Good news! Those of you who have already placed pre-orders for the 15.4″ MacBook Pro size of Checkpoint Flyer should be receiving emails from UPS with your tracking numbers in a matter of hours. Our Seattle factory completed work on the bags yesterday. The bags were shipped from our Seattle headquarters today.

More 15″ MacBook Pro Checkpoint Flyers will be available early next week. (We continue to recommend pre-ordering.) 13″ MacBook and 17″ MacBook Pro sizes will ship within the next two weeks. The Checkpoint Flyer will be available for viewing (and maybe even available for purchase) in our Seattle Factory Showroom Friday 10/10.

“The process is extremely quick & easy. The bag sails through with no hassles. It holds pretty much everything I want to carry with me. The positives are many, the closest thing to a negative I can find is that if you are going to carry as much stuff as I do you want to be sure to use an Absolute Strap.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.” – Posted by
jehingr in the TOM BIHN Forums.

The Western Flyer – our carry-on convertible travel briefcase – is now available for pre-order with convertible backpack straps, shipping by late September. Previously, the Western Flyer had been available with a convertible sling strap only. Now you can choose between the convertible sling strap OR convertible backpack straps. What’s the difference between the two? Some folks – especially women – may find the backpack straps to be more comfortable than the sling strap, while others may prefer the quick release and ease of the sling strap. We listened to your feedback and decided (for now) to offer both options.

In the article Photography for a Cause, About.com Photography Guide Author Liz Masoner writes:

“Using your talents to support a cause you feel strongly about is a long-standing tradition in many parts of the world. Photography is a talent that is often in high demand by charity organizations.”

The TOM BIHN company Canon 20D camera is put to good use photographing dogs available for adoption at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society. Below is a picture of Tom with Patches, who was later adopted into a fantastic new home. (You can see all dogs and cats available for adoption from the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society here.)

(Wondering where Tom got that cool t-shirt? See here.)

The Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack (like the Convertible Packing Cube/Shoulder Bag) is a Packing Cube that can be used with our Aeronaut or Western Flyer carry-on travel bags to organize and keep your clothing neat and separated from the other items in the bag. Once you reach your destination, you can remove the contents of the Packing Cube and right-side it out, transforming it into a backpack with two compartments. Available for pre-order now, ships by late September. $35.

Tom writes:
“I designed the Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack as a result of customer requests from our Forums; in fact, I think it’s the first product we’ve made that was 100% inspired by customer feedback. Many of the details, of course, reflect my design experience, and my sewing crew helped to refine some of the subtleties of the construction. Over-all, it was truly a group effort.”

First feedback on the Convertible Packing Cube/Backpack:
“Decided to actually use the cube/backpack as it was intended. It holds a large amount as a packing cube. Since I was using a new/different bag, I was able to also pack the smaller narrow compartment on the bottom of the cube. Almost everything i was carrying fit in the cube (4 shirts, 1 pair shorts, 1 pair slacks, pj’s – yeah, I know — 3 pair underwear and socks, workout clothing). Before putting in the bag, I wandered around using it as a backpack – surprisingly comfortable – and easy to get on and off. It’s well constructed and amazingly light when empty.” — Read more of rabergnc’s first thoughts on the bag in the TOM BIHN Forums.

The Checkpoint Flyer consists of two elements: the laptop case (a modified Archetype) and the main bag. The two elements are attached at their bottom edges with two
“Gatekeeper” clips, which are basically oblong plastic carabiners. Gatekeepers are made of tough nylon and securely hold the two elements together, yet they can be opened to allow
you to change to a different size of laptop compartment should you aquire a new laptop – you can also detach the two elements and use them separately.

Above: This is how the Checkpoint Flyer should look when it’s prepared to go through the x-ray machine. Takes about 3 seconds.

The two Gatekeepers also act as a hinge
so that the laptop compartment can swing away from the rest of the bag when you lay the whole affair down onto the conveyor belt at the checkpoint. This allows the laptop
element to be clearly seen by TSA personnel as the bag passes through the ray machine.
Both the laptop element and the main bag have Poron-padded handles: when the Checkpoint Flyer is folded up for carrying, the handle of the laptop element pops through
a slot in the top of the flap of the main bag.

Though you can carry the Checkpoint Flyer by either the laptop compartment’s handle or the main bag’s handle,
we recommend that you carry it by both handles when carried as a briefcase; it’s more comfortable and secure that way. The exterior flap should be buckled down in any event, especially should you choose to carry the bag with Absolute Shoulder Strap as a shoulder bag.

To expedite your passage through the checkpoint, as you approach the checkpoint, hold the Checkpoint Flyer’s handles in one hand while unsnapping
the front flap’s buckles with the other hand. At the conveyor belt, lay the Checkpoint flyer on its back, lift and unfold the flap in in the obvious direction and
the laptop compartment in the other direction; then flop the flap back to its original position. Takes less time to do than to say it — think 3 seconds or so.

