I have been looking for a suitable laptop bag now (on and off) for a few months. As you probably know it is a torturous process. There are soo many bags. But the other day I made an impulse buy on a STM Medium Loft - CHOC/ORANGE shoulder bag. It set me back $75AUD. I really happy with it so I thought I would stick up a review (hopefully it is useful).
Previously I just put my PB into my Crumpler School Hym (which is great by the way - see a great review ) and put that in a standard school backpack. The backpack is great because no-one knows you have your lappy in there. But Im sick of using it because it encourages me to take heaps of crap (books and notes) to uni that I don't need. So I wanted a smaller bag so that I wouldnt take as much crap to uni.
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Review: STM Medium Loft Bag in Chocolate/Orange.
As you can see from the picks this is a shoulder bag but it sits vertically rather than horizontal. I dont know if this is a good or a bad thing. Your laptop sits in the pocket with the ports on the side facing upwards (if that makes sense). It comes with a padded adjustable shoulder strap with a detatchable mobile/cell phone pocket.
laptop space:
35.1 x 25.9 x 4.6 cm
13.8 x 10.2 x 1.8 inches
Pockets:
This bag is great because it has a number of large and handy pockets. There is a pocket at the back and one one the front so u have quick access to them. They are very big and so you can put the newspaper in there. I put my wallet and my earphones in the front pocket and put any readings I have to do on the train in the rear pocket.
On the inside there are 4 pockets:
* laptop pocket (no zipper covered by velcro flap): for the laptop - see below.
* big pocket (no zipper but covered by velcro flap): same height but not as wide as the laptop pocket (you could probably fit your PB in there). Designed for books/notepad/magazines etc... It is quite big - in the pictures below I stuck a few Macworld mags in there. It can fit a lot in there.
* smaller zipper pocket: smaller pocket for your power brick, cables, iPod.
* little pocket (no zipper): I stick my pens in there. In the phots below I have my iPod in there.
Durability:
Although I have only had it for a week Im sure it will last me a long time. The hinges on the shoulder strap and the bag are made from some type metal ("rust proof satin finish metal fittings" apparently) and not plastic like a lot of bags. So they wont snap.
The outside of the bag is made out of 200D textured polyester. Whatever that it? But it looks tough to me. It is very very unlikely to rip.
Padding: Most important issue.
A lot of bags don't have padding on the base of the bag. So when u put the bag on the ground it is likely to give your precious Powerbook/iBook a bit of a jolt. The base is also more likely to wear if there is no padding and one day your lappy will fall through!
The Loft bag has padding on the base (thankfully)! It is hard to measure how much but trust me there is more than enough. Its about a quarter inch thick (maybe?) of thick sqyuishy sort of material (that will absorb any shock). On the outside the base is a sort of synthetic leather type of material. So its unlikely to wear.
The pocket where the laptop sits is padded on all sides with a similar type of material. My 15" Powerbook fits in there comfortably with little room to bounce around. The inside of the pocket is made out of high density cotton webbing. It is nice and smooth and won't scratch your 'Book.
If you are a paranoid android:
I also own a Crumpler School Hymn for my PB and I noticed that it will fit in the laptop pocket. Its a tight fit though (but i dont think it will harm/stretch the bag). So if you are extra cautious you could put your PB in the Crumpler School Hymn and then put that in the laptop pocket of the Loft. I think that is an overkill though.
Difference between STM Medium Loft and STM Medium Alley:
I emailed STM before I purchased the bag and got a quick responce from Adina who said:
"The m.loft fits the 15" PowerBook perfectly. The m.alley also fits it,
but the m.loft is a slightly better fit. Both have the same amount of
padding."
If you look at the [URL=http://www.stmbags.com.au/home]STM website you will see the dimensions are slightly different between the bags. The Loft is much more stylish though.
Cons:
My only cons are that u can't really fit any textbooks in it. It will fit one normal sized textbook but wont fit 2 or a big textbook (like a law book). Im a uni student so thats a little annoying - so I will just have to carry any textbooks in my hand. But I did buy it so it would discourage me from taking too much unnessesary junk to uni.
Similarly, there isn't anywhere to put a drink bottle. I always take a bottle of water with me to uni each day. So again I will just have to carry it.
Otherwise Im very happy with it! Questions welcomed!
Images: Apologies for image quality - just got a digital camera but don't know how to use it
1) Front with zipper pocket open.
2) Base of bag.
