The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Timbuk2 is working on these. You can go to their site and sign up to be on a mailing list for them. Past that, I am not aware of any other bags made from hemp.
I have an Artisan Gear, I'm not thrilled. I'm going to be getting one of the Ecolution portable offices. I have a lot of Ecolution stuff, and really love it. The Artisan Gear just has too much nylon.
hmm thanks ethyriel, but i checked out ecolution on ebags and the reviews said it was good except the main shoulder adjustable strap can't carry weight... put anything like a laptop in it and it loosen to the longest adjustable length, making it sag down to your knees... sigh it looked really simple and functional too. any other suggestions?
The timbuk2 hemp bag looks nice except I'm looking for a minimalist design, just a simple bag although i might check it out (says it'll be released jan 08)
Huh, I've never had any problems with my backpack or duffle bag from Ecolution. I just got a backpack from Hempmania to replace my 5 year old Ecolution backpack (which was pretty well on it's way to disintegration, I probably should have washed it once in awhile), and I like that a lot. I don't know if they sell any messengers, they probably do. Hempy's is another one, but they're more of a surf company, so I wouldn't expect a messenger.
I still think I'm going to get
the traveling office, I can't imagine a strap adjustment problem I can't fix. Plus these things are hand made, maybe someone just got one with a glitch.
nah, its a bunch of reviews. heres the website where i checked it out (reviews on the bottom). what a shame, the bag is really classic and just what i was looking for.
Ah, good, that's not the one I'm looking at. See my link above, I can't decide between the two there. I'm sure the straps there are more like my deluxe duffel, which I've had a ton of weight in.
Note: The prices at Rawganique tend to be a little more expensive, but Ecolution has set aside a good portion of their fields to grow organic hemp and flax for the goods they sell to Rawganique. I think they've been selling the organics more and more elsewhere, but you always know that what you get at Rawganique is organic.
If you're not annoyed by the feel of the nylon liner, you might like the Artisan Gear. Actually, I have one very lightly used if you're interested. It's green with the leather trim. I've really only used it twice, once with my old T60, and once at a tradeshow in Vegas where I loaded it up with brochures. You'd most definitely need a separate sleeve, though.
Much much stronger than cotton. It's not as strong as most synthetics, but it feels a whole lot nicer. It stays strong even as it wears thin, and gets softer and softer as you wash it. I got a pair of hemp/flax yoga cargos caught in my bike chain which had eaten many pairs of cotton jeans for breakfast. The cargos, which are an extremely thin fabric, only got a few little holes torn into them, the derailleur (sp...) got pretty well destroyed.
I don't think that little blurb gets into the insane amount of fertilizer and insecticide which is uses on conventional cotton crops. Conventional cotton accounts for 3-5% of the world's cultivated land, yet it uses about 25% of the world's pesticides. Hemp grows like a weed just about everywhere, you need neither to grow it very successfully.
The seeds and oil are very healthy too, lots of omega fatty acids, like avocado and salmon for example. Those are known to improve brain function.
I'm a little late to the party, but want to mention the
hemp messenger bags from Ecologic. I just saw them at a Green Festival and was very impressed. No padded laptop compartment (yet - they're working on it), so you'd need a sleeve.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
