time to buy a bag

Bags are expensive. I have to send my thinkpad premium bag back with the T40 to my advisor when my new one arrives, and am looking for a replacement. I am leaning towards buying a Brain Cell from Tom Bihn and getting a cheap messenger style bag to tote it in from amazon. It is very hard to justify a close-to-$200 investment in a bag. I do confess to Empire Builder envy though...

Am curious - what do others use? how much are you all willing to spend on a bag?

 

i am planning on getting a bag from chromebags.com, a sailcloth one, or the balistix nylon, they are just so **** pretty

 

I, too, have been looking for a laptop bag and thought I'd share a couple of links.

The leading contenders are (in order atm):
http://www.ebags.com/ebags/lightning_2_0/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=59015#
http://www.ebags.com/ultimate_direction/transit/product_detail/index.cfm?modelid=52359
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...7/002-3426639-3305662?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance

major decision factors:
1 - Less than $100.00 is my budget; preferably less than $75.00.
2 - I've been very limited in my selection due to the deminsions of my laptop
3 - I need at least 1 mesh water bottle pocket on the side (strongly want 2)
4 - Need a "nice" looking bag that can be used for fun and at work

I haven't used any of these bags, they are nothing more than a short list of bags that have good reviews, meet the above criteria, and I can see myself using.

 

I recently saw a targus messenger bag in a store and I liked it. No idea about model. But what I thought was nice was that it was compact and light weight. The material is something like foam, so while providing protection it remains extremely light.

Might wanna check that, if weight is a concern

 

I usually stick to the <$75. I can't see myself getting a bag that's higher than $100. The one i use now is a courier laptop bag. It's a little more spacious than a standard laptop case, but still compact enough. It's the Timberland one listed on ebags.com