“After tons of research I settled on the Tom Bihn Aeronaut bag.”
……
“I was stunned to discover that even with 2 pairs of shoes, 2 skirts, 2 dresses, 2 pairs of pants, 4 shirts, 10 pairs of underwear, 4 pairs of socks, pajamas, my toiletries (not insubstantial), an iGo charger, 3 guidebooks, and all of my other stuff placed in it, I had room to spare. Before succumbing to temptation and packing some of the items I had taken out of my pile as unnecessary (bathing suit, etc.), I decided to weigh the bag. First I stepped on the scale (that’s another post by itself), then I put on the bag as a backpack. I was amazed that it weighed 20 lbs and still felt comfortable enough to walk around the airport for a few hours, race to catch a metro or wander the streets before check-in time at our hotel.”

Read the entire post. See the Aeronaut.

Above: Pictures from the One Bag, One World (OBOW) Review of the Aeronaut.

Posted by HMI in the TOM BIHN Forums in the thread, “Ristretto – First Impressions”:

“[Laptop] Keyboard covers
——————
Wonderful covers that are handy for dusting the screen .. and wonderfully color coordinated with my Olive/Cayenne Ristretto

Pouches
———
I also ordered a few pouches. The Padded one especially for the MBA superdrive and in addition a few Clear ones also. They are all wonderfully made and they are very handy for storing different nitpicking.

Overall
——–
I am very, very happy with the items I ordered and the way everything has been handled by the TB people .. TB people I hail you !!!!!”

“I ordered the cocoa/cocoa/wasabi Imago bag a few weeks ago and have just now found time to switch all of my stuff from my Large Cafe Bag (Kelly/Gray) so that I could start using it. What an incredible bag. It is one of the best bags I have ever used. I am able to hold a large textbook, notebook, iPod, Moto-Q cell phone, multiple Tom Bihn pouches, and assorted other small items in this bag. And it wears very comfortably. Just a great fit. I bought this exact bag a few months ago and returned it because, frankly, when I opened the box it appeared too small. Was I ever wrong. This bag holds just about everything. I purchased mine with the Absolute Shoulder Strap.” — Read bobster’s entire review or see the Imago for yourself.

“My new Aeronaut bag and Absolute strap arrived this morning, and I’m delighted! It easily meets my requirements: light in weight, bullet-proof construction, maximum carry-on size, weatherproof zippers, lockable, conveniently placed compartments, versatile carrying options, useful grab points, and attractive design. The stretchy, slip-resistant Absolute strap promises to make shoulder lugging comfortable and convenient. UPS expedited delivery of my order in 3 days to my home in Nanaimo, BC, with the shipment accurately tracked along the way. Thank you for your excellent product and outstanding service.” – E.

“Don’t even know how I got to your website, I don’t even need a bag…
I just got sucked in! A quick look at the About Us page showed me a
factory crew IN THE USA. I’ve seen a lot of sample rooms and a few factory floors in NYC and none of them looked as nice as yours.
The term values is so widely misused, I hesitate to say this, but I
love the values your company and its choices represent. Here is to more Tom Bihns out there and fewer Wal-Marts. And when I actually need a bag, I’ll be back.” – G.

“I love me some Tom Bihn. You have been great for me. I wish I could be a customer more often, but your bags are too well made to wear out.” – A.

“Just wanted to say here that the zippers are remarkable; I’ve never owned any item with zippers like the Bihn bags have – tough, water-resistant, and secure, even in the look of them – and I have no desire to go back to the rest of the bag world when the time comes to get respectable (i.e. to buy a briefcase).” — Read waxbank’s entire review of our Super Ego messenger bag in the TOM BIHN forums.

Above: a picture that shows the Super Ego zippers up-close. From the Imago Metrics evaluation of the Super Ego. See the Super Ego for yourself.

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)

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

The Amazon’s Thirst for Water

Daniel Beltra Web site

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.”

“But the best part was on the outbound leg of this trip I’m currently on, to Brazil. My Delta flight from Portland to Atlanta got an hour weather delay, leaving me 15 minutes to get from the T concourse to the E concourse for my international leg. (Many of you reading know what this is like, I presume.) So, I grabbed the Brain Bag, and threw it on my back, and then slung the Aeronaut over my right shoulder and neck. I slung the bag forward in front of my waist, and grabbed both handles to reduce the weight on the neck. I ran like this to the tram, trammed to E, and then ran the rest of the way down to E1. Even carrying this, rather than rolling, it was still less effort, and I was especially happy not to need a double-wide space that the roller took. I might have looked a bit funny running with a big backpack sticking out my back, and a fullsize carryon in front of my stomach, but it worked, and that’s all that mattered to me.” — Read merlyn’s full review in the TOM BIHN Forums. Or see the Brain Bag and Aeronaut.

On the Ristretto:

“I immediately ordered one, hoping it would fill that inner longing and emptiness I had in my heart for a portable companion that I could dump on and wouldn’t weigh me down. I would spend every day looking at the product page… reading… then re-reading the product description. Was this bag too good to be true?” — Read the entire review or see the Ristretto.

“I have had the Ristretto for about 1 week now and the bags continues to impress me. I am based in an office but spend at least part of everyday in nursing care facilities seeing patients. The Ristretto is surprisingly light, even fully loaded – Macbook, Kindle, USB cable, iPhone, a couple of pens, 4 thin file folders, one full patient records, reading glasses, various individual sheets of paper (sandwiched between file folders). Still has lots of room for other things.” — Read rabergnc’s entire post.