I just wanted to update to say I got mine last night. I'll post some more pictures... here are my initial takes (since I haven't found a lot of reviews for this brand).
- It looks very, very elegant closed -- the attention to visual detail is amazing. The zippers for instance use an unusual design so that the zipper teeth are completely covered and not visible when the bag is zipped shut. I've never personally seen zippers like this before. Magnets on the bolsters for the bottom of the shoulder straps streamline the bag and make sure the flaps don't come open if they're unzipped. The color scheme is also very well executed. The materials -- textured nylon and lots of neoprene -- are also very nice. The only attention to material detail thing I don't like so far is that the ties that hold extra strap material close to the main strap can easily pop off (one came off in my bedroom by mistake, and I didn't realize it until I was at the hospital).
- It has lots of form preserving materials so it always keeps its shape. Even when fairly fully encumbered -- an accordian folder with maybe 20 sheets of paper, one notebook, iBook 12", AC adapter, iPod 3G, RAZR, DS Lite, change purse, large wallet, badges, keys, sunglasses, hemp hand cream (god I'm obsessed with that stuff!), lip balm, memory stick -- it still held its shape very nice and had no appearance of being "stuffed."
- As you can see from the site, it has tons of pockets. The pockets are a little bit small -- for instance, the pocket for the AC adaptor leaves a lot hanging out, and most of the items are only 2/3 held in the pocket with 1/3 obscured. There are relatively few large pockets, so since I carry a large wallet, a larger iPod, a DS, etc, I find it hard to find spaces for them all. I do feel like the design emphasized electronics a little too much -- I have a place for my iPod, my DS Lite, my memory stick, my AC adaptor, my cell, my headset. What about my keys and wallet, lip balm, etc? Those things had to be fit into compartments they weren't ideally suited for.
- The bag has no external pockets, and it isn't the easiest bag to pull something out of the inside quickly, with minimal effort
- The pouch for holding the computer is very snug for an iBook (meaning it would probably be a little looser on a Powerbook 12") and seems very well isolated and protected. There's minimal room in the large compartment for anything else beyond the computer -- you'll get a couple of notebooks and folders in, but you won't be carrying textbooks and a computer in this bag.
- The shoulder straps could be a little better padded and they seem to be made for relatively narrow shoulders. I'll have to give them time, but they're not the most comfortable so far that I've ever owned, particularly when loaded. This might be fairly serious to me, although sometimes I just need time to find an adjustment that works.
The bags also come in bronze now with different color contrast inserts (powder blue, magenta, one more). If I could've found that, I would've gone for that over black in a heartbeat. It's still probably the prettiest backpack I've ever seen, based on my preferences.
Overall, so far, using it one day, I give it an A+ for style, an A- for functionality, a B/B- for comfort (need to see on that one).
I'll follow with pictures.
