Just Ordered an STM Scout bag for iPad

Good choice

The black must be fairly new as when I bought my scout several months ago the choices were only olive and brown.

Can't help you then with pics of the bag (it does look nice on the Amazon website). I can say that this is an excellent bag. I used it for a while with my iPad 1 and was real happy with it but being the type always eyeing for something "better" I came across a deal on a Ristretto on EBay and took the jump. I am amazed at how similar the two bags were. I assume the STM was made later and was clearly a direct copy of the Tom Bihn. Every compartment is a match. The differences are that the Ristretto has a nicer material - I would guess more water resistant and has the option of the lighter inside color. This isn't to say the Scout's is cheap. Not at all. Seems very durable. The scout is slightly larger so it was easier for me to fit my original iPad with it's somewhat bulky case and a Bluetooth keyboard. The Ristretto made the iPad with case a tighter. Both offer great protection.

Basically, I really do not think the Ristretto is worth the difference in $$ unless you can get it much cheaper than direct. I was able to buy mine with the better strap ($30 value) included essentially for free. It is definitely much nicer than the standard one and also the one included with the Scout (not very adjustable and hangs very low). I think you can purchase the nicer strap directly from TB and then could use it with your Scout if you like.

Worse thing about the bags. My 11 yo sees it and says "you bought a murse," and bursts out laughing. I responded it was an Indiana Jones like satchel and then turned on ESPN to check out football highlights.

I ordered the black scout last week and received it yesterday. It is a very nice bag. I also wanted the ristretto...but wanted either the black with wasabi or steel interior and both were backordered until mid-may which led me to purchase the scout. My one gripe with the bag is that the interior pocket for the iPad 2 is small...too small for me to have the ipad2 in a case and it still fit. It does fit perfectly with just the smart cover on however. Which version of the scout did you purchase...the extra small or the new iPad version? All the reviews and videos I saw online were for the extra small scout which appeared to have plenty of room in the iPad pocket. I opted for the iPad version of the scout because some people said the pocket in the extra small version was a bit large...but now I wish I had gotten that size instead. For the price I think the bag is great! The fabric is nice...there is plenty of room in other pockets for small accessories, and the price is great! If you want I van take some pics later and post them for you. At some point I still may also purchase the ristretto or waterfield muzetto. But in the mean time this bag will do just fine!

I purchased this bag after doing some looking around online for what I wanted.

For the price it met my expectations and I feel the style and quality is nice. It's not a big bag, so don't expect to put a whole lot in it besides the iPad and the basics to support it. When I travel I carry my iPad2, iphone4, ipod touch, ear buds, screen cloth, pens, stylus, a couple USB flash drives, cables, charger...that's about it. It still has room for a little bit more stuff.

About my only gripe is it picks up our cat's hair easily, so I have to go after the bag occasionally with a lint roller. The outer material is a little coarse, it's that rugged kind made for travel, good and durable. The padded iPad compartment inside the bag has just a little wiggle room for my "naked" iPad2, so maybe with a slim notebook cover or protective shell it will fit snugly, I'm not sure though, I have yet to get any kind of cover for my iPad2.

I certainly saw other more expensive and stylish bags out there that I liked, but I sort of looked at this as a good "starter bag" for new iPad owners who don't know how far they want to go with their iPad accessories just yet.

I've been looking into this bag. Let me know how you like it!

Just got my Scout XS/ipad olive bag this week from Amazon. Very happy with it overall. Does what I need it to do, and them some. The disappointment is that the pictures show that the flap extends down for the length of the bag like the Muezetto does - but on this bag it does not. More of a personal preference for the longer flap. Hope to find time to show some pics this weekend.

At that time I hope to post my "review" of this great little bag....

downingp said:

Pictures of the black STM scout would be great. Did you order your bag through amazon? I went on the amazon website and ended up ordering through ebags on amazon. I am assuming I ordered the iPad specific bag instead of the XS due to the description. I think I will certainly want the smaller of the two as I have an iPad 2 and smart cover.

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No, I ordered from Radtech. I will try to take some pictures and post them tonight.

FWIW... I bought a Tom Bihn Ristretto for iPad last year for the iPad 1. I did a review here for it, basically saying that I really really liked it. I'm not a leather guy, so the highly recommended Waterfield Muzetto was just not my style. The Ristretto to me is one of the best look casual bags out there. With that said, I ended up returning it because I just wasn't using it enough to justify the price. Since then I went through several other bags, but almost a year later I ended up re-ordering the Ristretto, but this time around they had new colors and I picked up the Navy/Steel which looks nicer than the Black/Steel I had before (IMO). It even holds more than I previously realized... We have an upcoming trip and I plan on taking my iPad, and my wife is taking her netbook. I can comfortably fit both, plus my Kindle, her power cord, all my gadgets necessary cables, a P&S camera, and a magazine (not to mention various other little misc. items). Day to day I would not carry both the iPad and Netbook, but it's really nice to know that I can.

I think the STM bag is also a good choice especially considering the price, but to me it's a bit too boxy and does not seem to hold as much as the Ristretto.

downingp said:

@emgoodman I would be very interested in some comparison pictures between the scout and Ristretto if you have them. Thanks.

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Just caught this. I'll try either tonight or tomorrow. My wife has inherited the STM so have to wait till she's hone from work. Was surprised that someone above mentioned that the Ristretto can hold more. My finfdings are actually to the contrary.

emgoodman said:

Just caught this. I'll try either tonight or tomorrow. My wife has inherited the STM so have to wait till she's hone from work. Was surprised that someone above mentioned that the Ristretto can hold more. My finfdings are actually to the contrary.

Click to expand...

I never had the bags at the same time, but it seemed to me that the Ristretto held more, and the dimensions seem to support my claim (Ristretto: 12 x 9.25 x 4.75", Scout: 11 x 9.1 x 2"). I think the Ristretto seems smaller, but all the pockets/sections go to the bottom of the bag, there is very little if any wasted space.

Again, the STM is a really good bag especially at it's price. I just liked the Ristretto more even considering the price difference.

Nice choice! I bet that thing can hold your iPad, cards, and even a small assortment of cold cuts! #winning!

STM xs iPad bag

I just got my STM XS scout bag in the mail. It is made really well but don't be fooled by the ads. You won't be able to fit normal size docs in this bag. It's way too small for that. What they call the doc pockets can hold pamphlets or something but nothing that's 8.5x 11. Standard paper size. I wish one of the 5 or 6 reviewes I read and watched had mentioned that. The first thing my GF said was, nice purse. I don't think it looks feminine but if a chick says it you might be in trouble. My dog is shedding now because it's spring and it is already covered in hair. It grabs hair like a super magnet.
I really don't know if I can use this bag. It black and looks nice. I'll post a few picks here shortly.

I bought one off Amazon in Olive and took it back. It's just far too small. It holds the iPad (in a case) but there's very little room for anything else.

The UK power adapter for the iPad is bigger than the US one (and the prongs aren't retractable) so it hardly fits/sticks out.

I bought this instead

It's big enough to hold several A4 notepads, some books, a drink as well as a padded section for an iPad or 13" MBP, is cheaper than the scout and is just as light and portable!

Just updating this old thread with another vote for the STM Scout bag in olive. I got it for the new iPad (3). Works great, lets me keep extra stuff in it like sunglasses, cell phone, etc.

The olive color makes a pretty good murse, man purse, satchel, whatever you want to call it.

I was looking for a bag too

This looks like a nice cheap alternative

But I think I'm going for the muzetto