Brain Bag
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Lifetime Guarantee
Everything you buy from us here at TOM BIHN is satisfaction guaranteed. We’ve been in business for over 30 years and we stand behind what we make.
Bags
If something goes wrong and it's our fault, we'll fix it for free. Repairs due to normal wear and tear or due to other things that are not our fault will be performed, when possible, at a reasonable charge right here in our Seattle factory where your bag was made. Defects in materials or workmanship are uncommon and almost always evident while the product is still new. Keep in mind that bags and packs are often subject to extreme wear in everyday use: do not expect them to last forever. Only true love lasts forever! You can expect a TOM BIHN product to give years and years of hard service.Face Masks
Our masks are satisfaction guaranteed. Please emailus@tombihn.com if you're happy with your mask *or* there's something that doesn't work for you. We want to hear from you! -
Cut and Sewn in Seattle
Our bags and face masks are designed and cut & sewn right here in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
That allows us to be control freaks in the best way possible; we have direct control and oversight of the quality of our materials, our products, and the jobs and working environment that we help create. It also offers us a unique spontaneity: when we have an idea for a new product or accessory, we can design it, figure out how to build it, add it to our website and be ready to ship it out our front door all within just a few weeks. How cool is that?
Intrigued? You can more about the unusual way we do business on our Company Philosophy page.
Materials:
bluesign® certified 525 denier 2x2 Ballistic nylon exterior lined with bluesign® certified 210 denier 2x2 Ballistic nylon |
Bottom: 1050d high tenacity ballistic nylon |
Spacer Mesh back |
Edgeless EV50 1/2" / 12mm shoulder straps (EVAZOTE® OEKO-TEX® foam) |
PORON® foam handle |
Tough Duraflex®, Nexus, and Woojin buckles and related components |
#10 YKK coil zippers on main compartment |
#8 YKK coil zippers on pockets |
Construction:
Made in USA with fabric from Korea / Japan / U.S.A. |
100% finished seams |
38 reinforcing bar tacks |
Specs:
Dimensions: 14" (w) x 18.1" (h) x 9.1" (d) / 355 (w) x 460 (h) x 230 (d) mm |
Weight: 525 Ballistic Nylon: 2 lb 15 oz / 1345 grams |
Volume: 2200 cubic inches / 36 liters (ASTM Standard Measure) |
Removable 1.5" / 38 mm waist strap included |
.5" / 12 mm padded and contoured shoulder straps with .75" / 20 mm removable sternum strap |
What's included: 1x 8-inch Black Webbing Snaphook/Snaphook Key Strap 1x Black Cord Zipper Pulls w/ Plastic Ends (8 Pack) 1x Sternum Strap Assembly 1x Gatekeeper Waist Strap |
Total O-rings: 9 (3 in the back main compartment; 3 in the front main compartment, 1 in the top small pocket, 1 in left side pocket; 1 in right side pocket) |
Want to see the specs for all of our bags? |
Description
The ultimate on-your-back student or business organizer, the Brain Bag is our Slant-6 of backpacks: it will surprise you with its utility, versatility, and longevity. Long after lesser bags have frayed their seams, blown their zippers, and popped their straps, the Brain Bag will continue to be your faithful companion.
The Brain Bag consists of two main compartments plus four external pockets. The small top pocket on the front is perfect for a wallet and cell phone and has an inside snaphook for keys. The two vertical front pockets are large enough for water bottles or even a small thermos; inside both of these pockets are pen/pencil organizers. The left pocket has an outside flat mesh pocket for brochures, plane tickets, or even a small
In both of the main compartments (on the back panel of each) are two unobtrusive webbing loops (that we call "rail loops") to which you can secure the optional Cache (available in sizes specifically for every Apple laptop and iPad. When you add the Cache, the Brain Bag becomes a "checkpoint-friendly" laptop backpack. Here's how it works: on the back (or bottom, depending how you look at it) of the Cache are two parallel "rails" of 1" wide lightweight nylon webbing which extend from the top to the bottom. Included (and already attached for your convenience) when the Cache is ordered with the Brain Bag are two Gatekeeper Rail Clips: unclip the side that isn't clipped to the Cache, slip it through the webbing loops in the Brain Bag middle compartment, and flip it shut. Slip the Cache inside the Brain Bag, and pull it back out: you'll see that the Gatekeeper Rail Clips ride the rails of the Cache, allowing you to remove your laptop from the Brain Bag entirely while it is still encased in the protective Cache. Doing this at the airport security checkpoint means the X-ray machines (and TSA personnel) will have a clear, unobstructed view of your laptop — allowing you to keep your laptop in the Cache and the whole affair securely held together as one unit. (We think that's much better than having to remove your laptop and dump it in one of those buckets.) Many of us will appreciate this functionality on a daily basis as well: the rail system can be a convenient and quick way to remove one's laptop from the bag.
