“Philosophical debates about pockets vs. detachable pouches aside, Tom Bihn’s Ristretto for 11-inch MacBook Air is a great bag. And at just under a pound, you can get out the door with just your MacBook Air with nary over three pounds on your shoulder. (I recommend opting for Tom Bihn’s Absolute Shoulder Strap—the best I’ve used, period—for an extra $20.) If your daily grind doesn’t require you to bring along the metaphorical kitchen sink, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
The fine print:
All UPS 2nd Day and Next Day Air received now through tomorrow afternoon at 12:30pm will be shipped tomorrow, Saturday December 18th. That means Next Day Air orders shipped tomorrow will be received Monday, December 20th and 2nd Day Air orders shipped tomorrow will be received on Tuesday, December 21st. We thought this might help some of you get a head start on wrapping those Christmas presents.
The Brain Bag is now in-stock in all colors, including Conifer.
The Snake Charmer is now in-stock in all colors: Black, Steel, Cayenne, and Olive.
The Checkpoint Flyer is in-stock. (The PC version in Black/Black is available for backorder and ships by late January.)
East Coast folks — tomorrow (Friday, 12/17) by 12:30 p.m. PST is the last day you can place your order via UPS Ground ($8) with guaranteed by or on Christmas Eve delivery. Expedited shipping is available up until 12/23 at 12:30 p.m. PST. See our Holiday Schedule for more details.
“Let me start by saying that I’m partial to Tom Bihn bags. And there are several reasons for this. One, they are based in the Seattle-area and I do like to support local companies. Second, the vast majority of their products are made in the U.S.A. That’s cool, isn’t it? (And they drive better than Chevys!).
But most importantly they make excellent well-thought out and tested products.”
Read the full review at Wanderlust and Lipstick. See also: The Co-Pilot.
“For the past few weeks I’ve been making 2-5 day trips using my Imago, Western Flyer, and Side Effect. The Imago carries my iPad, 13″ MacBook Air (in its Cache), folders in a large organizer pouch, and various chargers, etc. in organizer pouches. The Western Flyer has my clothing, toiletries in a 3-D Organizer Cube, and my Swift (for carrying things around when I don’t want the computer, which stays in the Imago). And the Side Effect is for the essentials in a small package.
The picture shows the bags while I’m waiting at the gate for my flight. Usually the Western Flyer isn’t packed to the gills, so I stuff the Side Effect in the zipped up rollerboard pocket to consolidate bags when the the gate agent is being strict about 2 carry-ons. Once on board, I can take it out and put it under my seat with the Imago without holding up the line.”
Posted by wennefer in the TOM BIHN Forums.
“Being a travel writer, and, needless to say, frequent traveler, means that my house has a closet stuffed to the brim with an assortment of suitcases, carry-on luggage, beach bags, backpacks, and assorted other gear designed to bring travel paraphernalia from one place to another. We aren’t especially proprietary about luggage and the likes in our house; we root around until we find a backpack or carry-on (or whatever) that suits our packing needs, and use it. But one evening, my husband came home from work to find a new Tom Bihn Smart Alec backpack unwrapped on our bed, and his eyes lit up. “Is…is this one for me?” he asked, a glint in his eyes. That was around six months ago, and I haven’t been able to get my hands on the Smart Alec backpack since then.”
Read the full review at The Vacation Gals. See also: the Smart Alec.
Via the TOM BIHN Forums, you requested Key Straps in colors to help you organize and differentiate between different tethered items. We thought that was a great idea — so here they are. Color Key Straps are available in your choice of Olive, Plum, or Crimson. $2 each. In-stock and ships within one business day.
This year we are offering a Logo Gift Wrap Kit consisting of a 36″ x 48″ sheet of natural Kraft paper with our logo Farman F-121 Jabiru airplane printed in black. Also included is a small roll of clear tape. $6. In-stock and ships within one business day. Free shipping if ordered with other items. If ordered separately, $6 UPS Ground shipping.
Why are we offering a DIY Gift Wrap Kit instead of offering to wrap your package for you? First of all, we suggest that you wrap the box that the your TOM BIHN order arrives in, after removing the extra items you ordered for yourself and/or adding whatever surprises you want to further personalize your gift box. Second, we’re really good at making bags but wrapping gifts isn’t our strong suit — and we are almost positive that our customers can do a better job than we can. Lastly, if we wrap your package, we then need to consume even more resources to then box the wrapped package. You wrapping your own TOM BIHN box saves about 33% in packaging, which at least Tom thinks is pretty cool.
Watch maverick’s video demonstrating how one can wrap using the Logo Gift Wrap Kit:
