Week of 2 November, 2008 - 00:00 to 9 November, 2008 - 00:59

Below are pictures taken today in our Seattle factory. Tom and our factory crew were busy making samples of our up-and-coming Market Bag and Camera Insert. We also had just received our new Solar/White Dyneema. Solar is a color custom created by Tom in cooperation with the Japenese factory that makes our Dyneema ripstop fabric (what is Dyneema? See this Wikipedia entry on the fabric.) Keep reading the blog next week for news on which bags will be available for pre-order in Solar/White.

Be sure to click 'Read More..' to see all of the pictures.

The Market Bag in Solar/White Dyneema.

Lisa (Sewing Supervisor) working on the Market Bag.

Excerpted from:
The Ultra-minimalist packing list: How I packed for Europe

"Tom Bihn Convertible Cube/Shoulder Bag – This bag turned into my everyday daypack, and it was awesome beyond words (see one of my earlier posts for a full review). I carried this thing everyday full of stuff, and it never saw any wear or unraveling at all. I routinely packed two soda bottles, notebooks, and various other sundries, and the unstructured form meant I could just toss things in willy nilly and have everything settle in easily. I cannot speak highly enough of this bag as a travel daypack.

I used this bag as a packing cube when I flew, stashing a lot of the assorted things in my carry-on bag that would otherwise get loose or scattered around in my bag. It’s where I put my underwear, socks, and other stuff that I put in my Ziploc bags. And once I passed security, I’d move stuff around in my carry-on, moving my toiletry bag and electronics baggie into the packing cube. When I get to my airplane seat, I just remove the packing cube to keep by my feet for easy access, and stow my carry-on in the overhead bin. Easy as pie and a wonderful solution without trying to shove the carry-on by my feet."

The ID messenger bag is now shipping in colors Black/Steel/Wasabi, Black/Crimson/Steel, Black/Black/Sapphire and Black/Black/Steel.

The Super Ego messenger bag is now shipping in colors Black/Steel/Sapphire, Black/Steel/Wasabi, Black/Crimson/Steel, Black/Black/Steel, and Black/Black/Cayenne.

The Imago messenger bag is now shipping in Navy/Storm/Sapphire and Plum/Olive/Olive - in addition to 6+ other color combinations!

Keep an eye out for the above helpful buttons on the left side of most product pages.

F.A.Q. Button
The F.A.Q. for a product covers the questions that we frequently receive but couldn't answer in the product description. For example: "Will the cell phone pocket on the Buzz fit my iPod or iPhone?"

Video Button
As of today, you'll only find this button on the Checkpoint Flyer and Aeronaut pages. Clicking on the Video Button on those product pages will pop-up a window in which you can watch great video(s) of the bags. We hope to add video of more bags soon!

Colors
Clicking on this button will reveal swatches of every color of fabric we use. Click on each swatch for a larger swatch and description of color, including Pantone® approximate matches for most colors.

Fit List
A very important button - the Fit List will tell you if your laptop will fit in the bag you're interested in. Either compare the dimensions of your laptop to the interior dimensions listed in the Fit List, or find your make/model of laptop in the list(s).

Just posts...
"I didn't take much, but I was able to use the bundle wrapping method with the Western Flyer and its packing cube on the trip I just came back on... the trick with that (since the Western flyer has less depth) is that I didn't really have a separate core item; I used a thick-ish sweater, folded that to the approx size of the cube, and bundled everything else around that."

pretzelb posted..
"I'm tempted to start a new topic on how to convince the "better half" to try the one bag approach."
And mruseless replied..
"Or maybe when you are going on a short trip (weekender), you could set up the trip with the sole pupose of trying to go light. Just for fun. If you call that fun."

Alicia replied:
"Ha ha ha. The funny thing is my husband takes more stuff than I do usually. He gets the big suitcase and I get the little one. :p"

Join the TOM BIHN Forums and participate in these discussions.

"I had another successful "no checked luggage" trip with my Aeronaut as my main bag. This time I had to cope with colder weather so packing was difficult due to everything being heavier and bigger. This trip including running a race so I had to take my running gear." Read pretzelb's entire post "Aeronaut "one bag" fall trip success." for a list of what he packed inside of his Aeronaut.

Above: a picture from the Gadgeteer review of the Aeronaut.

Occasionally, a customer will ask why we don't include a shoulder strap with the Brain Cell, Aeronaut, Western Flyer, Zephyr, Checkpoint Flyer, or Empire Builder bags. Here's why:

Our Absolute Shoulder Strap can be used with 13 different TOM BIHN bags. Many customers have more than one of our bags. Instead of collecting a new Absolute Strap with each bag purchase (and paying for it each time, too) they can buy one Absolute Strap once and switch it between the bags.

Sometimes customers already have a non-TOM BIHN shoulder strap that they'd like to use with their TOM BIHN bag.

Usually when you do get a free strap included with a bag (with the exception of our Standard Messenger Strap which comes with our messenger bags!), it's a pretty rudimentary (read: not high quality) strap. The Absolute Shoulder Strap is $30 because it's the best shoulder strap we've found. We don't want you using a cheap shoulder strap that might break on a heavy bag - especially if your laptop, camera, or other equipment is inside!

"The Ego just arrived today, so I barely have anything in it yet, but it's the perfect replacement for my much-loved, but too-big-for-current-needs Brain Bag. The Small Cafe bag has been perfect for everyday use (and thanks to the Tom Bihn folks for replacing the buckle on it a few months ago!) and the Swift contains my yarn and doodads like no other bag can."

"What amazes me most is not the originality of thought that went into designing this bag (although a tremendous amount of originality of thought went into designing this bag!!) but the attention to detail on every aspect of this case. The zippers are splash proof. The material is tough as nails. The seams are all double stitched. And every single piece of the bag fits together perfectly — which is saying a lot when you consider how complicated the bag actually is. It’s now clear to me why Tom Bihn has earned the reputation they have."

Read the entire review over at Gear Diary - complete with pictures. Or, see the Checkpoint Flyer.