What fits in the Ristretto?

[milton21]

Hi all, I have been debating on getting a bag for my new IPad and stumbled across the Ristretto for the IPad. It looks amazing and I would really like one but I am concerned about what will fit in it. I am an avid reader and usually carry one or two or sometimes three books with me and I would like to be able to fit them in the bag when I go on trips. But I am unsure if they will fit in this bag. I do usually carry around one hard back and two paperback books. They are not the small ones either. The hard back books range from 6 to 900 pages. The paperbacks can be pretty thick as well. Can anyone tell me if they would fit? I have been leaning more towards the 11" or 13" Ristretto just for the size difference.
Thanks,
Michael

[misterN]

As an owner of a 13" Ristretto and former owner of the iPad version--I think you would be pretty hard pressed to fit books in there along with everything else you would want to carry. For instance, I could probably fit a large size book into easily (i.e. HP - Order of the Phoenix). However, when I put in the rest of the supplies that I usually carry when I'm using my Ristretto--it wouldn't work out as well.

[dougmon]

I've found that the Large Cafe Bag is good for some of the purposes you described. I usually pack it with my iPad (in a Waterfield iPad Travel Express), a notebook, a few periodical-sized textbooks (though they're each only about half an inch thick), my phone, etc. I had all this the other day at work and also fit in a large paperback that someone loaned to me. I should mention a few things: the iPad bag also holds a wireless keyboard, power brick, and the smart cover, so it's fairly thick. I also fit in a lot of small miscellaneous stuff in a Cordura Organizer Pouch.

Though, come to think of it, you might be hard-pressed to fit in two 900 page books. When I had a similar problem, I decided to go with a briefcase style bag.

[Janine]

You might want to hang on for a little while before making your decision, @milton21. The Ristretto is being updated and we should hear something about the new version very soon (maybe even this week!). We don't know how different it's going to be from the current model, and I doubt the structure will change in a radical way, but it never hurts to have the most current data to work with. :-)

ETA: New pictures are up now!