• visible variant TB0740-BKSL TB0740-BKIJ TB0740-BKLD^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-BKLD^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic with a Island (bright blue with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-BKND TB0740-BKGL^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-BKND^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic with a Northwest Sky 200 Halcyon (light grey with white grid) interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-GKLD TB0740-GKND^^The Cadet in Nebulous Grey Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-GKND^^The Cadet in Nebulous Grey Ballistic with a Island (bright blue with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-GKLD^^The Cadet in Nebulous Grey Ballistic with a Island (bright blue with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-UKND TB0740-UKLJ^^The Cadet in Aubergine (purple) Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-TKND TB0740-TKLJ^^The Cadet in Burnt Orange Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-RKND TB0740-RKLJ^^The Cadet in Ursa (dark brown) Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-VKGL^^The Cadet in Saguaro
  • visible variant TB0740-DKND TB0740-DKGL^^The Cadet in Deep Blue (dark blue) Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-DKND^^The Cadet in Deep Blue (dark blue) 525 Ballistic with a Northwest Sky (light grey with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • detail visible^^Back of the Cadet
  • detail visible^^Top of Cadet showing the zippers and front of the bag.
  • detail visible^^Shoulder strap attachment point at the base of the main compartment zipper.
  • detail visible^^Close-up of the zippers on the front of the bag
  • detail visible^^Close up of the main zipper and grab handles
  • lifestyle visible^^A person walking across a bridge wearing a Cadet.
  • lifestyle visible^^A person holding a conversation while carrying a Cadet.
  • lifestyle visible^^A person waiting for the light rail wearing a Cadet.
  • Cadet
  • Cadet
  • visible variant TB0740-BKSL TB0740-BKIJ TB0740-BKLD^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-BKLD^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic with a Island (bright blue with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-BKND TB0740-BKGL^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-BKND^^The Cadet in Black Ballistic with a Northwest Sky 200 Halcyon (light grey with white grid) interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-GKLD TB0740-GKND^^The Cadet in Nebulous Grey Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-GKND^^The Cadet in Nebulous Grey Ballistic with a Island (bright blue with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-GKLD^^The Cadet in Nebulous Grey Ballistic with a Island (bright blue with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • visible variant TB0740-UKND TB0740-UKLJ^^The Cadet in Aubergine (purple) Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-TKND TB0740-TKLJ^^The Cadet in Burnt Orange Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-RKND TB0740-RKLJ^^The Cadet in Ursa (dark brown) Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-VKGL^^The Cadet in Saguaro
  • visible variant TB0740-DKND TB0740-DKGL^^The Cadet in Deep Blue (dark blue) Ballistic
  • visible variant TB0740-DKND^^The Cadet in Deep Blue (dark blue) 525 Ballistic with a Northwest Sky (light grey with white grid) 200 Halcyon interior.
  • detail visible^^Back of the Cadet
  • detail visible^^Top of Cadet showing the zippers and front of the bag.
  • detail visible^^Shoulder strap attachment point at the base of the main compartment zipper.
  • detail visible^^Close-up of the zippers on the front of the bag
  • detail visible^^Close up of the main zipper and grab handles
  • lifestyle visible^^A person walking across a bridge wearing a Cadet.
  • lifestyle visible^^A person holding a conversation while carrying a Cadet.
  • lifestyle visible^^A person waiting for the light rail wearing a Cadet.
  • Cadet
  • Cadet
(86 Reviews)

Cadet

$194

Ready to Ship

Everyday carry laptop briefcase. Checkpoint friendly.

What Goes Into A Tom Bihn Backpack?

Each bag is handmade in the U.S. using premium, hard-wearing materials—and built to last a lifetime, guaranteed. You're not just buying a bag, you're investing in decades of thoughtful design, durable function, and responsible craftsmanship.

Color & Material
Available Color options

Exterior Color:
Aubergine
Interior Color:
Northwest Sky
Exterior Material:
Ballistic
Interior Material:
200 Halcyon

Add a Cache
$52.00 - 10A (iPad/iPad Air/Pro 10.5")
visible variant TB03310A TB03310B TB03312A TB03313A TB03313B TB03313C TB03313D TB03313E TB03315A TB03315B TB03315C TB03315D TB03316A TB03317B^^A Cache on the Vertical side.
Made in Seattle
Lifetime Guarantee

Cadet

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Description

The Cadet is a minimalist, everyday-carry briefcase designed to fit your laptop, a few files or magazines, power supplies, pens, notebooks, and other small accessories.

