Welcome!

**tpnl** · 12-28-2014, 10:50 PM

I do not have a Ristretto or those nice Bose QC-15 headphones but I did find a few links that might help:

Don McAllister: My Perfect Travel Bag - FIELD TRIPS by TOM BIHNFIELD TRIPS by TOM BIHN
My Perfect Travel Bag | My Own Reality
http://forums.tombihn.com/questions-...html#post27693
http://forums.tombihn.com/tom-bihn-n...ce-please.html

Spoiler alert - it looks like they will fit the Ristretto for iPad from what others have written ... so I think you are safe with the Ristretto 13" which is bigger.

Hope this helps

Cheers!

**Perseffect** · 01-01-2015, 12:26 PM

Although I don't have exactly the same setup you talk about I know the following.

I owned (past tense) a 13inch Ballistic Nylon and an 11inch Cordura (old style) Ristretto. The biggest issue with both was the lack of depth. As you mention, once a laptop, internal padded sleeve and other bits are taken into account, the depth of the bag is very shallow. I would think you would struggle to get the Q15 case in easily due to the Ristretto design.

I actually bought a Large Cafe Bag to deal with this depth issue. Its much less structured but in this case, works to its advantage with thicker items.

I also have a pilot and a daylight brief case. I don't think the pilot would work for the Q15 case either due to its layout of smaller pockets (although I do have the new Bose Q25s which fold up into a smaller case. These do fit fantastically well into one of the two pilot front pockets).

The daylight brief case is more 'open' in its design and I think that could be a great option for you.

So in short, Daylight Briefcase or Large Cafe bag to get the flexibility for thicker items or...
Trade in your Q15s for Q25s and get the Pilot so they easily fit into one of the pockets.

Best of luck with your choices. I hope you find a solution that works for you. Would love to hear what you go for and how it works out for you.

**moriond** · 01-01-2015, 12:59 PM

@Perseffect,

Thanks for your comments and insights. I haven't contributed to this thread because I only have experience with the older model Bose headphone models (QC2 and QC3), and both of these have larger carrying cases. I know that you use both the A45 and the Tri-Star (as well as the Western Flyer) for travel. In what circumstances do you prefer to use the Daylight Briefcase over the Pilot? (For myself, the DLBC is a better minimalist conference bag, and the Pilot is a better overnight bag, or serves when I want the dedicated water bottle pocket or more carrying capacity.)

I will just add that because of a tear in one of the over-ear padded cups for the QC-3, I got the Bose QC-20is for someone to use instead, and received about 5 different emails in the course of his out-bound trip about how great these were (unexpectedly so for the user -- and also easier to use while sleeping). I haven't had an occasion to try them out in flight myself. Also, the user wears glasses, which I don't in almost all circumstances, and according to this article comparing the QC-25 with the QC-20, this can also be a factor in the preferences.

I agree that the narrow depth of the 13" Ristretto might be an issue, and I suspect that the older Ristretto design (Cordura vs. Ballistic Nylon with the zippered front pocket) might be more accommodating). I have the first generation Ristretto for 13" MacBook, BTW.

HTH

moriond

**fraserspeirs** · 01-02-2015, 02:26 AM

Thanks, all. Friends and family were outrageously generous with the TB gift certificates this year, so I picked up a Steel/UV Pilot and a Burnt Orange/Navy Medium Cafe Bag. It seems to me that I can let the headphones float free in the back section of the Pilot - I anticipated that the Pilot pockets wouldn't be big enough themselves.

Sadly, due to the new year, they're both sitting at Stansted Airport waiting to make their way to Scotland but ... soon!

**Perseffect** · 01-02-2015, 02:18 PM

@moriond

Great question about my preferences between pilot and daylight briefcase. The pilot is actually my current work bag (I.e. When not travelling and commuting to work). As I'm local I tend to pack a bit heavier with extras I'm sure I don't actually need. The middle water bottle pocket is the big selling point for me as a daily item. Hate the way water bottles usually just get in the way in normal bags.

As I travel with airlines that usually have a strict one bag policy (no personal item), the daylight is thin enough to just fit flat into my Tristar. It's then a scaled down work bag at the other end with pure basics in it (small laptop, hotel keys, papers etc, similar to your conference bag idea I think). The pilot was originally purchased for this purpose but just not as thin as the daylight and thinness wins when strict one bagging.

Thanks also for the in-ear Bose suggestions. I have such odd shaped ears, in-ear headphones never stay in my ears. I also like to go old school with over ear headphones. Comfort over style on this one for me.

Fraser, great choices on the bags. I love the Orange/navy combo and also the steel/UV. I'm sure you'll be super pleased and they'll soon be with you.

**LJ50** · 01-04-2015, 03:06 PM

I can tell you that the QC15i, in the carry case, don't fit in the pockets of the Pilot, but do fit neatly in one side of the main comparement, when the other pocket is in use. The little bit of extra space between the end of the pocket and the side of the Pilot allows it to sit in there quite neatly.

No experience with the QC25 or 20, because of my exceptional willpower