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great everyday bag for men

entatlrg

entatlrg

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 2, 2009
3,385
6
Waterloo & Georgian Bay, Canada
I'm looking for a bag to hold a 13" Mac and power cord, compact digital camera, one small notebook book and pen, few usb sticks, iphone, wallet, keys and that's about it.

A leather bag would be ideal, something all purpose, suitable whether I'm taking it to work or to the cottage .... in suit, jeans or sweatpants

Messenger Bags
Often are too large, plus I don't like the flap... I'd rather have a zipper than flip open the flap every time you want to grab something.

Backpacks
Are my favorite, but it's really hard to find a small/medium size backpack for everyday use.

'man bag'
too small for a 13" notebook, leather ones look lady like ...

Anyone have a decent medium sized 'go every where' bag ...
 
I'm not sure whether they are available in Canada as I haven't been back in ages but these are a couple of bags you may like on the UK Apple Store, which is where I unfortunately live. I'm sure you could find them over there.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/T...de=MTY1NDA2Ng&mco=MjIzMTMzNQ&p=2&s=topSellers (I have ordered this).

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/T...de=MTY1NDA2Ng&mco=Mjc3MzMwOA&p=1&s=topSellers

Otherwise, if you haven't already, the Canadian apple store website would be a good place to start.

Hope this helps
 
As a college student i've used the InCase sling backpack for years. Its been incredible at keeping my Macbook safe, as its traveled with me to over 3 different countries, 2 continents and has experienced teeth clenching falls & tumbles.

The thing I don't like is that its still a "backpack."

I feel like a damn college student all the time when I take it everywhere with me. Recently i've been noticing the InCase (Love that brand) 13inch briefcase. Looks a bit modern, trendy, indie, w/e. . . but i'd get it today if it was $50.

I know, its onlt 50 bucks but it just doesn't look worth $50 to me. So i've been scouring eBay lately looking to find a deal. . .

But the inCase sling is amazing. & the new ones are made of some different material that is water/rain/weather proof too.
 
I can't say enough about this bag. Take out the 3-ring binder part and you have enough room for some crap and it will even carry a 13" MBP with a MB Air (I've seen it).

I got mine as a gift, it's remarkable.
20_A1516327.jpg
 
I know that you stated you don't want a backpack but I can't recommend the Booq Venom-series enough, I didn't think that I needed a backpack at first either, but I spent the money on it, and it's one of the best things I've ever bought, I'd take a look at it. I'm glad that I didn't get a smaller bag because there are times that you want to take more things along, and wouldn't be able to, I'd rather have too much space than not enough.

Just my .02

Andrew

EDIT: And I take it everywhere with me, it's light, comfortable and leaves my hands free to do other things.
 
dsc_0001.jpg


Tenba Messenger.

I have the smaller version of this bag, and I can hold my EOS DSLR and my 17" MBP, along with flashes and all my other crap. This bag has more pockets than I could ever dream of and has a really comfortable strap.
 
Thanks, there's some really good suggestions here.

Looks like I'm the only one who likes to their notebook many places in an 'everyday' bag ...

It makes sense and while I dislike the term 'man bag' .... I dislike not having my notebook at times I hate carrying pockets full of 'stuff' with pockets bulging...

Nowadays it's more necessary pockets just can't hold all the cool tech stuff plus everything else.
 
While it may be a messenger bag, and not leather,
the bag I use is certainly an everyday bag.

Nice colours, good strap, plenty of compartments.
Specific and protected notebook section, fits any 13 inch fine.
And it's compact. It won't fit a 14 inch computer, and it isn't too big.
You can cram lots in, it'll expand, but it will also look bulgy.

For what you need, I'd say it's a good choice, if you like the style as much as I do.

It is a Crumpler, Cheesy Chick Small. Don't be put off by the name ^^

Most of the time I use it without my mac inside. It's my everyday bag.
 
Durable, stylish, elegant yet very manly and an attention getter. Goes equally well dressed up and dressed down.

Only downside is a $1K pricetag.

One of the eyecandy, I mean doctors at my new job has one of these. ;)
 

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Really depends on your likes dude.

Many people use w/e bag they have as their everyday bag. It's just what you're comfortable with, being seen with, what you think says about you, though most important how functional it is for you.

