Product reviews

"Certainly one of the biggest stories these days in laptop bag news is the new designs that meet the TSA (Transportation Security Authority - those guys at the US airports with the xray machines) guidelines for a "checkpoint friendly" bag. Ideally this means no more taking your laptop out of its bag when it goes through the xray. Faster security lines. Better for your bag.

I did a post on the TSA guidelines over at my FunChiCo blog, but didn't have any first hand experience with any of the bags. However, I stopped by the Tom Bihn factory in Seattle on my way home from BlogHer last month. Tom had an early prototype of the bag, but he wasn't quite ready for me to blog about it. Now, however, it's been released and is available for pre-order with shipping in late September 2008. So, here's the scoop on the Checkpoint Flyer from Tom Bihn." -- Read on for the full scoop. Or, see the Checkpoint Flyer for yourself.

"After some thorough use, we were rather unable to come up with much to dislike about the Brain Cell bags. Their construction has already survived daily commutes from the home and office, as well as the terrors of IGN's E3 war room, with out fraying or failure. Our confidence in the protection provided by the Brain Cells has also not been in vain, as our MacBook Pro immerged undamaged after a small fall during the show." Read the entire review at IGN.com. Or, see the Brain Cell.

"With its clever construction, myriad organizational options and action-oriented name, I predicted that the Swift would take me from knit klutz to knit kninja in seconds. That's right! Knit Kninja! Hear that wooshing sound? That was me, finishing a whole sock before you could turn your head!

Okay - the Swift does not *technically* make me a faster knitter. But it makes me a much more organized knitter, so that I can get to the knitting faster and that's the first step." Read the full (most excellent and informative) review or see the Swift.
Above: the pictures from the review @ Flickr.

"One night I was chatting with my husband after dinner and told him how I was tired of buying cheap kid’s backpacks only because they had Superman/Batman/Ironman on them. They just fall apart and are a waste of money. I told him that I was going to go find some real, well-made backpacks that were like adult backpacks, but sized-down for kids.

The following day I heard from someone at Tom Bihn asking me if I would like to try out their “Ruck’s Sac Smaller Backpack” — a scaled-down version of their backpacks for adults.

Does Tom Bihn bug my kitchen?
Well, if they do, it is worth it. They sent one to Eddie (5) and Henry (6) to try out, and the packs are a huge success. My boys instantly loved the chest-strap which they could click together and no longer have to keep tugging at their straps — the pack stays on no matter how crazily they run around or tumble, or wrestle, or fight, or… well you get the idea of what my days are like. (And if your child doesn’t like the strap, it’s easily removable so it doesn’t flop around and bug them.)"
Read Erika's entire review of the Ruck's Sac.

Above: the Ruck's Sac.

Excerpts:

Review by Kristine LeFevre:
"I love the Cafe’ bag look to it and the ease in which I can insert and remove my computer. It comes in great colors and is sturdy. This bag is great for someone on the move whether by car, train, bus or bicycle. "

And from Wayne LeFevre:
"Me, I think this is about the most perfect (man) bag of it’s type. It is my absolute favorite Tom Bihn bag. It will hold a MacBook, a magazine or two, and a few gadgets, maybe a book, but not much else."

Read the full review or see the Ristretto.

Tom Bihn Snake Charmer
"Speaking of cables, I pack all of them into a Tom Bihn Snake Charmer ($25), a pouch with two zippered compartments designed to hold AC adapters and cables. You can easily see what's in either compartment through zippered mesh enclosures." Read more at James A. Martin's PC World Mobile Computing blog.

Tom Bihn Zephyr
"Speaking of bags, Tom Bihn's Zephyr ($150) is a well-designed, messenger-style laptop bag I recommend highly. I love the pockets on the bag's buckled flap; the unzippered pocket is easy to slip my iPhone into." Read more.

Posted at: James' Europe Travel Blog
By James Martin, About.com Guide to Europe
"I'm not a "cheap stuff" sorta guy. When I buy a bag or travel accessory, I want to make sure the design and manufacturing folks have thought things out. I don't want the sort of industrial garbage in which innovation is measured by how much the company can save by removing features or using inferior material while maintaining the same price. Sometimes they even have the unmitigated gall to claim that the (new and improved!) hobbled product is better or safer because of it (think about that 6 inch cord on your toaster, for example).

So when a small company appears on my radar claiming real innovation, I'm happy to look into it and share."

Find out what blogger and About.com Guide to Europe author James Martin thought of our Laptop Keyboard Cover.

See the Laptop Keyboard Cover:

"As always, I managed to stuff an amazing amount of stuff into my Aeronaut. This trip involved a US>UK>Switzerland>UK>US itinerary. While in London, I lived out of the Aeronaut for 4 days plus 2 days in Cambridge. That's a total of 6 days (5 nights). I also carried a Brain Cell with 17"Powerbook as my travel computer." -- Read Zephyrnoid's full post on using the Aeronaut in the UK (and the nightmares of Heathrow!) in the TOM BIHN forums.

See also:
Imago Metrics evaluation of the Aeronaut
The Aeronaut (In Stock)
The Brain Cell (In Stock)

Check out Rob Bushway's Shortcut Video review of the Brain Bag backpack and accessories. A full InkShow review will be coming in the next few weeks.

"I received the ID messenger bag along with the Brain Cell to protect my MacBook Pro. As a student it is very important to have a sturdy bag to carry my computer in. After using the bag for about a month it still looks exactly the same as the day I got it and it has saved my computer multiple times." -- Read the entire review at MacApper.