Backpack reccomendations

Can any one reccomend a sexy lookin backpack, that has great protection, and can be bought in the US? I liked the Pakuma bag but I think they only sell that bag in the UK. I kidna liked the Brain bag or w/e from Tom Bihn, but im not sure real sure about it. Has any one bought it. Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance guys. O yeh my laptop size is about 14.25 x 11.25. Thats with the battery sticking out. I don't wanna to take out the battery each time i put it in the bag.

 

I just got the Booq Boa XL to fit both my e 1705 and MbP - should be arriving in the next few days! You might also check on this stickey by sonicdivx

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=50734

 

Man, I feel your pain. I've looked all over for the Pakuma bag in the US, and with exchange rates as bad as they are ebay doesn't look too great either. I finally emailed Pakuma about it, hopefully they'll send me a reply before too long. However, I did find a place online in the UK that will ship over here if you're interested. overclockers.co.uk has the Pakuma aKara K2 with international shipping available. Due to the excahnge rate it is around $95 to get it shipped here, but considering the price of some similar backpacks here in the states that's not too terrible of a price.

 

Yeh the Booq Boas are alright. Any one else?

 

The North Face Recon backpack.

 

Yeh, I wanted to get that bag, how big is it?

 

North Face Recon? First off it has a padded back which is great for carrying laptops. Theres a small compartment in the way back of the backpack which fits the laptop snuggly against the padding and can be secured with a clippy and tightened. The backpack can definitely fit a lot though i find it looks the best with just my binder and one of my thick textbooks along with all my other crap like cell phone, calculator, stapler.

The backpack is a little under 2 ft tall and proves to be very useful in carrying heavy loads. The ergonomic design of the backpack allows me to carry way more than I could with my former jansport without even noticing that I am actually carrying several lbs. more. But if you want a slight maximum, I can fit about 6-7 inches of textbook along with my school binder followed by my laptop. So that's a lot of carrying room.

 

Yeh, so how is the protection on the laptop? There is the recon2 bag whats the difference?

 

Also how big is your laptop mine is a 15.4

 

I guess I've decided a new thing to evangelize about... Hip straps. I have a page without one.. an O'gio "street" in fact... not too bad, I like the padding up the spine. Without a hip-strap though, the chest strap does nothing but put extra weight on my trapezoids (between the shoulders and neck) and can make carrying any amount of weight painful after a while . I recommend that whatever you get, make sure it has hip-straps and chest-straps!

 

Not sure what the difference is, Recons have been phased out but my backpack is a Recon2. There's a membrane that seperates the laptop from my books and binder and isn't too thick, but no doubt there wouldn't be trouble since there's a sliver of some foam material to prevent any hard attacks. On the otherside of the laptop we have a semi-hard material that protects the back of the backpack, followed by some foam that keeps your back warm or whatever.


My laptop is 15.4"

 

Pakuma Akara K1 and K3 have both hip and chest straps. The chest strap is customizable - you can put it higher or lower on you chest.

Akara K2 has only chest strap.

 

The North Face Recon2 has an adjustable chest and hip strap.

 

Anyone like the Brain Bag or w/e from Tom Bihn?