“The extra space was immediately obvious to me, and I knew I wouldn’t be scared of the Delta size-wize measuring devices on this trip… I was still legal. OK, so I thought it would then be too heavy, but I was still able to easily lift the Aeronaut by one hand on the handle… something my overstuffed rollaboard would have made rather difficult without a good counterbalance.” — Read merlyn’s entire review in the Bag Review section of the TOM BIHN Forums.
New: The Guardian Dual Function Safety and Interior Bag Light
The Guardian Light (available now; order here; $17) is what Tom found after a three-month search for a safety light that would meet his requirements: rugged, easy to use, works as a safety light or an interior bag light, and worth your hard-earned money. We think you’ll be very happy with it.
The Guardian Light comes with a small but incredibly tough belt clip (you can unsnap the belt clip if you don’t need it). We add a plastic swivel snaphook so that it’s good to go for almost any application. Use the belt clip to attach the light to the outside of our Super Ego, Ego or ID messenger bags as an exterior safety
light. Or, add the optional lanyard to clip the light to the “o-rings” inside of most
TOM BIHN bags for use as an interior flashlight designed to help you see
the contents of your bag.
With its dual function of flashing and steady on modes, the Guardian can
offer over 250 hours of use. It’s available in red or white: the white is brighter than the red, but the red is better as a safety beacon. And your night-adjusted eyes don’t need to re-adjust after exposure to red light like they do after white light, but you already knew that.
Other features include: highly impact resistant, omni-directional,
waterproof to 300’ and an operational range from -40° to 50 ° C. Can be seen for over 5 Km / 3.1 miles in the dark. Made in Canada to
military/law enforcement specifications.
ZDNet AppleCore / Jason D. O’Grady Reviews the Ristretto
“The Ristretto has an interior compartment padded at the front, back, and bottom with a flap on the top. The back side is padded with 1/4″ closed cell foam. There’s also a front compartment for pens papers and small adapters and accessories.
It’s a simple bag but it really does the trick. It’s on the minimalist side but it provides ample protection for the MacBook Air and there’s just enough room for the essentials.” — Read the entire review (with pictures) or see the Ristretto.
Darcy recommends: “Eyes are Watching, Ears are Listening”
A beautiful and deeply moving book about love and survival in the shadow of Auschwitz. I finished reading it with tears in my eyes.
–Dale M. Brown, writer/editor, Time-Life Books.
I continually hold out hope that the next book I read will be one that stays with me forever — a book that I must own because I’ll find myself going back to the bookshelf time and again to find certain passages; a book that is so beautifully written that recalling certain scenes or passages involve all senses. From what I’ve read so far, Eyes are Watching, Ears are Listening is one of those books. (Read excerpts of the book here.) I’ve had the privilage to meet Eycke Strickland several times: she is an amazing person with an important and fascinating story to tell. For more information on Eyes are Watching, Ears are Listening, visit Eycke Strickland’s Web site, or
read the six five-star reviews of the book on Amazon.com.
No Wasabi Rivers = Good for the Earth
You, our customers, have told us that one of the things you love about our bags is the wide (and ever-changing) selection of colors and color combinations that they are available in — Wasabi, Crimson, Plum, Sapphire, Olive, Cocoa, Pink, Storm, Kelly, Navy, and Cayenne, just to name a few.
Rich, deep, and vibrant colors are essential components of what we look for when we add a color to our palette or have a custom color (like Wasabi, Steel or Cayenne) made for us.
But what is equally important to us is where these fabrics are dyed and manufactured.
We don’t want to see people in the towns where our fabrics are made living next to Wasabi rivers and Cayenne streams. Not cool.
We want to know that everyone — from the people who dye and make the fabrics, to the TOM BIHN factory employees who cut and sew the fabrics, to you at home who touch these fabrics everyday — is as safe as possible and not exposed to toxic dyes.
That’s why we only use fabrics from countries where there are environmental and safety regulations to control dying and manufacture, like the U.S.A., Japan and Switzerland. (Environmental and safety regulations in some other countries either don’t exist or are not enforced.)
The Ristretto: More Feedback + Fits the Dell Latitude XT
According to Rob Bushway over at GottaBeMobile, our Ristretto vertical laptop bag fits the Dell Latitude XT:
“I only carried the Tom Bihn Ristretto Messenger bag all week. Along with the power adapter, some pouches for my wallet and cables, my phone, the extended battery, and the Latitude XT, I had everything I needed. It is amazing how much can fit in that small bag. Stay tuned for an InkShow on the Ristretto – it is a very, very nice bag and a great solution for the the Latitude XT.”
And rabergnc has posted new feedback on the Ristretto in the TOM BIHN Forums:
“A couple of weeks with the Ristretto now and it still is my favorite bag for day-to-day use. It holds everything I need easily with room for more. “ (Read rabergnc’s entire post)
In stock: The Empire Builder (All Colors)
The Empire Builder briefcase is now shipping in all colors: Black/Black/Cayenne, Black/Black/Steel, Black/Black/Sapphire, Black/Steel/Steel, Black/Steel/Wasabi, and Black/Crimson/Steel.
News on the upcoming “Mini” Cafe Bag
Tom posts in our Forums:
“What I know so far:
What I don’t know:
TOM BIHN on ABC World News Now
Dick De Bartolo, in addition to hosting the Daily Giz Wiz podcast and being Mad Magazine’s Maddest Writer, reviews gizmos and gadgets on World News Now, ABC’s overnight news program. (Remember when Anderson Cooper co-anchored the show?) And this week on World News Now, Dick De Bartolo is featuring TOM BIHN bags.
If you don’t already watch or record World News Now, we recommend watching or setting your DVRs to record the show tonight (aka Friday morning.) World News Now airs at 2AM or later — exactly when depends on your local ABC station, so be sure to check your channel guide for days and times.
And remember: this is television! If there’s a huge breaking news story, TOM BIHN bags might be moved to another show/day. If that happens,
we’ll let you know.
Once you’ve seen the show, be sure to let us know what you thought of the show in the TOM BIHN Forums.
Award-winning photographer and TOM BIHN customer Daniel Beltra
We’re a fortunate company: among our customers are some of the
most accomplished people we’ve ever had the opportunity to meet.
One of those customers is Daniel Beltra, an award-winning
photographer who has documented several expeditions by Greenpeace
to the Brazilian Amazon, the Arctic, the Southern Oceans and the
Patagonian Ice Fields, and more.
This year, Daniel was awarded the inaugural “Global Vision Award”
from the Pictures of the Year International contest for work in the
Ross Sea and the Amazon, and was recently admitted to the prestigious
International League of Conservation Photographers.
Daniel’s photography delivers the impacts of deforestation, global
warming, and commercial whaling to a worldwide audience. Many
of us won’t see first-hand the rainforest burning in Brazil or extreme
droughts caused by global warming, but, in Daniel’s pictures that
chronicle these events, one feels their immediacy and potential
consequences.
View Daniel’s Global Vision Award winning pictures in a narrated
slideshow
Daniel’s winning photo in the 2008 Best of Photo Journalism
Daniel uses our Super Ego messenger bag, Empire Builder briefcase,
Absolute Shoulder Strap, Utility Tote, and the Brain Cell. About our
bags, Daniel says: “I really like the quality of your products.”