Reviews

4.9
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
Based on 86 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 78 Total 4 star reviews: 8 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
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86 reviews
  • ND
    Nathan D.
    Verified Buyer
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Comfortable, Sewn in USA, Good Storage Size, Versatile
    3 years ago
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Comfortable, Sewn in USA, Good Storage Size, Versatile
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Good bag but overpriced

    This is a good bag but I don't feel it's worth the price. Also after a couple weeks of use I've noticed a few tiny threads sticking out of seams-I used scissors and cut them off but this is disappointing for a bag that cost almost $200. The handle is a little flimsy without any rubber and doesn't have a solid feel but I mostly use it with the upgraded shoulder strap(a nice upgrade but should really be standard. Overall it is well made and has great zippers. It's a good bag but I probably would not buy it again unless it was considerably cheaper.

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  • JB
    James B.
    Verified Buyer
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Compact, Good Storage Size, High Quality Craftsmanship, Thoughtful Design
    3 years ago
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Compact, Good Storage Size, High Quality Craftsmanship, Thoughtful Design
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Great bag

    Really like this bag. Perfect sized for day to day commuting with a Mac Air. My Pilot is great but too big for the daily grind.

    I have one minor(ish) gripe about the Cadet. The handles are too thin and not particularly comfortable when not carrying the bag with a shoulder strap. The handles on the Pilot were lightly cushioned and it made for a more comfortable carry. Upgrade the handles in a future model and it would be a 5 star.

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  • MK
    Mark K.
    Verified Buyer
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Easily Adjustable, Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship
    2 years ago
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Easily Adjustable, Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, High Quality Craftsmanship
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Great side bag for my needs

    I'm one of those weirdos who wears a cloak as a winter coat. It doesn't exactly work well with my backpack, so I needed another bag and this one was perfect. Same high quality as my backpack without making me look stranger than I already am

    If I'm headed to work I can clip in my laptop in it's cache, or I can leave it out and have more room for anything I pick up along the way.

    This is made as a briefcase-alike so is mostly good for storing things that would fit/go in a briefcase. But in a pinch I can fit two frozen pizzas in it, so who could ask for more?

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  • JP
    Jared P.
    Verified Buyer
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Good Storage Size, Great Gift, Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, Durable
    2 years ago
    Bought For Myself
    Product Standouts Good Storage Size, Great Gift, Thoughtful Design, Comfortable, Durable
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    The Briefcase for your Brick of a Work Laptop

    My employer was gracious enough to grace me with a giant Lenovo laptop that would require a Cache larger than would fit into any of TB's briefcases. I've been using a Western Flyer for a while, but was looking for something smaller when I realized the Cadet had some built in padding. Closed, my computer's physical dimensions are approx. 9.85" X 14.56 " and it works well in here without a Cache. The Cache that would fit that computer is likely too big for this bag, so I appreciate having an option that I can carry Cache-less.

    Absolutely love the Admin panel in the front pouch; has a lovely ability to fold down a bit to assist with loading and unloading it. I do wish this bag had some of the more fun Halcyon interiors, but I understand why it doesn't. It's a great excuse to get some Cubelets and VPCs, etc in your preferred color to use as further interior storage. The Burnt Orange is a fun lovely color Ballistic, while still being dark enough to not appear unprofessional.

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  • JN
    Joseph N.
    Verified Buyer
    Bought For Myself
    9 months ago
    Bought For Myself
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Excellent Personal Item for Travel

    Tom Bihn's Cadet was the only bag I found that very nearly fit the common minimum dimensions for underseat storage on international flights (16x12x6) (40x30x15), had a trolley handle pass-through, and would fit a 15" laptop. A bonus feature is the foam padding all around. The compartments are near perfect: a comparatively larger area that could be used for outdoor clothes, papers, laptop, etc.; a middle-sized area that could be used for a gear pack and a seat pack (necessities you'd want all in one place, especially if you're in a bulkhead seat and have to stow the Cadet); and a smaller area that could be used for travel documents. The shoulder strap is removable and can be used, once at your destination, for the TB convertible packing cube/shoulder bag. Plus the Cadet looks great.

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Quality Designs Since 1972

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