It’s sort of like unwrapping a burritio to add some salsa to it, but only wrapping it half-way back up again. Reverse the proceedure at the end of the conveyor belt.

Don’t forget to put your shoes back on!

The above picture shows the three layers of the Checkpoint Flyer laid out: the laptop compartment (zipped open to show the laptop for this picture), main compartment with front pockets, and flap compartment.

With the Absolute Shoulder Strap.

Another view of the three layers, this time secured and ready for use as a briefcase.

Tom says:

“For many years, customers have asked for a removable waist strap on the Brain Bag – they had no need for the waist strap and wanted to temporarily or permanently remove it. The available options for making the strap removable were never very appealing: you always ended up with some large piece of hardware left behind on the bag, in my mind more-or-less negating the idea behind removing the strap in the first place.

But now we’ve started using a new plastic fastener that allows us to offer completely removable waist straps on most of our bags, including the Brain Bag.

The part is called a “Gatekeeper” and it works sort of like a mini carabiner: it has a tiny stainless steel gate that keeps it closed. It’s very tough and best of all, if you choose to remove the waist strap from a bag, all that is left behind is a small, rather innocuous loop of nylon webbing. No more clunky hardware to forever remind you of the waist strap that isn’t there! We’ve been transitioning to the new part over the last few batches of bags, so now all new Brain Bags are shipping with this new option.

Be warned: Gatekeepers have shown themselves to be quite tough and very secure, and the trade off is that they require some patience and dexterity to clip and un-clip. You probably won’t find yourself taking the waist strap off and on that often because of this. But otherwise, you’ll be impressed.”

Bags that now have or will have the Gatekeeper waist strap include: Brain Bag, Synapse and Smart Alec backpacks, ID, Imago, Ego and Super Ego messenger bags, Small, Medium, and Large Cafe Shoulder Bags, and the Buzz sling bag.

Recently, Tom and Darcy flew to a select U.S. airport to consult with
TSA staff, testing Tom’s prototype of a new checkpoint friendly
briefcase.

Quoting the TSA:
“One project we’re currently working on that has been widely discussed
on the Internet and several blogs is a “checkpoint friendly” laptop bag.
This bag would allow our officers a clear, unobstructed view of the
laptop and allow passengers to keep the laptop in the bag during
screening.”

At the airport, we were given exclusive access to an x-ray machine and
conveyor for the testing process. We tested Tom’s prototype briefcase in
every way we could, from the best to the worst case scenerio. We also
tested the Archetype case (with Darcy’s 15″ MacBook Pro inside) — an existing bag that already meets the
“checkpoint friendly” requirements. (See below for more. Note that, until the TSA launches the “checkpoint friendly” program, you still must take your laptop out of your bag when going through security.)

The results? The prototype briefcase is a success: in multiple
configurations, it provided x-ray images that met the TSA screening
standards.

Tom continues to refine the design of the as-yet unnamed prototype
checkpoint-friendly briefcase. We expect the briefcase to be available
for pre-order within weeks.

Tom also has designs in process for a “checkpoint friendly” backpack and
messenger bag.

These bags aren’t and won’t be just checkpoint friendly: they will offer
the same tough materials and handsome, cleverly engineered design that
you’ve come to expect from a TOM BIHN bag. We think that you will also
appreciate that your TOM BIHN checkpoint friendly bag, specifically
designed to go through U.S. airport security, was also designed and
manufactured in the U.S.A. under the watchful eyes of our Seattle
factory crew.

Two current TOM BIHN laptop cases — the Archetype molded laptop case
and the Soft Cell laptop sleeve — are already “checkpoint friendly.”

That means that sometime in August/September — when the TSA officially
initiates the “checkpoint friendly” program — you can leave your laptop
in your Archetype or Soft Cell while it goes through the x-ray machine,
protecting your laptop from scratches and bumps. (Note: these bags will
meet the new TSA requirement as long as you put *only* your laptop in
the case, no accessories.)

Our experiences testing Tom’s prototype “checkpoint friendly” briefcase
revealed the potential this program offers that will save you, the
traveler, both time and hassle as well as protect your laptop.

The Aeronaut maximum carry-on bag is back in-stock in all colors — Black, Steel, and Crimson. The Guardian Light in White is also back in-stock.

For months, you’ve been asking us for pictures of the Synapse (Tom’s new backpack design: read more here) in use. Just because *you* asked, we flew to Alaska and visited Denali National Park to get those pictures. The Synapse isn’t available for pre-order yet, but it will be soon. And for those of you with laptops: Darcy was able to fit her 15″ MacBook Pro inside of her Archetype inside of the Synapse. We’ll be posting a description of the features and functionality of the Synapse next week.


Click on ‘Read more…’ for additional pictures.