Smart Alec while half full or empty

[slothlike]

Does the Smart Alec hold its shape while empty, ie. if its half full does the bottom of the bag droop down? Bags always seem to look great when they are full but I just don't cary enough to fill the whole bag.
Also does anyone know if the softshell can be fixed inside the smart alec or does it just float freely, in which case I would have to go with the monolith which well seems rather monolithic (Having a sleeve that is 1/5 my laptop's weight isn't something i am keen on).

[Cobos]

Testing on my own Smart Alec, yes. I've removed everything except some small stuff in the side pockets and left the now empty Brain Cell nr 5 clipped inside the Smart Alec is actually standing straight up in the middle of the floor. Of course if you overstuff the organizational pockets underneath the top cover, the cover or top of the bag will sort of "cave in", but the basic bag retains it's shape. The hardcase laptop protection does add a lot of the needed stability and rigidity to the smart Alec and without it I'm pretty sure it wont stand by itself, but I would highly recommend the Monolith or Braincell as they are excellent. As an example a few days ago I due to my own clumsyness lost the backpack with books and other stuff and my laptop secured inside the Braincell from about 5 feet (1,5m) height. I was hoisting onto my shoulders and I fumbled the grip. I didn't even bother to check up on my laptop then, since I knew it was fine. I just picked up the backpack again and went to the tram. That kind of recklessness for my only comes from having seen the Braincell and tested it (earlier from about the same height onto tiled flooring) and seen how good it is in protecting the laptop.

So as a recap, go for the Smart Alec with a hardsided sleeve and it should cover all your needs, and look at the recommondation for the Buzz I made in another thread.

The soft cell does NOT clip inside any of Tom Bihn bags AFAIK.

Cobos

[slothlike]

Thanks so much Cobos i apreciate it. I had one more question perhaps you could answer I was more concerned with wearing it half full as in does the bottom of the bag droop down. Like if you put two text books in it does the bag sudenly become much longer than 18 inches. This is a huge problem with my current backpack (it just has no form) which bothers me to no end.

Sorry if this isn't clear, and thanks in advance,
Adam

[Cobos]

I don't think so it's pretty "tight" in it's construction.
But let me see.....
....locating ruler with inches....
...picking up 2 heavy hardcover textbooks ....
...Fox, Whitesell, Organic Chemistry 2nd ed....
....Moore, Mccabe, Introduction to the Practice of Statistics....

testing with Braincell 5 clipped inside and 2 textbooks

height from floor with bag sitting on floor.
45cm and 17,75 inches

height measured with bag held up by shoulder straps
47cm and 18,5 inches

testing with 2 textbooks and Braincell removed
49,5cm and 19,5 inches

I've never felt this is an issue with the bag, but of course YMMV.

Cobos

Cobos

[slothlike]

Thank you so much that is exactly what I wanted to hear. Looks like it might be time to order for me now if I can just decide on a color.