After driving her nuts with questions, I promised Darcy I would post a complete review of my ID bag and a bunch of photos. :)
Seriously, I thought it would be useful to those who are considering which Bihn Bag is the right choice to lay it all out there for your review and consideration. Personally I spent a ton of time and research before selecting a bag, and I know how all the comments and reviews helped me.
Fair enough? Without further ado, lets get down to business!
About My Bag Use
So you know where I am coming from, here's a bit about what I use my briefcase for. I am the quintessential "one bag for all purposes" guy. I work full-time in advertising & marketing, I go to school several nights a week, and I also do some consulting as a graphic designer. These things all being true, I am constantly changing the contents of my day-to-day bag. Today might be going to work with a laptop, tomorrow a full suite of textbooks, and the next day a trip to a party with the family. Flexibility is very important to me.
That all being said, I researched the heck out of bag options including styles, features and options. I used to travel with a big ol' Targus backpack that was cavernous, but way too big for my daily needs. I have a briefcase that I love dearly that was a gift from a vendor I worked with, but it just was not quite as easy to use. When a friend showed up at work with his Super Ego, I started checking out Tom Bihn to see what other options had the same types of features, but were not quite as large. Hence the choice of the ID.
A Brief Comparison With My Old Bag
After lots of research and a bunch of e-mails back and forth with Darcy, I ordered my ID and waited patiently for it to arrive on the UPS truck. When it came in, I was immediately struck by the fact that it did not look much larger than my current bag. See the comparison shots below:
New ID on the left, old bag on the right.
Wow... was I very, very wrong... while the two bags look very similar in overall size (and they are), the little differences in the design of the ID make a HUGE difference in capacity. Let's move on to sthe stuffing, shall we?
Stuffing the ID
Here is the load of stuff that I prepared to fill the new bag:
The stuffing, spread out all nice on the floor.
We have the following, which must all fit using the ID, one Horizontal Freudian Slip, and one Small Padded Organizer Pouch:
- 1 14.1" ThinkPad
- 1 Power Brick
- Two full-size textbooks
- 1 6" by 10" sketchbook
- 1 water bottle
- 1 folder of notes
- A cigar case (2 cigars... for emergencies)
- A small pillbox
- Assorted loose change
- A harmonica (Blues Harp, "C" Tuning)
- An iPhone, charge adaptor, cord and base
- A mess of pencils, pens and highlighters
- A sunglasses case
- Some odd sundries (mints, denta;l floss, etc.)
- 1 Paperback
This all would not have fit in my old bag. I tried. Did it fit in the new ID? You betcha!
Where did all the stuff go?
Why, it's all in here!
Now that we have everything in place, I'll get down to the details about the oprganization and show some pictures of various cargo. More in part 2!