“Conclusion:
We loved the simplicity of this bag. I tested it with my camera gear and it performed very well. It doesn’t feature padding inside, but that’s not really what this bag is meant for. It’s intended purpose is to be used as a day to day throw your stuff in and head out. Christiane tested it out as well, as a day-day purse replacement. It worked very well for her as a purse replacement, but don’t forget that this is a uni-sex bag, and can be used for a variety of things & people. Perfectly sized, durable, functional, & no frills. We totally loved it!”
ThinkMac.Net Reviews the Small Cafe Bag
The Imago: New Colors/Fabrics including Cork
The Imago is now available in the following new color combinations:
Hunter/Cork/Sage
Sapphire/Steel/Sage
Navy/Cork/Olive
Steel/Crimson/Crimson
Steel/Cork/Deep Blue
Black/Hunter/Olive
The Imago with a Cork flap is $100 (that’s $15 more than the regular Imago). All Imago colors are in-stock and ready to ship.
Judie Hughes of Gear Diary Reviews the Ego Messenger Bag
“Tom Bihn’s bag reviews are ones that I look forward to, as they are consistently good. Only the best materials are used, attention is paid to every detail, and the bags that I’ve owned have stood up to years of abuse – while still managing to look great! This smaller version Ego bag is a great addition to their line, and it should definitely be considered by anyone that needs a mid-sized laptop bag.
What I Like: Extremely well made with quality materials; can be accessorized to hold a laptop safely; choices of colors and front strips allow many personalization options; The interior is well thought out with many pockets and zippered compartments; the beverage pockets on the side can be condensed when not in use (I love that!)
What Needs Improvement: Nothing – it’s a great option for those that want a smaller version of the Super Ego”
Photo courtesy of Gear Diary.
Customer Feedback on the New Buzz Sling Bag
Customer Mike F. wrote in to share with us his first impressions of the new Buzz Sling Bag bag he received today:
“The bigger Buzz is great! It feels like my beloved smaller buzz, but fits my MacBook Pro…. COOL!
What a wonderful bag — TOTALLY worth the wait! The interior laptop protector is brilliant! I love how it hugs the upper exposed corner of the MacBook Pro to protect that outside corner…
Also — I just noticed the waist band… this is great for riding as sometimes my old bag would slip and slide around.
Thanks for your attention to detail and design — you actually did succeed in making a bag bigger on the inside and still feel like the little Buzz!
Cool. Just in time for my vacation…
Many thanks to y’all!”
- Mike
Welcome Back, Plum
A few weeks ago we told you that we were sold out of our Plum 1000 Denier Cordura fabric with little hope of being able to obtain it again, and that we would be replacing it with Grape 1000 Denier Cordura.
Many of you told us that you much prefer the Plum color to the Grape color. We tried one last time to save Plum, and guess what: success! We will be receiving a fresh batch of Plum 1000 Denier Cordura in the next few weeks. That means Plum Large Cafe Bags, Medium Cafe Bags, and Small Cafe Bags, Utility Totes, and Plum Buzz bags, too!
Plum:
New Product: The Style Kit Pouch
The Style Kit holds whatever tools you use to create, style, or fix: pens, drafting supplies, toiletries, make-up, small tools, art supplies, iSight and cables, or any other small items that you may have. Even more than that, the Style Kit is a hand-held piece of portable architecture.
The Style Kit is made out of Ballistic Nylon and features a YKK #8 splash-proof zipper, and is available in colors Black, Steel, Crimson, Grape, Hunter, and Kiwi.
The Style Kit is available for pre-order now for $30 and ships in late May.
Tom Writes About: The Buzz Redesign
The Buzz re-design was one of the most challenging pattern-crafting
tasks I’ve taken on recently. Customers asked for a new Buzz that functioned, fit and looked as much like the old Buzz as possible,
but with space enough for a *much* bigger laptop. Imagine for a moment
that you are an interior designer, and a client wants you to re-model an 800 square foot studio apartment and turn it into a 1200 square foot three-bedroom flat. That’s sort of how I’ve been feeling with this one: “make it bigger but only on the inside.”
Simply enlarging the whole thing bigger wasn’t going to work, since it would very quickly start to look too big on one’s back and no longer have the comfortable fit of the Buzz. To make it taller and yet still carry like the original Buzz took some topological twisting
and pinching, including a major re-shaping of the shoulder strap and a completely new internal “boot” for the laptop. In the end it was many small tweaks that worked: and that’s the New Buzz.
– Tom
The Buzz: In Stock and Ready to Ship!
The amazing sewing crew in our Seattle factory has finished manufacturing the Buzz a full month ahead of schedule!
The Buzz, which Tom recently redesigned to fit laptops as large as the 15.4″ MacBook Pro, is now available for order and ships within one business day. We recommend ordering soon: we’re almost sold out of three color combinations so far.
Tony Giacomo of SurfBits Reviews the Ego
Excerpt:
“The fit of the Brain Cell is perfect and everything else has a place in the Ego bag. After 3 weeks she said that she can’t live without it (that puts the Ego in the exclusive company of her Macbook and our Tivo, I am jealous). I agree with her, this bag is big enough without being huge, her stuff (notebooks, reports, and other miscellaneous preschool teacher stuff) fits well with a little room to spare. The bag looks nice and is easy to use. On top of that the quality of materials and workmanship is first rate.”
Customer Review: The Medium Cafe Bag
renegadeot, a frequent poster in the TOM BIHN forums, recently shared with us a link to a review he had written on his blog of the Medium Cafe Shoulder Bag, complete with pictures of his very own Medium Cafe Bag.
Read the full review | Discuss it in our forums
Post Your Review | See the Medium Cafe Bag
Excerpt:
“The cafe bag’s are shoulder bags meant to carry a few things, and not be complicated. They are pretty simple, but still very high quality. My bag still looks brand new after a year. It has a big open main compartment, that is covered by a flap that buckles in. Inside the main compartment are pockets for a phone, pda, and pens. There’s loops to attach keys or organizer pouches. There’s a zippered pocket on the side that the flap clips on, and a open stash pocket on the other side. They have many cool color combinations, and they have three sizes. Unfortunately I was fearful of ending up with a purse at the time, so I got a plain black/steel combo. To meet my carry requirements I got the medium version. It fits quite a bit, and carried what I needed it to do for school. “
