A Rare Knomo Tokyo Bag Quick Impressions/Pictures

[puma1552]

So two weeks ago tomorrow I ordered a Tokyo Knomo for my 15" MBP. I wanted something classy, but didn't want to go with the standard black or brown that everyone has. Found this bag in a subtle blue, and thought it might not be bad. Well, it arrived today and I'm rather underwhelmed.

Photos:

Ehhh, its pretty construction yellow inside, and is about twice as shiny on the outside as i expected (though still passable I suppose). The colors are a bit different than depicted in the website. The inside appears yellow-ish on the website, but not as yellow as in the yellow bag so I figured maybe this was indeed more of a tan color. Unfortunately it's even more yellow than on the website. Construction zone dead ringer.

The black inner pockets and their stitching reeks of cheap, as evidenced by the fact it's a piece of elastic with one line of stitching running down it.

Also the laptop pocket itself is pretty meh--it leaves like 3 inches of laptop exposed, unlike the apparently photoshopped picture on the website where it sits all the way down inside.

I like the zippers though.

So now I'm not sure what to do. This bag was $160, plus an exorbitant $60 to ship it to me, and it took two full weeks to get here. If I send it back for a refund, I'm out another 50-60 bucks, and thus out over 100 bucks and still without a bag. If I exchange it, it will run me the 50 or 60 to send it back, and another 60 to get another one...then I'm out like $380 to finally get a bag, and this bag simply isn't worth half of that. It's a nice bag made of high quality except the cheap black pockets inside, but it's not $380 nice. Not sure what to do now. I'm going home to America in three weeks and I REALLY wanted a bag before I flew.

Thoughts?

The inside color is just not ok with me; I had reservations about going with the blue bag because of the yellowish-tan liner, but it turned out to be far deeper in color than shown on the website, and I don't like the photoshopped image on the site of a classic MBP sitting all the way inside the laptop pocket since this isn't the case, and this will necessitate using a thin sleeve (Tucano Second Skin) just to make sure the machine is protected from scratches from other stuff within the bag. Also they were very slow to ship (they shipped it quickly but it took two weeks to go from London to Japan which IMO is 4-5 days longer than necessary), and to get me my tracking number.

Overall not too impressed.

What do you think I should do? I'm at my wit's end for bag shopping and I finally thought I had found one; I've seen em all at this point over the 1.5 years I've been carrying my UMBP in my hand in it's sleeve.

EDIT: Website showing inaccurate color and photoshopped image of the machine sitting all the way down in the pocket: http://www.knomobags.com/row/men/laptop-bags/15-inch/tokyo-6.html/

 

[Baral]

That's pretty rough man. But if I was in your position, I would return it and take the hit of the shipping cost. Then, buy a Tom Bihn Brain Cell. The bag is "only" $60 (which I personally consider to be an expensive bag), and is the most protective bag you could get. It comes in various colors, hopefully you'll like one of them. It also comes as horizontal or vertical.

Here's the horizontal one, as the bag in your post was also horizontal:
http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/300/TB0300

This way, you've paid about $160 for a bag, which is what you originally paid so it would seem you are okay with that price tag, and you have the best protection on the market for your laptop.

Hope that helps.

[edit]Just as a note, Tom Bihn bags are all made in a factory in Seattle, Washington. Not some place in China. The stitching is immaculate and the craftsmanship is second to none. I guarantee you will not have the problems of your Knomo Tokyo.

 

[Littlefields]

I honestly don't think the bag is that bad. If you can live with how the bag looks on the outside and the fact that the Macbook Pro would stick out from the sleeve, then the shipping costs would not be worth a return. Same goes for the interior color. You wanted a high quality bag, and based from the photos, that's what it looks like for the most part.

 

[altecXP]

It looks like a big blue/purple purse.

I never under stood why bags of that design are so popular, they look like lady bags.

 

[puma1552]

It's going back tomorrow. Irritated with the way it was represented on the site so im going to look into getting all my shipping costs covered also.

May pony up for a Louis Vuitton bag; yet to be disappointed with any of their stuff in the past.

 

[altecXP]

I really hope your a girl.....

 

[J&JPolangin]

....would that really be cheaper ordering via Japan than buying locally?

 

[puma1552]

I really hope your a girl.....

Nope.

....would that really be cheaper ordering via Japan than buying locally?

Would what be cheaper? LV? We have LV all over here, thankfully I can walk in a store, see what I like, see if it's good, test it, and make a decision rather than having to order and take a chance and lose out on expensive shipping like I did with this.

 

[puma1552]

Really unhappy with the service I've received from this company, in addition to the bag itself.

When I ordered, they told me they'd get me a tracking number soon. 4 days later I had to ask again to get it.

They shipped it using a painfully slow method--two full weeks from London to Japan, a bit long IMO. Towards the end, with tracking info that had quit updating, I sent them an email asking who they partnered with (they shipped it TNT) in Japan so I could try tracking it through the courier they likely passed it off to. I never received a reply, and the bag showed a few days later.

Now, returning it is a difficult process. They want it wrapped in original packaging (no biggie), but I also have to fill out some form off the internet AND get a returns reference number from them before I can even send the damn thing back. The return window is also only 14 days.

I asked for a returns reference number at least 5 days ago, if not six, and have received no reply. I just emailed them again, and I told them I want the shipping refunded both to me and back to them for the fact that the bag is misrepresented via photoshop on their site. If I don't receive a reference number by Monday, it's going back regardless with or without it.

Very piss poor service. There's nothing about this company I can recommend. Cheap looking bags, photoshopped images on the website, dog slow shipping, and piss poor service to boot.

 

[chris2k5]

Would def go with LV if it wasn't so darn expensive. It costs more than most laptops!

 

[djasterix]

149 bucks???, well, I understand why you're so mad, but the color in your picture looks just like the one on the website...

 

[puma1552]

Would def go with LV if it wasn't so darn expensive. It costs more than most laptops!

Yep, I have one of their damier graphite wallets I've been sitting on for two years and it looks brand new, and my everyday manbag is a damier geant Petit Messager in the brown color. Absolutely love their stuff, top notch quality in every regard.