Ego questions!

[aedifica]

Thanks to eBay, I'm also now the proud owner of an Ego. (Clearly I had no ego before.) I bought it mostly because last week I was packing a bag for an event and there did not seem to be a TB bag that would be perfect for what I needed! (I said to my sweetie "Wouldn't the people on the forum be shocked to hear that?") Then I saw the Ego on eBay and realized that it would actually have been perfect to hold what I needed for the event.

As a side note, having seen the Ego I now disbelieve in the existence of the Super Ego--the Ego is huge, there can't be a larger version!

Anyway, my questions:

• If you travel with your Ego and another bag, what's the other bag?
• How do you like to organize yours? (I've read a bunch of posts on how people use them for their EDC. What I'm asking is more along the lines of: do you use a Freudian Slip? Which one do you like? Or do you just use the bag's built-in organization?)
• If you use packing cubes with it, which do you like best? I saw an old post where Beau at TB said the small A45 cube works well, so I'm going to give that a try, but I'm interested to hear if others have other opinions.
• Do Ego stripes or Q-AM straps ever show up on eBay? I haven't seen them, but I haven't been watching very long yet. Mine has the reflective stripe and if I could only pick one stripe, it would be that one--so I'm actually in a good situation there--but it would also be nice to be able to change it sometimes.

P.S. I ended up using my Pilot for the event, but it was a very tight fit until I ate my lunch. That freed up a bunch of room. (I used a medium YSS for a lunch bag, since I couldn't find my usual lunch bag.)

[AVService]

My Super Ego was so upset by your comments that it ate the Ego!




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[aedifica]

My Super Ego was so upset by your comments that it ate the Ego!

Oh no! Please pass along my apologies to your Super Ego, and I hope your Ego recovers well from being eaten.

[moriond]

See @tpnl's post titled How to get an Uber Ego with a Freudian Slip!:

For those of you with an EGO ... and you know who you are , I love the Large FS best in the Front compartment. I love that compartment because I can put so much in it but can get disorganized - in comes the Large FS to give me the organization I need!

Large FS in Front compartment


The Large FS also fits in the main compartment too but so does the regular Horizontal FS.

All the new FS (i? - FSi - is that the right way to say many Freudian Slips?) easily fit in the larger TB briefcases I own - Zephyr, Empire Builder, Checkpoint Flyer - but the Horizontal FS gives you max. organization in those bags. The new FS provides an option for those bags to do "half" organization - leaving half the bag for more bulky items.

Enjoy the new FS everyone!

Cheers!

As a side note, having seen the Ego I now disbelieve in the existence of the Super Ego--the Ego is huge, there can't be a larger version!

Well, you already know from @AVService that there are Super Egos around, but speaking for the 5'4" and under crowd, yes, the Ego looks really large when one of use carries it, and that's partly because of the squarish design. The ID Bag (also designed to carry 15" laptops) looks a lot more manageable on a smaller frame, even though it can handle a larger (wider) laptop.

Here's some of @adalangdon's pics posted in the Ego comparison shots thread:

So I couldn't help it and ended up getting an Ego as well, with Plum and Burnt Orange stripes. I hope these pics will help people like myself who were wondering if they would look ridic with a bag this big.

Verdict? I think it's a great bag that can be carried by smaller folks with the QAM strap done up properly. I'm 115#, 5'3". Main compartment had my SE and two books that are 1000+ pages each. Flap compartment had my EDC pouches, 3 pens, wallet, and coin wallet. (To answer @luvdabags' question, yes, an SE can fit in the flap compartment.) In other words, it was pretty heavy, but not very bulky. I highly recommend the QAM strap as you can carry the bag high on your back, which will both lessen shoulder strain and, for the smaller people, make the bag look smaller. And while it's kinda troublesome, you can switch shoulders with the QAM strap. I haven't loaded it up with my usual school stuff yet, but I did do a test pack with a horizontal 4Z Cache and found that it sucked up a lot of space in the main compartment. The space in the main compartment all comes out without my Cache, though. (Yeah, I cannot wait to get a smaller lappy!) Will post a school-day load photo soon.

FYI Ego owners, if you're looking for a new stripe, Hannah says they have a few camo ones lying about. (Can't wait to get mine. Love camo! And if you have colourful stripes that you don't want, let me know! Missed the boat on the Cayenne one... le sigh.)

Looks massive like this:


Looks big because photo was taken from below.


But it generally looks okay when strapped up properly.

Also, see her comment posted with the bag a few weeks later:

My Ego's so big that it needs a seat of its own 8-) (As a side note, wow. Something as simple as strips can really change the look of a bag.)

You asked:

Do Ego stripes or Q-AM straps ever show up on eBay? I haven't seen them, but I haven't been watching very long yet. Mine has the reflective stripe and if I could only pick one stripe, it would be that one--so I'm actually in a good situation there--but it would also be nice to be able to change it sometimes.

Yes, Ego/Super Ego stripes do show up occasionally on eBay, but it's more often to see this when someone sells a bag. In a few instances folks will separately advertise the stripes. You can still buy Q-AM straps directly from Tom Bihn -- see my Upgrading "Youthful" ID Messenger Bags post detailing this. The numbers are still in excess of two dozen. Check that the width of the strap you are trying to replace is 1.5" wide; I believe that the first Egos were produced in March 2007 about the time the Q-AM strap was designed. Older Super Egos and ID bags made before this date used 2" wide straps, and required "Adapters" to covert them for use with the Q-AM and Absolute straps, both of which are 1.5" wide. You may also want to check the width of your Ego's waist strap as 1.5" for the stabilizer loop (since Q-AM straps used with bags like the older Cafe Bags, Imagos, and Ristrettos use 1" waist straps).

HTH

moriond

[aedifica]

@moriond: Thank you so much! It hadn't occurred to me that they might still have Q-AM straps, since I didn't see them listed on the website. I suppose it makes sense if they aren't designed to go with any bags currently being sold. And now I'm so glad I didn't place my next order yet! I almost did last night.
*goes off to measure Ego strap width*
*returns*
It's 2", so I'll have to ask them if they also have those adapters left. The waist strap isn't present, but the attachment point for it is indeed 1.5".

Though from what you wrote about timing and strap widths, I have to wonder if this isn't a Super Ego--I'll go measure the bag!
*goes to measure*
*returns*
This is a Super Ego after all! I guess I was right not to believe in a larger version...

[aedifica]

I'm not sure I actually want a Super Ego, it's so close in size to the A30 and I think I want backpack straps for a load that size. I'll give it a try, though. (I'm 5'5", so I'm not that tall myself.) But I'll also start watching eBay for an Ego, now that I've become interested in the style and size.

In the meantime, I am still interested in people's answers to my original questions about the Ego, but now I'm also interested to hear what people have to say about the Super Ego for those same questions.

[aedifica]

I could have sworn I posted an update here, but apparently not. Now, thanks to andiknits on Ravelry, I have an actual Ego like I intended to get! It's still big but not enormous like the Super Ego. And it came with a Q-AM strap too! (And a Plum strip and a reflective strip, yay.)