Back in November, Victor Cajiao of the Typical Mac User Podcast held a giveaway of a Tom Bihn Brain Bag Backpack, a bag he had also reviewed.
Jason H. was the lucky winner of the Brain Bag, and he sent us text and audio versions of his review of the Brain Bag.
“I met my Brain Bag in mid-December when I came home to my parents’
house in Michigan for the holidays. After that 13 hour drive from
New York City, the first thing I did upon arriving was to find the
box and open it immediately. It was just like being a kid on Christmas.”
Continue on for the full text of Jason’s review of the Brain Bag. Or, you can listen to his
P.S. On the
I’ve been a bag aficionado for quite some time. In my family, it is
traditional to get a set of luggage upon graduating from high
school, but for me this would not do. I began looking at large
backpacks months before that graduation date. I tried North Faces,
Arc’teryxes, Lowe Alpines, Gregories, Kelties, and everything in
between. None of them would do, of course. The only bag I liked, and
the one I had to have, was made by Dana Design in Bozeman, Montana.
It also happened to be the most expensive. I understood there was a
reason these packs cost twice what other similar brands sold for.
They were crafted to the highest standards, made only from the
highest quality products, and designed to fit like a glove. I got
that pack in 1997 and since then it has carried my gear on travels
in Mexico, Ireland, most everywhere in Western Europe, Viet Nam, and
from coast to cost multiple times in the States. It’s a brute that’s
built to last, which is the most important thing in any bag.
Additionally, I’ve carried different Timbuk2 messenger bags made in
San Francisco during college, while teaching abroad, and on daily
commutes in New York City. Also not cheap bags, these have never let
me down and seem to last forever.
What’s the point of these descriptions? Well, the fact is, I like to
keep things for a long time. I like to buy a high quality product
once and use it for years. Clothes, electronics, gear – it should
all be durable.
Of course there have been other bags in that time. Many, in fact,
but all of them have fallen apart under normal use and have not
earned the right to be remembered. I have a feeling the new Tom Bihn
Brain Bag I’ve been using for a month now will enter my all-star
pantheon. Yes, it just might be /that good/.
I met my Brain Bag in mid-December when I came home to my parents’
house in Michigan for the holidays. After that 13 hour drive from
New York City, the first thing I did upon arriving was to find the
box and open it immediately. It was just like being a kid on Christmas.
I think I may have said to myself at the time, “Whoa… this is
/really big!/” I had seen photos on Tom Bihn’s site and checked out
the dimensions, but it was still a LOT bigger than I expected. I
figured this could easily be the only bag necessary to carry
everything for short trips. I slid my MacBook into the Brain Cell,
admiring how snug the fit was. Then I began to examine the rest of
the bag. It kept getting bigger and bigger.
As you mentioned in your review, Victor, there are two large
zippered compartments. Actually, large isn’t really the word. More
like cavernous. Even with a Brain Cell clipped to the inside,
there’s still tons of room to carry everything. Clearly this
backpack was built for a much larger computer, but that just makes
it a better traveling bag. At one point, I filled it with my
computer, iPod, digital camera, toiletries, 3 pairs of jeans, 5
shirts, socks, and underwear. There was still room for it to swallow
more, which can become dangerous because I like to push bags to
their limits.
Besides the two gaping compartments, there are three smaller
zippered pockets on the front of the bag. The small one at the top
is ideal for change, iPod cables, little flash drives, keys, and
anything else that tends to disappear into the nether regions of
other sections of the bag.
The side pockets conveniently hold pens, pencils, markers,
calendars, and are shaped just right for Moleskine notebooks. That’s
another thing I don’t leave home without. The mesh pocket on the
outside works really well for things I need to get at quickly and
frequently, like chewing gum or drinks.
The final interesting feature is a two-part strap system. I looked
at it and looked at it, trying to figure out its use. Water bottle
holder? Thermos strap? Tripod tie-down? I went to the Tom Bihn site
to learn more. Apparently you can strap an umbrella or a raincoat
there, rolled up. I tried to do just that this morning, but
unfortunately the umbrella fell out during rush hour when I got off
the train. That wasn’t a problem, however, since I just made the
umbrella disappear into one of the compartments.
Regarding comfort, this backpack is excellent. I’m not a fan of
over-padded straps. I think the extra bulk usually just gets in the
way and in the long run makes the pack less comfortable. These
straps are padded enough to be comfortable, but lean enough to be
unobtrusive. There’s a waist strap and a chest strap as well, but I
haven’t needed to use them yet. I don’t know how the pack will
perform when those steamy New York summers roll around again, but
the amount of padding on the back is like the straps: enough, but
not too much. Dual compression straps on both sides let you cinch
the bag down as much as you need and work great.
Another feature worth mentioning is the carrying handle attached to
the top of the bag. Oftentimes you need to take your pack off your
back, like when you sit down on the subway. Without a handle, this
can be irksome but the Brain Bag’s padded, sturdy handle was clearly
designed by people who use backpacks in the real world. It’s
comfortable enough to tote the bag around off your back, should you
need to.
Finally, I should mention the look of the bag. Most of those black
shoulder bags just shout out “computer!” and aren’t at all stylish.
There’s nothing that gives this backpack away as a computer carrier
to the untrained eye. It does look like and behave like a big
backpack, but when you’re wearing it, it certainly doesn’t feel its
size.
Thank you very much for providing me with the bag and letting me
review it. For anyone out there with any doubts about buying a Tom
Bihn bag, I give my full blessing and hearty encouragement to do it
as soon as you can afford it. It’s worth the money to get
something of this quality (or if you’re as lucky as me, you can
write in to a Podcast and win one!). But be warned – this is one
huge bag! You’ll be tempted to carry everything you own.
Sincerely,
Jason H.