3) Inside of bag showing two pockets. Big pocket for laptop and second pocket for book/documents/papers/whatever.
4) Rear of bag with zipper pocket open.
5) Powerbook sitting snugly in laptop pocket.
Previously I just put my PB into my Crumpler School Hym (which is great by the way - see a great review ) and put that in a standard school backpack. The backpack is great because no-one knows you have your lappy in there. But Im sick of using it because it encourages me to take heaps of crap (books and notes) to uni that I don't need. So I wanted a smaller bag so that I wouldnt take as much crap to uni.
Review: STM Medium Loft Bag in Chocolate/Orange.
As you can see from the picks this is a shoulder bag but it sits vertically rather than horizontal. I dont know if this is a good or a bad thing. Your laptop sits in the pocket with the ports on the side facing upwards (if that makes sense). It comes with a padded adjustable shoulder strap with a detatchable mobile/cell phone pocket.
laptop space:
35.1 x 25.9 x 4.6 cm
13.8 x 10.2 x 1.8 inches
Pockets:
This bag is great because it has a number of large and handy pockets. There is a pocket at the back and one one the front so u have quick access to them. They are very big and so you can put the newspaper in there. I put my wallet and my earphones in the front pocket and put any readings I have to do on the train in the rear pocket.
On the inside there are 4 pockets:
* laptop pocket (no zipper covered by velcro flap): for the laptop - see below.
* big pocket (no zipper but covered by velcro flap): same height but not as wide as the laptop pocket (you could probably fit your PB in there). Designed for books/notepad/magazines etc... It is quite big - in the pictures below I stuck a few Macworld mags in there. It can fit a lot in there.
* smaller zipper pocket: smaller pocket for your power brick, cables, iPod.
* little pocket (no zipper): I stick my pens in there. In the phots below I have my iPod in there.
Durability:
Although I have only had it for a week Im sure it will last me a long time. The hinges on the shoulder strap and the bag are made from some type metal ("rust proof satin finish metal fittings" apparently) and not plastic like a lot of bags. So they wont snap.
The outside of the bag is made out of 200D textured polyester. Whatever that it? But it looks tough to me. It is very very unlikely to rip.
Padding: Most important issue.
A lot of bags don't have padding on the base of the bag. So when u put the bag on the ground it is likely to give your precious Powerbook/iBook a bit of a jolt. The base is also more likely to wear if there is no padding and one day your lappy will fall through!
The Loft bag has padding on the base (thankfully)! It is hard to measure how much but trust me there is more than enough. Its about a quarter inch thick (maybe?) of thick sqyuishy sort of material (that will absorb any shock). On the outside the base is a sort of synthetic leather type of material. So its unlikely to wear.
The pocket where the laptop sits is padded on all sides with a similar type of material. My 15" Powerbook fits in there comfortably with little room to bounce around. The inside of the pocket is made out of high density cotton webbing. It is nice and smooth and won't scratch your 'Book.
If you are a paranoid android:
I also own a Crumpler School Hymn for my PB and I noticed that it will fit in the laptop pocket. Its a tight fit though (but i dont think it will harm/stretch the bag). So if you are extra cautious you could put your PB in the Crumpler School Hymn and then put that in the laptop pocket of the Loft. I think that is an overkill though.
Difference between STM Medium Loft and STM Medium Alley:
I emailed STM before I purchased the bag and got a quick responce from Adina who said:
"The m.loft fits the 15" PowerBook perfectly. The m.alley also fits it,
but the m.loft is a slightly better fit. Both have the same amount of
padding."
If you look at the [URL=http://www.stmbags.com.au/home]STM website you will see the dimensions are slightly different between the bags. The Loft is much more stylish though.
Cons:
My only cons are that u can't really fit any textbooks in it. It will fit one normal sized textbook but wont fit 2 or a big textbook (like a law book). Im a uni student so thats a little annoying - so I will just have to carry any textbooks in my hand. But I did buy it so it would discourage me from taking too much unnessesary junk to uni.
Similarly, there isn't anywhere to put a drink bottle. I always take a bottle of water with me to uni each day. So again I will just have to carry it.
Otherwise Im very happy with it! Questions welcomed!
Images: Apologies for image quality - just got a digital camera but don't know how to use it
1) Front with zipper pocket open.
2) Base of bag.
3) Inside of bag showing two pockets. Big pocket for laptop and second pocket for book/documents/papers/whatever.
4) Rear of bag with zipper pocket open.
5) Powerbook sitting snugly in laptop pocket.
