13.3" (but bigger?) notebook bag?

Hi Everyone,

Im having a really hard time finding a bag that fits the samsung Q310 snuggly.
Its a little 13.3" notebook with apparently a rather awkward size format.
Nearly every notebook bag I come across, is grossly undersized or just some handle-less sock or sleever or whathaveyou.

After crawling around on the web a bit I found that to house my 13" notebook, I often had to divert to 15" bags, so I guess my "little" notebook has quite a bit of fat on it. My wideload notebook comes in at 38 x 322 x 241mm or 1.5 x 12.7 x 9.5 inches.

I came across this bag called "Belkin Notebook Messenger" that looked rather sturdy, and might be able to handle my mountain of gadgets but I cant find any inside shots of it. Does anyone have some clear inside shots of this bag?

Ive been lurking about every night all week for a nice snug fitting bag that still allows room for an occasional PDA/nintendo DS, but I just cant seem to hit the sweet spot.

If anyone has a nice suggestion for me, id greatly apreciate it.

 

Are you looking for a Messenger Bag, Sleeve, or shoulder bag?

See Here: http://products.lowepro.com/catalog/Notebook-Cases,12.htm

 

A robust sleeve/slipcase type of thing with a small handle and maybe a small pocket for notebook essentials (memorycards/sticks/minimouse) on it would be great. That way I could carry it with me inside my travelbag along with my other things and chargers, or as a standalone for short trips.

I dont always have to have my powerbrick with me, nor my PDA, camera, and other gadgets, so keeping it all modular in a big bag would be best I think.

 

Have you tried some 14.1 bags? They're not that much bigger and it should be good for your laptop. Most of the 15.4 bags are too big imo.

 

The notebook is quite deep for a 13".

Width 32.2 cm 35
Depth 24.1 cm 24.4
Height 3.9 cm 2.6

One possibility is a vertical 15" notebook bag. The first figures I've listed are for your Q310, the second are for the 15" MacBook Pro. As you can probably see, a vertical bag designed for an MBP would fit the Q310 snugly leaving a gap at the top - which shouldn't be a big deal (you can even put an additional strip of foam at the bottom to improve 'crash resistance').

The Knomo Stirling for example is a relatively cheap leather bag which looks smart, and is designed for the 15" MBP. The STM Medium Loft is also a low-cost option. Lots more like that I'm sure.

 

Good lord!
Thats exactly whats made me run the opposite direction from the allmighty mac store before.
Whats it made of to justify the 190usd pricetag? Babies?

A simplistic vertical courier bag is certainly something to go on though, but id preffer to stay under the 50 dollar mark.
Apparently my Q310 resembles a 15" macbook pro, but unfortunately anything endorsed by apple will make you bleed like an american bank.

 

Possibly one of these Lowepro bags (there are 3 sizes) or possibly this. Note there are two colours. There are also Crumpler bags on the same site.

I have an older Lowepro bag which I find excellent, partly because it has a zip and not a flap for the front compartment, but it is relatively light and has plenty of storage.

John

 

That first lowepro is quite charming, but im not too fond of the open ended pockets. I can see a USB stick get lost like that reall quick.

The second one looks quite luxurious but that kind of bag would pose a problem if I go somewhere and dont need the laptop,
since all protection is stuck on the bag, wich would mean Id have to carry my PDA or camera "bare".
Hence why im trying to go modular with a big courier bag with all my gadgets in their own loose baggies inside of it.
Its hard to explain what im looking for I guess you can think of it as a slipcase/sleeve with a small zipperbag on the front,
and some handle on the side. "slipcase lite"?

Would this STM Brink fit? Looks like a snug fit in all directions, but it looks like its 1cm too small in height and 1cm too small in depth aswell. It uses a foldover flap to hold down the notebook, but it would be a shame if the velcro strips didnt reach far enough to close securely.

 

Just to add my experience with bags on a Vaio SZ - 13,3" too.

I've got a Wenger Messenger bag that would fit a 17" laptop I think.
I put my Vaio in vertically, leaving space at the side, for the power supply, even an EOS400D if I want üplus zoom lense

Just as a suggestion.

 

The Brink looks in interesting but is quite a big investment when you're not sure that it will fit.

Or you may be interested in this Belkin sleeve @ £17.17 delivered although it's a size bigger than you need (I can just get my Dell E6400 into it). Flat, it measures about 360 x 260mm so when something is inside it will be around 340 x 240mm x 40mm. The padding is quite good. Then it goes in a normal backpack with one or more of this type of case for the other bits.

John

 

Hmmm... Clearly the perception of quality vs value is different between you and me. I actually think the Knomo's are on the cheap side for a leather bag with properly designed features (and the main reason is that the leather is not the greatest on this planet), but full of good design touches. My typical spend on a bag is a thousand or two in my currency (currently at $1.5/£), and personally I'm looking hard for something significantly better quality than the Knomos.

Do take a longer look at the vertical STM mentioned. The Alley is the other vertical one, but in black. I have a Convertible (17") I hardly use, but I think all these ballistic nylon bags look cheap and nasty. The orange & brown STM, if you can carry the look off, looked a little less c&n when I saw it in the shop.

 

Sorry, no small sidepocket nor a handle to carry it.
That one woulnd allow me to carry my notebook essentials (mouse and memorystick)

The idea is to have every device in its own pouch with carry loop so they can be easily taken along individually. My PDA has a nintendo DS pouch wich happened to fit nicely along with some SD cards, my camera has something similar, and ive got an old zipperpouch that fits all chargers. The laptop is my newest addition and id like to do something similar, a small bag with handle and little sidepocket.

Theres paying for quality and theres paying for a half eaten apple. Ive seen fine looking luxurious bags out there, even some that look like leather, for no more then 70 euros, so to me it seems a bit odd to label this apple bag cheap in anyones opinion. Even apples price on the "nasty" nylon sleeves is very steep compared to most non apple sleeves.

 

Timbuk2 14.1" Laptop Messenger Bag

Cordura | Concrete | Ballistic | Razor Stripe

Or build your own:

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/bagbuilder/custom-laptop-messenger

Other slimmer bags available:

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/laptop/

 

More 14.1" bags:

http://www.tucanousa.com/product_p/bol2-v.htm

http://www.tucanousa.com/product_p/bfa2.htm

http://www.tucanousa.com/product_p/bfa2-v.htm