Tomorrow is Halloween, and it’s also the one day this week that our Seattle Factory Showroom (aka retail store) is open. Make sure to come by – you might just see Riley in his antler hat costume for all of five seconds before he groans and paws it off his head.
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Seattle Factory Showroom Open Friday, 11am – 3pm
Our Seattle Factory Showroom will be open this Friday from 11am – 3pm. Come by before 2:30pm and you may just get to see our Seattle factory in action. Questions or need directions? Call us at 206-652-4123.
Picture: The Checkpoint Flyer Logo
Why the airplane logo?
“My father was a Pan Am pilot: I was flying before my earliest memories. Designing the Checkpoint Flyer was at once a glimpse into the future and a blast from the past” — Tom
Introducing the Checkpoint Flyer Briefcase by TOM BIHN: A “Checkpoint Friendly” Laptop Bag
SEATTLE, WA — August 18th, 2008
TOM BIHN, a designer, manufacturer,
and retailer of laptop bags, backpacks, messenger bags, and briefcases,
has introduced the Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase, a new “checkpoint friendly” briefcase-style
laptop bag with a highly protective compartment for a laptop computer.
The Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase is Tom Bihn’s answer to an intensive, five-month design challenge issued by the TSA
(Transportation Security Administration) to design a laptop bag that meets its newly
implemented “checkpoint friendly” program guidelines. The Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase
provides the TSA with a clear, unobstructed x-ray view of the laptop in the bag
without sacrificing organizational pockets and clean design.
Unique features of the Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase include:
Duraflex Stealth buckles, and Poron foam-padded handles.
cell foam, available in three sizes designed specifically to fit Apple laptops. Also
fits a wide variety of PC laptops.
Briefcase works well as an everyday laptop bag.
The Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase is available for pre-order through the
TOM BIHN Web site and ships by late September. $220. Available in three colors.
TOM BIHN has been designing and creating bags for over 30 years.
The TOM BIHN Inc. headquarters and factory are located in Seattle, Washington,
where the company is dedicated to creating quality products and quality jobs.
The public is welcome to visit the TOM BIHN Seattle Factory Showroom and Retail
Store and see where the bags are made. TOM BIHN products are available for order
and worldwide shipping at the company’s website – http://www.tombihn.com
High-resolution photographs of the Checkpoint Flyer Laptop Briefcase can be found here. For samples of the bags
for review, please contact Darcy Hudgens, Vice President of Marketing
(darcy@tombihn.com) or 1-800-729-9607.
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.)
“TOM BIHN supports day of .NET!”
“I’m a big Tom Bihn fan. Their bags are very high quality and well thought out. I own one of their Brain Bags, a Freudian Slip and a Snake Charmer which I reviewed in a past blog post. On a whim I contacted them to see if they would be interested in sponsoring the Central Ohio Day of .NET since they make great laptop bags and our attendees are people who, strangely enough, use laptops on a regular basis. They are sending us two bags and some cool accessories to give away in our raffle!” — Read the entire post over at MikeWo’s Musings and learn more about the day of .NET
Tom gets technical on materials
Read Tom’s recent posts in the Forums on urethane coatings and 1050 denier ballistic nylon vs. 1680 denier ballistic nylon.
Excerpt:
“Yea pretty close: the 1680 “ballistic” is woven of a single yarn of 1680 denier nylon, while the 1050 domestic fabric is woven of two 1050 denier yarns. Both fabrics are of comparable thickness, and in terms of flexibility or “hand” as we call the stiffness, both can be finished to be either soft of firm.
Anyway, this explains why they are called by different names. Why they perform differently is less clear to me. I do know that the 1680 can look crappy after only a few months use. I will ask my fabric guru John Ball when next I see him to explain more, and I will post again here soon!”
New Questions/Answers Added to FAQ
How can I be notified of new designs?
Do you offer a Lifetime Guarantee?
My laptop isn’t on your Laptop Bag Fit Guide. Help!
I’m unhappy about something! What do I do? and I’m really happy about something! What do I do?
Can I get a bag in a custom color combination?
Will you be adding more “girly” colors?
Can you add a new feature or color to my bag?
Can I return my used bag for an exchange or refund?
How do I try out a bag without making it “used”?
Updated: How do I return a bag? and How do I exchange a bag?
