[Eug]

I was in Ikea (Toronto) the other day, and they were selling these black "SET" bags for under CAD$10 (US$6 plus change). Despite the price it seems very well made. The product number is 100.552.85.

They're black with a polyester outer shell (with "Ikea" subtly embroidered" on the cover), nylon inner shell, and foam padding in between. The padding is fairly thin at only a few mm, but that's probably a good thing for an everyday use bag, as it's certainly not as bulky as my other PC laptop-oriented bag. I'd use the more heavily padded bag on trips though.

It kinda looks like a student book bag/briefcase with shoulder strap (not knapsack), with a bit of a more modern design than the usual utilitarian (and ugly) low budget PC laptop bags. Furthermore it fits the TiBook perfectly, both in width and height. The PC bags are usually much taller, to accomodate those 15" 4:3 screens commonly found on PC laptops.

It also has two padded pouches that attach to the inside of the cover via velcro, but which I place inside the bag. The power adapter fits perfectly in one pouch, and the other pouch is good to hold other cables, etc. There is also another zippered pouch on the outside of the cover, and inside the main compartment. One nylon sheet serves as a divider inside.

I'd say this bag would probably cost CAD$40-75 anywhere else. It's good but not perfect, as I would have preferred a padded divider in the main compartment, instead of just a single sheet of nylon as the divider, but otherwise I am very happy with it. And to think I was actually looking at the CAD$600 Zero Halliburton.

It kinda looks like this bag, with the same latches in front, but all black, a more rectangular design, padding everywhere, a shoulder pad on the strap, and a zipper across the front for access to the compartment in the cover. When I get hold of a camera later I'll show some pix.

Anyways, for CAD$10, you can't go wrong.

[Commodus]

Dangit, I have a relative who has already bought Christmas presents, and has quite possibly bought a sleeve for me already (as I'm hoping to get a Powerbook next month). I could have saved them some money that would be better-spent on other things I might need.

Ah well, if they do get me a sleeve, I'll have one designed more specifically for the Powerbook anyways.

[Phanguye]

yes but Zero Halliburton bags are still 1337... i can just imagine walking around with one of the black ones

[Eug]

Originally posted by Phanguye:
yes but Zero Halliburton bags are still 1337... i can just imagine walking around with one of the black ones

My friend has one with the painted aluminum, black. He would never buy one again because it scratches. Once you can see the aluminum underneath, it looks terrible.

Thus if you're gonna buy one, just buy the non-painted aluminum one.

It does seem that the Zero Halliburtons often do go to TiBook owners often though. The sales girl specifically pointed out that the cases are big enough to house the TiBooks, despite the fact that I didn't tell her what kind of laptop I owned.

However, the thing I didn't like about those cases in general (besides the outrageous price) was the fact that they were so damn big. Again they seem to be geared toward 2" think PC laptops with humungous screens. Too bad they don't have a TiBook specfic one. It'd be sleeker and lighter. If not a TiBook specific one then maybe at least a smaller one with a custom foam insert.

[Socially Awkward Solo]

Damn yo, that is cool. I don't know why people bitch about ikea, they rock!

[Eug]

So tooki says they cost $10 US in the States. Oh well close enough. Still a bargain.

Another cool feature:

Inside there is a second zipper for a pocket as I said earlier. The zipper is plastic, but the piece that you pull on is metal. No big deal though, because there is a tiny little fabric pocket at the end of the zipper that completely covers the metal piece when the zipper is closed - thus risk of damaging the TiBook's paint job is minimized.

[Eug]

In case anyone is thinking of splurging:

[Vond]

Originally posted by Eug:
It does seem that the Zero Halliburtons often do go to TiBook owners often though. The sales girl specifically pointed out that the cases are big enough to house the TiBooks, despite the fact that I didn't tell her what kind of laptop I owned.

