Superlight messenger?

Yes, it's Mock The NBR Bag Lady time again.

I had a couple of messengers which were very lightweight. However Last-Season-Itis has struck and I'm looking for something new.

Functional Prerequisites:
- Broad shoulder strap
- 15.6" notebook protected storage
- General other storage
- Separate zipped or flapped compartment for daily detritus
- Do not want a rigid bag, but at the same time it should hold it's shape when worn normally loaded - no dangling flaps or droopiness.

Style prerequisites:
Yes.
(Emphasis, just in case it's not clear)

Colourway:
Black, Grey (preferred, especially a mélange) or if easily (repeatedly) cleaned, White.

Weight:
As close to half a kilo (1lb) as possible while being a quality item.

Budget:
Regular users should know that the NBR Bag Lady does not really have a budget for this sort of thing.

Recommendations please.

 

You are worst than me

check these ones out

Kenneth Cole Leather Bags, Messenger Bags, Leather Laptop Cases & Duffle Bags - Kenneth Cole Official Site

hard graft

Italian Leather Business Bags | Messenger bags, iPad bags, Briefcase, Doctor bags, laptop bags, all for your work day | Pierotucci.com

ONA | Stylish Camera Bags | Leather Camera Bags | DSLR and Laptop Bags

I know I know, I have great taste in bags, some of them in there are good

unless you like those dreadful artificial fabrics, those things makes my cat go nuts

 

You have NO idea

It pretty much *has* to be non-leather for the weight target. I already have (many, many) leather bags but that's not what I'm looking for.

My fallback (i.e. a baseline, not very stylish choice which would tick the functional boxes) would be the newly released STM Linear.

(Not actually this size - this is the iPad version, but the Medium takes a 15" and looks identical, but bigger)


I'm also not sure of the weight but the Cote Et Ciel Ebro can't weigh that much, though I'm not sure how that closure system would work out and not entirely sold on the style either.

 

have you thought about the moleskine one? its still leather but I think it really does reach your weight limit, I know mine does (not moleskine though)

I really dont know much about those synth fabric bags, the only one I use is my backpack

 

Not trying to set you off, especially after your very useful help to me with iem's. But you shouldn't temp us to make jokes at your expense.

8 oz.??? You must not have any accurate scales in your home.

Meaning 8 oz. is completely and totally unrealistic. Try 16 oz. and up.

e.g. for my 15.6" T530, I have an HP sleeve that weights 10 oz. (no straps), and a slightly nicer Targus sleeve that weights 12 oz. (no straps).

My iHome case weights in 15 or 16 oz. and I quickly found this very similar iHome case on Amazon at $55: Amazon.com: iHome Smart Brief: 15 inch Laptop Briefcase for Mac, Black: Computers & Accessories

This is similar in size to mine, but ever so slightly more upscale (i.e. mine only has a single big outside pocket, whereas the pictures of the above unit look like it is slightly more versatile).

I happened to find mine just by chance at a local TJMaxx outlet store. At $10 the price was right and I bought it. It has turned out to be one of my two most versatile laptops cases that I use all the time for all sorts of different thing (the other being a very old Kensington case that I bought at the Pomona Computer Show (L.A. area) more than a decade ago. You'd hate the older case as it has no style. The iHome case isn't bad w/ regard to style, but I'm hardly an expert when it comes to style.

The specs (like weight) given on Amazon are always suspect and it is highly likely that it weights 17 oz. given what I see of it (compared to mine)... continued further down.

Another slightly bigger case to consider is the Targus CityGear Miami case (17" which is what I bought, but check if they have one for 15" laptops) which you can also get for a more reasonable $37 (w/ Amazon as the seller). My 17" case weights 1 lb. 12 oz.

See: Amazon.com: Targus CityGear Miami Messenger Case for 17 Inch Notebooks TCG200 (Black with Grey): Electronics

Odds are the above 17" Targus case isn't what you're looking for, but it's OK on style and is more strudy than the my iHome case.

I'm already too well aware of this "no budget" shtick of yours.

Of the above 4 items (that I also happen to own), I use the iHome case the most. It's a tight squeeze, but even my 15.6" T530 fits in my iHome case, which is an inch taller than the one above unit that I found on Amazon. Given that it's less tall than mine, it might weight in at 15 or 16 oz. as mine does. The spec of it only weighing "10.4 oz." is likely inaccurate.

See above.

Whatever you get, if Amazon is the seller you'll likely be able to return it free and conveniently with only the most minimal excuse, like the size and/or weight wasn't quite what the specs made you think.

 

Er... yeah, I meant half a kilo.

 

When you say "does not have a budget"... do you mean that you want to spend as close to $0 as possible, or that money is no object?

If money is no object, I tend to buy Tumi... mostly for the distinctive appearance that lets everyone know you own Tumi-brand luggage without ever having to show a flashy logo or name brand. Tumi style is a subtle, understated way of saying "I'm the boss". Or more specifically, "I have enough disposable income that I can spend $400 on a messenger bag"

Amazon.com: Tumi Luggage Arrive Lambert Slim Messenger Bag, Black, Medium: Clothing

 

Aside from anything else they look... heavy.

 

mine weight 200g do check out the moleskine one and most non structured leathered ones dont weight more than 500g, glad that I ignore the 8oz, you can always mail those guys (the other stores I mentioned), they are usually helpful

 

Which one was the moleskine (though the anti-hipster in me recoils at the thought) one?

 

Messenger bag - Moleskine ®

when I saw it in a store, it was pretty light, prob even lighter than the one that I have now

 

Thanks. Not a bad choice I guess if it fits the weight brief.

 

A few Googles later, it's apparently pretty cheap for a reason. Doesn't hold up well.

Probably will have to be a Cordura/etc-based bag like the STM to meet the weight while having reasonable durability.

 

according to the reviews they say its a pretty good bag, I was actually tempted to buy one, from my handling its not a cheap leather, its also not the best either

 

Lenovo has some stylish messenger units that might meet your interest.

The serious downside is that returning something to Lenovo might be a big hassle.