New bag.

For the last couple of years or so I've been mainly working my way through Knomo's collection for men, and I want to move onto something different. While I like the general style of the Knomo bags, I'd like to move up in terms of materials / fittings quality, etc as well as up the style if possible. I'm looking for something that can house a 15" or under with decent protection + PSU, a sheaf of documents or a magazine, various technological / non-technological odds & ends, a couple of phones, a compact folding umbrella or a water bottle.

In terms of the form factor and look, I'm quite open at the moment - I'm casting around generally for innovative, stylish and very high quality bags suitable for a bloke who has mild pretensions towards having some degree of style. And in terms of said style, I'm not looking for something that'll be out of date in a year. A more classic, relatively timeless take is what I'm after. I'm not looking for the 'Birkin bag of laptop holders', but would still like something premium, so as far as the maximum budget goes let's say around $2,000, although I will spend more if the product warrants it.

My other everyday non-tech luggage consists of the carbon fibre and leather attache / document bags from Zero Halliburton and Dunhill, as well as travelling bags I commissioned from Swaine Adeney. But these days, the laptop bag is what I carry most - so I'm looking for something which doesn't feel like a major downgrade from the rest of my luggage in terms of look, feel and as I said before, style. At the same time I'm not as interested in going totally custom as I might be for something for which my needs are very unlikely to change, such as the aforementioned travelling bags.

I wouldn't mind a hard case - especially as I still have to carry the easily dented / bent Apple notebooks. Among others, I took a brief look at Calder Originals but the shape / internals are somewhat impractical, not to mention the style being distinctly on the flowery side of metrosexual. Zero Halliburton's aluminium cases are also out - I still have an extensive set of extremely battered Halliburton aluminium cases and I know how in these days even very thick cold-rolled alloy is not optimal for this kind of use given the other options available. A lesson Apple has yet to learn, you might say. Not to mention that fishing a soda bottle out from one of these would be stretching the bounds of hopeless douchebaggery.

If we're talking soft cases, I'm looking for something with a shoulder strap and ideally also a handle. And here the pickings have been pretty slim - there's really nothing in the brands that get tossed around a lot that interest me. They all look/are cheap (Crumpler / STM / LowePro etc), devoid of style / busy (the former + Biehn, etc), bit boring (Booq and many others) or just downright yuck (Chrome) or not very different from what I can get from Knomo (ACME Made, etc).

I think what I'm looking for is on a totally different level from these. In terms of leather laptop bags, what's generally available seems to start tailing off at about $300 - and I'm likely looking for materials and build that will likely make the bag exceed that by some degree.

If I can't find anything more suitable then I intend to stick with Knomo, but I'm thinking surely there must be other alternatives. Does anyone have any suggestions?


EDIT 04/09:
Well - eventually I ended up saying 'damn the wallet' and going all-out for custom.

 

see www.lowepro.com - They have great Laptop bags/cases/backpacks.

 

They do!

And, also be sure to check www.ebags.com Some good stuff there, also!



Cin

 

Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong bits, but I'm failing to see how they fit anywhere near into the context of my post.

 

You might find Piquadro interesting
http://www.piquadro.com/
And there's also Victorinox
http://www.victorinox-travelgear.com/

Dragos

 

I saw Piquandro on ebags, but plastering your logo all over the bag is hardly tasteful. And Victrinox falls into the boring category.

Next?

 

Well, not all Piquadros have logos allover.
http://shop.piquadro.com/en/laptop-bags/
http://shop.piquadro.com/en/laptop-backpacks/
Next? Dunno. I might suggest browsing some magazines like Wallpaper for ideas or look on sites of brands like Louis-Vuitton or something along those lines (Zegna, Longchamp etc).

 

I used to have a Louis Vuitton Taiga Viktor messenger bag for my laptop and it's definitely made from top notch material with exceptional craftsmanship. There isn't a padded compartment for the notebook, so I would usually put my lappy in a neophrene sleeve before slipping it in my Louis.

I know last season Gucci made an awesome leather laptop messenger bag which I was just about to get, then they were all sold out
Someone's selling that bag on ebay right now
http://cgi.ebay.com/GUCCI-MESSENGER-LAPTOP-BAG-1-485-BLACK-LEATHER-BAG-NEW_W0QQitemZ220308419683QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_CSA_MWA_Backpacks?hash=item220308419683&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

If you're looking for something that is truly durable, I'd suggest getting something that is made from ballistic nylon (at least 800 denier). I just ordered a Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer for my traveling needs, but that may not be the style you're looking for

 

Thanks for the links. I guess to be extra difficult, I'm not looking for a 'high brand name' - that sort of conspicuous brand-brandishing is not what I'm after.

PS. I feel sorry for the schmuck who buys that Gucci bag. One look at the stitching on the body tells you it's either a reject or a knockoff

 

Have you looked at Zegari?

 

Apologies, I forgot the link: http://www.zegari.com/barcelona-messenger-bag.php

Also worth looking is Vaja: http://www.vajacases.com/images/bags/messenger15.html

While I don't have their bag, I do own their laptop sleeve and iPhone case and the quality is top notch.

 

My assistant has one. Zegari is aimed at women.

I hadn't really thought about Vaja - that looks like a nice more casual standby to my regular cases, but it does look awfully like a couple of my existing bags.

 

Have you had a look at the range from Mandarina Duck? They make some very nice notebook bags. I have a wallet and small bag from them and they are very well made and rather nice - with the risk of appearing rather 'low brow' not what I would call cheap and nasty either!

They also don't seem to suffer from the 'branding' issue you mentioned with regards to some of the other brands highlighted.

http://shop.mandarinaduck.com/us/work/laptop-bags/

 

Thanks for the link - but they seem a little low on style. These all seem to be alternatives to Knomo-like bags and don't seem to be clearly superior. The problem, and I've looked quite extensively already which is why I'm asking, is that there seem to be a set general look for each category of bag, all of which are sold at pretty much the same price give or take a hundred or so given perhaps the country of manufacture or slight variations in the materials quality, and it's very hard to find something that actually jumps out at me.

I think I might end up picking up the Mandarina Duck briefcase and (especially) the Vaja bag, but what I'm after as my 'new main bag' would be something on a different level. It's just that I can't find it.

 

I suppose with a little bit of search you can actually find someone or some company which could do a custom one for you.

Dragos

 

That I have no doubt. But the $1 - $2K range doesn't really cover a premium custom over here. I've asked for quotes from people I like the look of and we're looking at the starting US$ equivalent of $4 - $6K and up and I'm not really after spending that much for a laptop bag I'll probably swap out after 2-3 years as machine styles / form factors that I carry changes over time.

 

I decided to get another document case which I'll pair with a sleeve instead of the Mandarina bag (far from ideal, but it is a better bag), and the Vaja is on order.

However - still looking.

 

Ohhhh that Vaja is a nice looking bag! Now to see if they ship to Australia....

Bally make some very nice mens bags: http://www.bally.com/

John Lobb http://www.johnlobb.com~

Mulberry also have some rather stylish briefcases - http://www.mulberry.com/#/storefront/c107/

Personally I find any of those mentioned appealing - I have a thing for bags, one of my very few non-geek qualities lol

You can always succumb to Ralph Lauren or L.V. though

 

Interesting... Lobb. I've bought their (bespoke, not the website you linked to which is the Hermes-owned ready to wear line) shoes, never considered them along with bags. I think I might as well head up to the Hermes-side store and have a look. I'm also going to have a look at the Lombard and Paternoster while dropping off one of my travelling bags for repair - although this look is a little old in my book to rock on a daily basis.