Where Can I Find A Decent Notebook Bag?

Posted on March 21st, 2007 by Ed Lau

Is it too much to ask that a notebook bag be both stylish and functional? There are simply too many that are neither and even more that are incredibly poorly made. I was looking at one from Y-3 today that looked nice enough but felt like I could’ve made the same thing by sewing some garbage bags together and painting them blue. Of course, there are plenty of decently made bags from Targus and the such but they all look like they’re designed by hobos. That and they don’t make anything decently small since I carry a 12″ Dell M1210 rather than some ridiculous Toshiba based on the size of a house.


This one from Booqbags.com looks incredibly sturdy and well made, with plenty of pockets for all my various crap. At $170, it’s expensive but by no means outrageous and personally, I’d rather pay for something of quality and that doesn’t seem expensive at all if it’s well made. It is, however, a bit dull and I’m not a big fan of zippered tops. I prefer the big flaps on top that you can peel away instead.


The Hee Goer from Crumpler looks great, despite it’s ridiculous name and is roughly the same price. Crumpler is also known for good quality products and look more bike courier cool than Wall Street. Nothing wrong with Wall Street chic but I’ve got plenty of years ahead where I might have to carry a briefcase…let’s not start early. The problem is the Crumpler doesn’t have all the pockets and such that I like in a bag. While there are quite a few, the organization of the Booq is more my preference.

Can anyone make some kind of Frankenstein monster out of these two or could you possibly suggest something different?

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  1. Carl said on March 21st, 2007 at 8:44 pm

    I had a Booq and I’d definitely recommend it again. They are indestructible! And they’ll do a good job of protecting your notebook.

    Reply
  2. Gary Lee said on March 21st, 2007 at 10:26 pm

    ebags.com - Jack Spade . . . a lil pricey, but god damn it’s a nice bag!

    Reply
  3. Kiltak said on March 23rd, 2007 at 11:46 am

    http://www.jackspade.com/shop/home.php?cat=257

    The black one is pretty nice :) Fairly expensive though.

    Reply
  4. Ed Lau said on March 23rd, 2007 at 12:34 pm

    $350 is pushing it but not beyond reason if it’s a good piece. However, it’s too big. I don’t carry a 17″ monstrosity.

    Reply
  5. Kiltak said on March 23rd, 2007 at 12:37 pm

    Oh, yeah.. too bad :)

    Could could have offered them a review in exchange of a demo unit :)

    Reply
  6. [...] part of a stylish geek’s wardrobe that is often overlooked is their laptop bag. I mean, why walk around carrying your laptop in something that looks like you’re a bike [...]

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