Side compression straps compress the Brain Bag when it is not full and stabilize the load; you can also tuck a raincoat, hoodie, or yoga mat under these straps. The Brain Bag has a top handle made of 1/2" PORON® foam wrapped in 1050 denier ballistic nylon fabric. And what about the shoulder straps? Conformity is overrated — except, perhaps, when it comes to shoulder straps. The edgelessness of the Brain Bag shoulder straps allows them to more softly conform to your shoulder — we find that this increases comfort. Yet the straps aren’t too soft: the 1/2” thick EVAZOTE® OEKO-TEX® certified foam means the strap is robust enough to carry a heavy load. Removable 3/4" sternum strap and 1-1/2" waist straps are there if you need them but are easy to remove if you don't. The back is made of Spacer mesh and is padded with 3/8", high quality, closed-cell foam.
If the organizer pockets on the front of the Brain Bag just aren't sufficient, or if you need to carry papers, folders, etc. and keep them neat, consider adding the Freudian Slip. One side will protect those papers; the other provides extra organization for pens, business cards, and small electronics or laptop accessories.
Customer Reviews
Design Notes
Our Brain Bag was designed in the mid-1990s as a backpack that could carry my padded laptop insert. (It was originally called Lap Dog, and later renamed Brain Cell.) The name Brain Bag comes from my father's "Brain Bag": the oversized briefcase in which he carried his maps and charts when he flew for Pan Am back in the day. My Brain Bag initially came in two versions: Brain Bag and Big Brain Bag. The standard version had one main compartment, and the "Big" version had two. However, in terms of customer demand, the two-compartment version was the hands-down winner, so I ditched the single-compartment version and focused on the double. It was still called "Big Brain Bag" for some time, but the "Big" eventually dropped from use (as there was no "Small" or "Standard" size anymore), and so it was just Brain Bag.
The two main compartments allowed users to segregate their stuff, as well as to choose between carrying their laptop or having their jacket/clothing against their backs. I added side compression straps pretty early on; folks liked to be able to cinch the thing down when it wasn't full, and also to overload it by tucking a sweater or raincoat under the straps.
The pocket design on the front of Brain Bag was conceived as a way to have a reasonable number and variety of easily accessible pockets, but still maintain a relatively svelte exterior. The design of the pockets allowed them to be sewn on with zero exposed fabric edges inside the pockets (having no exposed, raw edges of fabric is pretty much religion here). I added the simple pen/pencil organizers inside the two main pockets after folks thought that'd be a useful thing (though I personally tend to just throw all that little stuff into a pocket higgledy-piggledy). We added more "O"-rings and replaced the leather handle with a Poron®-padded one. We changed the 2" webbing waist belt to a 1-1/2" webbing waist belt (more in scale with the bag, IMHO), and we made the waist belt removable and the sternum strap removable too, as soon as appropriate hardware was available. We added a spacer mesh back panel, and a large snap hook at the base of the top pocket for your umbrella, water bottle or travel mug.
Over the years, though we've tweaked and modified and added features to Brain Bag, its basic form is still unmistakable and somewhat iconic. Keep on truckin’, Brain Bag!
- Tom
1. Measure Your Laptop
Measure your laptop (or Google its make, model,
and the word “dimensions” to find its listed dimensions).
Compare its measurements with the chart to the left
(swap the Height and Width when measuring for a
Vertical oriented Cache).

2. Compare Those Measurements To These
Size | Interior Width | Interior Height | Interior Thickness |
---|---|---|---|
10A (10.5" iPad Pro) | 9.76" / 248mm | 6.61" / 168mm | 0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm |
10B (iPad or 9.7" iPad Pro) | 9.33" / 237mm | 6.46" / 164mm | 0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm |
11A (11" iPad Pro) | 9.87" / 250mm | 7.25" / 184mm | 0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm |
12A (12" Macbook) | 10.94" / 278mm | 7.51" / 191mm | 0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm |
12B (2018 12.9" iPad Pro) | 11.75" / 298mm | 9.13" / 231mm | 0.31-0.78" / 8-20mm |
13A (13" Macbook Air) | 12.87" / 327mm | 8.74" / 222mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
13C (pre-2017 13" Macbook Pro) | 12.24" / 311mm | 8.90" / 226mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
13D (13" Macbook Pro Touchbar or 13” Air Retina) | 11.97" / 304mm | 8.11" / 206mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
13E (11" Macbook Air) | 11.89" / 302mm | 7.44" / 189mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
15A (Some 15" PCs) | 15.24" / 387mm | 10.67" / 271mm | 0.39-1.10" / 10-28mm |
15B (Some 15" PCs) | 14.92" / 379mm | 9.76" / 248mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
15C (pre-2017 15" Macbook Pro) | 14.02" / 356mm | 9.49" / 241mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
15D (15" Macbook Pro Touchbar) | 13.62" / 346mm | 9.21" / 234mm | 0.39-1.00" / 10-25mm |
17B (Razer Blade Pro) | 16.65" / 423mm | 11.02" / 280mm | 0.39-1.18" / 10-30mm |