messenger (not built for laptops) is HUUUUUUUUUUUGE and should be able to accommodate your food storage and your gym clothes rather easily, but this isnt fact...just from what ive seen.

XL (regular messenger not commute)
width = 26.25"
height = 14"
depth = 9"
weight = 3.15lbs

*iRez is in no way affiliated with timbuk2 or the products they sell other than owning one.

[businezguy]

Thanks so much for all of the advice so far! It's appreciated!

I've decided to contact each of the manufacturers who don't list the cubic inches of their products, and find out exactly what those are. That will certainly help me make a decision. So far I'm considering either the Booq bag, which looks awesome, the Crumpler, or the Timbuk2. I'm also considering the EuroDeluxe (my only hang up about this bag it it doesn't look like it has a lot of different areas for organizing business-related stuff. It looks like a nice bag otherwise, and actually offers a lot of flexibility.