As I mentioned, the InCase Sling is the one I have/use everyday:

http://www.goincase.com/products/detail/sling-backpack-cl55149

It goes with me everywhere, even if I don't have my Macbook with me. It holds everything and i'm always with everything I need. The link includes the latest version which is weather/rain proof. I've had it for 2+ years and still works at 100%, though I've recently felt like a "college student" (Though I am) carrying it around everywhere this summer while I wasn't in school.

So I've been eying this one, still from InCase that I personally like. Some briefcase like with the option of a shoulder strap is what i'm currently looking for. Though i'm very frugal and always look for deals, so knowing that its like $50 I know I won't spend over $30 for it:

http://www.goincase.com/products/detail/nylon-sleeve-plus-cl57265/1
 
Looks like a lot of people use a vertical notebook bag...

good idea, I hadn't considered that but they look smaller and a little less bulky compared to the horizontal ones.

A backpack is probably the easiest to carry on the shoulder or back ...

What I carry everyday is a MacBook Air, power adapter, small 8 x 5" notebook, iphone, sometimes a small digital camera, and the usual keys, wallet, glasses.

I need something with the space for a 13" notebook, plus another decent size compartment for 'stuff'.

Something that looks okay if I'm in metropolitan Toronto, New York or Copenhagen, or at the cottage in the Muskoka's and everything in between, can't look "all business" and can't look "all casual" ...

That's why I mentioned leather earlier, I've seen men with cool looking medium sized bags made from leather with that rustic/distressed leather ... makes them look like a good broken in 'go anywhere' bag...

I've can't seem to find them in a store and to buy online without seeing it first or hearing from someone who owns one it's risky to buy sight unseen ...

I thought of the nylon timbuk2 small laptop messenger bag .... but have you ever seen the amount of velcro they use .... everywhere you go and when you open your bag all you hear is rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrip.... ah, I hate velcro :)
 
Thiol said:
I used to have the fabric version of this bag, but it's now discontinued. The last of the leather versions is now on sale:

http://www.briggs-riley.com/category/productDetail.aspx?id=Leather-Slim-Computer-Brief_LB101

Briggs and Riley, however, has a nice wide variety of bags and I bet you can find one to suit your needs:

http://www.briggs-riley.com/category/group.aspx?cat=laptop-briefs
Click to expand...

The leather version in the first link is very nice, it looks a little on the business side, especially in leather I suppose.

Do you take your bag everywhere, business, casual, holidays etc?
 
entatlrg said:
That's why I mentioned leather earlier, I've seen men with cool looking medium sized bags made from leather with that rustic/distressed leather ... makes them look like a good broken in 'go anywhere' bag...
Click to expand...

Just ask whoever next time you see someone with a sick bag.

I can understand what you mean about wanting a casual and business looking bag. Simple answer is to get a bag for each occasion, but that crosses into being chick category and I know you don't want that. So best advice is ask some dude next time you see him with a kick ass laptop bag...

I took a look at that $230 or + bag and it looks nice, but too "business-y" for my taste. Perhaps cause i'm young but I need something that looks trendy and in-style...for the ladies to notice of course. (Edit: The Briggs & Riley one is nice. I'd really dig that...but I can't imagine myself walking around with it...at least not for another 7 years.)

:]
 
entatlrg said:
Do you own that bag? If so how is it for everyday use?
Click to expand...

I own a few LV purses, so I can attest to the quality of them. As long as you get a genuine LV and not some knock-off, quality is world class. I've had one bag that I've put to hell and it still looks brand new. But no, I don't own this particular men's bag...mostly since I'm a girl. :)

I've seen this doctor about 2-3 times coming into work and he uses it all the time so I'll ask him next time I see him. It'll give me a reason to start up a convo.

I did check it out the last time I was at one of the stores as a X-Mas gift idea for my father and it looked like it could fit a laptop along with some other items inside. There was an inner pocket under the flap and another compartment inside the main flap.

If you're near an outlet, check it out. Worth a look!
 
entatlrg said:
Do you take your bag everywhere, business, casual, holidays etc?
Click to expand...

Yup, everywhere. It's an everyday into the office bag, but I also use it for traveling. Fits all sorts of stuff in a really organized fashion. It's been a great bag for years!
 
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