Brain Bag -- Could be better...

[freqflier]

OK, I have been using my Brain Bag for a while now and have come to a few conclusions about it:

1) The lack of a place for any documents is hard to deal with. Boarding passes have no place flat to live. Yes, I know there is an optional sleeve to address this limitation, but hey, the thing was already $200. Every boarding pass I have had since buyng this bag has been crumpled.

2) The front pockets are useless. The way they are cut makes them very limited in what they can carry, and anything in them is bent to match what is in the main compartment. Also the zippers are hard to see which makes them likely to be left unzipped. Really all three front pockets are very marginal.

3) The laptop insert -- Brain Cell -- is a pain as it has these straps all around it that keep flat things like magazines from being able to be placed in front of the laptop. Also, it is so hard to put in and remove from the pack that I can't see anyone really using it outside the pack.

4) The compression straps really add a lot of dangling stuff for little value.

5) There is no place that will take a water bottle.


I have a feeling this pack would be great for someone looking for a travel pack mainly for clothes. For a tech traveler though it just does not work. I am also annoyed that my new laptop, which is only 0.5" larger than my old one, requires a new investment. I think instead I will put this guy on ebay and try something different.

[Darcy]

It definitely sounds like the Brain Bag isn't the right bag for you.

You are welcome to post links on your eBay auction page to the many user reviews (found on these forums) and external reviews of the Brain Bag (found on the Brain Bag page. The Brain Bag has been used and reviewed by a wide-ranging group of people -- law students, business travelers, those who carry two laptops and multiple cables/accessories -- who have found that it serves them well.

Good luck with your eBay auction!

[Joy]

2) The front pockets are useless. The way they are cut makes them very limited in what they can carry, and anything in them is bent to match what is in the main compartment. Also the zippers are hard to see which makes them likely to be left unzipped. Really all three front pockets are very marginal.

While I don't find the front pockets to be entirely useless, I do think that they could be designed to hold more and to unzip more easily.

5) There is no place that will take a water bottle.

I use the mesh pocket on the outside for a water bottle...?

[backpack]

My Brain Bag has been used to carry 2 laptops with various wires and accessories and all my important papers in the Freudian Slip.

The big family trip included our late pet and the computers were extracted from the Brain Bag while she was inspected by being taken out of her carrier.
Needless to say I was looking at her while just glancing at my laptops and I had no problem taking them out and later put them back in.


Later, I had to go on an overnight trip which did not require a laptop and felt confused about removing the Brain Cell, I posted on the forum, both Darcy and another user gave me instructions.
It turned out to be really easy.

For the overnight trip, the Brain Bag was packed with clothes on one side and a huge folder on the other.

The Brain Bag was carried on flights of stairs, on buses, on the train and while walking.

I had never experienced a more comfortable backpack in my life!
The only drawback was that I did not use small folders with the Freudian Slip and that I had the most annoying non TB purse ever.


I did not learn my lesson and took the purse with me on another overnight trip. This time I had to wear casual for the car trip and fancy clothes for the evening event.
Brain Bag to the rescue, with it's big capacity to carry everything I needed, all neatly organized in plastic zip bags or color coded Organizer Pouches.

But... my other half wanted to take my old and heavy garnment bag, "suit yourself" I said!


I remedied the annoying purse syndrome by buying a Large Cafe Bag right after the trip and vowed to use the Freudian Slip for documents from now on.