What sort of bag am I looking for?
January 5, 2009 10:57 AM   Subscribe

What sort of bag am I looking for? Over-the-shoulder, big enough for a laptop but without padding, no messenger-bag flap.

For the last several years I've been carrying my laptop (and other stuff) in a bag that's on its last legs. I'm looking to replace it with a similar one but can't find anything like it.

The bag I have now is from Eddie Bauer but has apparently been discontinued. It's a lot like a laptop bag but doesn't have any padding, so it's very light and flexible (and very thin when empty, though capable of expanding quite a bit to hold stuff). It has a handle for hand-carrying but also a shoulder strap.

What I like about it is that all the pockets are only closed by zippers, so they can be easily opened while standing without having to undo any hooks or deal with any flaps (like a messenger bag).

Is there a particular style of bag I should be looking for? A company that sells bags like this?

(PS: I'm male, so I'd want something that doesn't look like a purse.)
posted by Godbert to Grab Bag (10 answers total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
Tumi has lots of options.
posted by cooker girl at 11:13 AM on January 5, 2009


Waterfield has tons of options. I have one bag and two sleevecases from them, and they are incredibly functional and well-made.
posted by radioamy at 11:38 AM on January 5, 2009


Targus has some like this. I've been using this one daily for a few years and it's still in great condition. The only thing is that the inside is lined in pink faux suede which might be too feminine for you.
posted by Nickel at 11:40 AM on January 5, 2009


Acme makes great bags like this (here or here (Amazon)).
posted by nkknkk at 12:18 PM on January 5, 2009


Rudsak makes really nice, plain leather messenger bags in the $200 range. Unfortunately I can't deep-link into the site as it's all stupid Flash animation, but go into the Women's Handbags section and find the North/South Messenger Bags and the Raw Edge Messenger Bags (you'll have to scroll over to the right to see this model).

They're really good-looking bags: classic, plain and unisex, despite being categorized as women's. I use one for my laptop and get a ton of compliments on it.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 12:35 PM on January 5, 2009


May be close... I use one of these for all my transportation needs. Holds lots of stuff and is pretty nice.
Note that the laptop goes vertically, and it won't hold a 17" laptop and close properly, but other than that, I love it
posted by phrakture at 1:05 PM on January 5, 2009


Hey, folks, it says no messenger-bag flap, which means a messenger bag won't work.

Rudsak does have a zip-close top-entry bag, though, the "laptop bag" in Men's Handbags.
posted by mendel at 3:00 PM on January 5, 2009


Try crumplerbags.com . They have several good ideas.
posted by pywacket at 9:21 PM on January 5, 2009


Small hijack--I love the Rudsak bags but it looks like they only retail in Canada. Does anyone know of an online shop that carries the bags? Danke!
posted by elfgirl at 5:23 AM on January 6, 2009


I like my Crumpler, although it does have a flap. You might want to check-out Built bags, though. I've seen a couple of the Built bags in person. They're very sturdy and comfortable.
posted by paulg at 9:56 AM on January 9, 2009


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