The interior padded compartment, located in the main compartment of the Ristretto Messenger, protects your MacBook inside the bag -- it's made from .25" (8mm) open-cell foam laminated with durable 500 denier Cordura® on the outside and an interior of super-soft brushed nylon (just like our Soft Cell). The back side of the Ristretto is padded with 1/4" closed cell foam.

The main, open-top compartment and front zippered pocket of the Ristretto Messenger are covered by an asymmetrical flap that closes with the distinctive TOM BIHN off-set buckle.

Under the flap, you'll find a #8 YKK zipper pocket spanning the width of the bag. It's the ideal place for securing your wallet or other small items. The main compartment of the Ristretto Messenger has an "o-ring" that comes with an 8" Key Strap attached to it. (Additional and extended length Key Straps can be purchased separately.) The Key Strap is useful for keeping track of your keys (many folks leave their keys attached to the key strap) and can be used to clip a pocket watch or Swiss-army knife to the bag.

Also clippable to the "o-rings" inside of the Ristretto Messenger are Padded Organizer Pouches. We've designed a size of Padded Organizer Pouch created specifically to fit the SuperDrive. The Superdrive Padded Organizer Pouches can be purchased with the Ristretto Messenger or separately. Other sizes of Padded Organizer Pouches are available, as well as Cordura, Cork, and Clear Organizer Pouches.

Inside the main compartment, directly in front of the padded laptop compartment, are five organizer pockets. Two of the pockets are sized for your cell phone, PDA, iPhone or iPod or a small wallet, and three are sized for pens. The back of the Ristretto Messenger has a slanted, open-top pocket ideal for storing papers, files, a magazine or a newspaper.

You can choose between three different shoulder straps to use with the Ristretto. The Standard Shoulder Strap, included in the price of the Ristretto, is a 1-1/2" wide heavy nylon webbing strap and features a comfortable, wide foam pad that won't slip off your shoulder and is designed to conform to your shoulder and back. For an extra $15.00, you can switch out the Standard Shoulder Strap and replace it with the Q-AM (Quick-Adjust Messenger) Shoulder Strap. For an extra $20.00, you can switch out the Standard Shoulder Strap and replace it with the Absolute Shoulder Strap. Click here for descriptions of the three types of shoulder strap. Most people will be satisfied with just one kind of shoulder strap, but, should you choose to do so, you can purchase more than one kind of shoulder strap and switch between them.

The Ristretto Messenger is designed to be a highly portable bag that carrys just the essentials and carrys them elegantly: just like the MacBook Air.