I've seen someone on eBay selling a TiBook paired with a Z3, but on macsales.com they imply that the Z3 fits iBooks and you need a Z5 for a TiBook. Can anyone substantiate either claim? I'm considering one, needless to say - maybe mostly for the l33t factor, since it won't look that spiff carried by a geek in t-shirt and jeans and I just can't be troubled to wear a suit every day

[satchmo]

Originally posted by Eug:
In case anyone is thinking of splurging:

Hey that looks really sharp. And only $10 bucks? Shite! I hope there's some decent padding though.

[Eug]

Originally posted by satchmo:


Hey that looks really sharp. And only $10 bucks? Shite! I hope there's some decent padding though.

Well, it's not actually meant as a computer case. Thus the padding is only about 3 mm of foam.

The only place I see that a potential issue though is at the bottom, when you set the case down. For that I suppose you could just find a $1 piece of foam or thick fabric to put there at the bottom.

[craigthomas]

Not for me. Looks cool and the price is good, but I need padding. I dropped my 1st Tibook only from a foot from the ground, in a nicely padded Kensington backpack, and it still dented the bottom lip near the CD drive. My TiSD's not going in anything without good padding.

[blindemboss]

Yes, adding foam is one solution. Not that cheap beige foam but that grey higher density foam.
But I also agree with those who don't want to skimp on protecting a $3000 purchase.

[Eug]

Originally posted by blindemboss:
Yes, adding foam is one solution. Not that cheap beige foam but that grey higher density foam.
But I also agree with those who don't want to skimp on protecting a $3000 purchase.

Like I said, I wouldn't recommend it for trips, or if there's significant risk of it being repeatedly banged around. I already have a big bulky bag for that. I just want something lightly padded and with a shoulder strap, for shuttling the thing back and forth (in my car) to and from work.

It's too bad the $3000 TiBook isn't quite as rugged as the iBook. I used to just throw my $2000 iBook into my briefcase. After 1.5 years it still looks pretty good.

[Yoda's Erotic Piggyback]

Man, that bag is totally sexy.

[Eug]

In case anybody cares, it weighs just 525 g (1.16 lbs), including all the pouches and the strap.

[seanyepez]

Originally posted by Phanguye:
yes but Zero Halliburton bags are still 1337... i can just imagine walking around with one of the black ones

I just got one of those.

[Vond]

Originally posted by seanyepez:
I just got one of those.

A ZH case? I don't think anyone ever responded to my question in another thread - it seems from all indications that a TiBook will fit in a Z3 - yet it seems that online shopping sites that offer ZH cases recommend the Z5 for the TiBook and the Z3 for an iBook. Are they just trying to gouge the consumers?

[psisquared]

Originally posted by Vond:
A ZH case? I don't think anyone ever responded to my question in another thread - it seems from all indications that a TiBook will fit in a Z3 - yet it seems that online shopping sites that offer ZH cases recommend the Z5 for the TiBook and the Z3 for an iBook. Are they just trying to gouge the consumers?

Yep, the Titanium fits into a Z3 case. It's just tall enough to fit the Titanium(actually a very good fit), and long enough to hold the Ti with a small mouse or cell phone or cabling next to it.

[Eug]

After looking at it, I decided the ZH defeated the point of the TiBook. It's so heavy. Plus it's so damn expensive. I'd rather my Ikea bag for going to and from work, and a heavily padded non-alu case for trips. It's not as if I'm planning on checking the laptop or going on Safari or something. But the ZH is nice....

A word of warning with the ZH though: My friend is very irritated with his colour ZH case... all scratched up and he says it looks horrible now, after a year of use. If he were to do this again, he would only ever consider a plain non-colour one. And there's not much point to a hard aluminum case if it means you have to treat the case delicately too.

[Eug]

Followup.

I finally found a good inexpensive sleeve for the TiBook. Nicely padded and small, with a side pocket for extra stuff. It has a padded handle and hooks for a shoulder strap (not included).

It's the Computer Tote from www.mec.ca for CAD$10 (US$7.25).

It is EXACTLY big enough to just hold the TiBook (and some extras) and still fit inside the Ikea SET bag.