Slashdot Mirror

Their US URL is www.crumplerusa.com and they can be found for purchase on eBags. They are great bags. I have traveled numerous times in airports, cars, etc with the Farmer's Double with my laptop and my Nikon N70, plus I carry it every day to work, and I have not had a problem yet.

Their US URL is www.crumplerusa.com and they can be found for purchase on eBags. They are great bags. I have traveled numerous times in airports, cars, etc with the Farmer's Double with my laptop and my Nikon N70, plus I carry it every day to work, and I have not had a problem yet.

Having worked at the campus computer store at UNC-Chapel Hill for four years, I've seen a lot of bags come and go. As of 2000, all incoming freshman are required to own a wintel laptops, so as of now there are ~13,000 floating around our campus.

By far, the most consisten bags we've sold are Jansports. They're not fancy, but they have two advantages that you can't beat for the money: One, a padded foam brick with a bowed plastic "spring" in the bottom of the bag, important because that bottom edge of your bag takes a hit *every time* you set the bag down. Sounds like common sense, but most laptop bags (even the high-dollar ones) have about 1/4" of padding around ALL edges. Two, a lifetime warranty. Straight up, something great to have.

So, for the money, I'd go with Jansport. Particularly The Optimizer, though this is beyond your pricepoint.

However, what you're asking for is a bag you can really beat the hell out of, and the lifetime warranty on the Jansport bags doesn't mean that the things won't break, it just means you can get them repaired if you do. If you want something tougher, you're going to spend a lot more money - probably twice the dollar amount. I've been impressed with the design of Crumpler bags, as they have large YKK zippers, ripstop nylon, and other materials that you look for in good camping gear. That said, I haven't seen how they actually perform.

The only bags I would recommend against are the Targus bags. In particular, the Sport Deluxe model. The thing looks coo, but it has a lot of absolutely useless mesh, tassles, rivets, and other bag design gie-gahs that do nothing but snag and tear. I have seen a lot of customers' Targus backpacks go to pieces. This is a brand built on marketting to the business executive type, and they have failed at building a bag for the "urban adventurer."

A final word on your choice of a $50 price point: when your bag fails, you're 1,000 miles from a repair center, and you now have a $2,000 4.9lb paperweight that you must drag around with you, you'll wish you had spent another $50. I don't think you need an exotic $200 bag, but understand that with Jansport, Crumpler, and perhaps a few other bags, you get what you pay for.

I love my Crumpler bag, and highly recommend them! I have a Crisp Suit right now...used to use a Very Busy Man, but decided I wanted something bigger. They are not all that common and are a bit pricey, but they rock. Plenty of room, and a lot of pockets/compartments to shove things in. Plus the warranty on the bag was mega cool -- mine had a tag on it that said (paraphrasing) "If you found this bag has shat itself, let us know and we'll get it's shit back together for you". I used to have a Targus, which I rank as "acceptable", and a Brenthaven, which I thought was really nice, but now I think I am sold permanently on crumpler....I am a very pleased customer.

Mentioned in another post on this thread, but ref. http://www.crumplerusa.com for some near-bulletproof amazing bags. The "Very Busy Man" model looks like a bicycle courier bag, has gobs of padding, and holds my brother's compaq x1000 really well. The dude at the other end of the phone at Crumpler told me that it's the only bag they make for the really big laptops. I'm a convert.

I've got a Crumpler "Very Busy Man" messenger bag and it's great. The bag itself is quite padded; plus it has a laptop compartment that itself is padded. Holds my 15" Powerbook with room to spare, with space for lots of other stuff. Top-notch construction, waterproof flap, zippers that will never break, and more.

Plus you can't beat the names of any Crumpler bags: Wack-o-phone, McBain's Lovechild, etc.

http://www.crumplerusa.com