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Brain Bag and Large Cafe Bag a winning travel team!

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    Brain Bag and Large Cafe Bag a winning travel team!

    I have been the proud owner of a Brain Bag for 4 years and it accompanied me on all my trips since the day I ordered it.

    One trip was a huge move out cross country trip by plane, with our scared cat in a soft carrier being our first priority, my better half or myself carried the Brain Bag loaded with two laptops in their TB sleeves without any concern for their safety.

    The other was an overnight stay that required a fair amount of walking (I got lost) and going in and out shuttles, taxis, trains and metro with my Brain Bag loaded with documents and overnight clothes.

    The Brain Bag was a winner in both instances, the load is so well balanced that carrying it involves the whole body, as a result, it build muscles not make them sore.

    Unfortunately on both of those trips I was carrying a cheap mini "designer" backpack/handbag that would slide off my shoulder, cut into my hands and not fit as a front holding "backpack".



    After that overnight trip, I saw the light and ordered a Large Cafe Bag and the cheap bag took a one way trip to the storage closet and has been there ever since.


    My Large Cafe Bag has been in use everyday for the last two years and a color coordinated Swift joined it as soon as that wonderful bag was unveiled by Tom Bihn's team.


    On August 1st, I was getting ready for a series of plane, trips back and forth Virginia and Alabama, for pre and post move readiness and followups.

    I was wondering which of my Cafe Bag or Swift would be my personal item.

    I choose the Large Cafe Bag.


    The trips were stressful but the load was light, the Brain Bag/Large Cafe Bag team did all the work for me.

    I loaded and unloaded both bags countless times, went through security at 2 smaller and 3 major airports and walked the length of those airports with barely 4 hours of sleep and on an empty stomach.:eek:


    The front pocket of the Brain Bag or the back pocket of the Cafe Bag were holding my 3 1 1 ziplock. (I was thanking Tom the whole time for his genius design)

    Right before security checkpoints, I was able to stuff my Cafe Bag with a big sun hat, my cell phone in it's TB pouch, one passport pouch used as a wallet and another used for it's purpose. I say stuff because the bag was already holding a Quarter Packing Cube filled with small stuff, my thin wind breaker, a thin cardigan and a plastic folder with all my reservations documents.

    Most time I was in a hurry, because I wanted to find the time to get to the airport food vendors behind security before boarding.

    I highly recommend the Brain/Cafe Bags combo to all travelers. :)
    It holds your all your stuff, looks good and most important, at the end of the trip you have built some muscles but your are not sore and drag your body for days after the trip.(It used to happen every time I took a long trip before I bought my Brain Bag)
    Last edited by backpack; 08-21-2008, 09:43 AM.

    #2
    How are you carrying the Cafe bag with the BB on your back? Are you just resting in on one shoulder or are you crossing your body with the strap?

    I prefer a backpack but one issue I have is when I wear one it makes using a should bag difficult because the remaining real estate (your shoulders) is mostly taken.
    Owner of : Imago, Aeronaut, Brain Bag, Smart Alec, Synapse, Co-Pilot

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      #3
      I carry the Cafe Bag cross body with the strap on my left shoulder.

      The brunt of the Brain Bag shoulder weight is on my right shoulder. Since I am a bit wide, I have to leave the left shoulder strap of the Brain Bag opened wider than the right one to ease loading and unloading it off my back, hence there is room for the Absolute Strap padding under the Brain Bag left shoulder strap.

      Because the Brain Bag is so long, my back and my backside are carrying most of the load helped by my hips when I strap the waist strap in.


      Edited to say that with the Cafe Bag cross body I can run (or trot) in the airports or train stations without trouble. It's a great workout ;)

      Edited again, the realization of the minimal shoulder real estate is what made me choose the Cafe Bag instead of the Swift as my personal item.
      Last edited by backpack; 08-21-2008, 12:06 PM.

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        #4
        So the BB is over the Cafe? I assumed it was BB first and Cafe after that because that's what I do. I may have to try that someday.
        Owner of : Imago, Aeronaut, Brain Bag, Smart Alec, Synapse, Co-Pilot

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          #5
          The Cafe Bag pretty much stays in place cross body until I reach my destination or airport security.

          The BB bulks makes it difficult to sit comfortably unless it is a backless bench or a short shuttle ride.
          So I remove it while getting into cars, public transit etc...

          Comment


            #6
            Great review, backpack!! Linked to it on the blog today. :) Will add it to the Brain Bag page soon.....
            Have a question? @Darcy (to make sure I see it)

            Current carry: testing new potential materials in the form of Original Large Shop Bags.

            Comment


              #7
              Hi Darcy,

              You cannot imagine how happy I was to see my review on the blog. Thanks for doing that, made my day! :) (unpacking and paper fill out is not fun)

              I hope I checked the spelling before posting!

              On those many trips, the Brain Bag and Cafe Bag have been lifesavers.
              Last edited by backpack; 08-28-2008, 10:47 PM.

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                #8
                backpack,

                We were proud to feature your review! Thank you for posting it. :)
                Have a question? @Darcy (to make sure I see it)

                Current carry: testing new potential materials in the form of Original Large Shop Bags.

                Comment

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