This week I purchased a booqbag. The Mamba pack in brown to be precise. I spent more hours than I care to admit researching professional looking bags that could hold a laptop, and so I'm pretty happy with my purchase. My research included price checking multiple websites, and looking for bags that were designed for women, since bags categorized "for women" tend to have more design personality, as well as reading reviews about laptop bags (that I didn't know existed, but was happy to find).

After all the reading, I felt more confused than ever. I concluded that I needed to create a set of criteria I required in a bag (especially if I was going to spend over a hundred bucks for it).

My Criteria, I needed something that would:

1. Hold my laptop.


2. Be equally comfortable to use while riding my bike or walking.


3. Water resistant since it rains a lot here.


4. Hold other items in addition to laptop, such as a couple of books and documents.


5. But not be too big.


6. Relatively lightweight: I'd prefer if it didn't weigh five pounds on its own (like my other bags).


7. Look professional, but funky.

Made of:

1. Durable material (leather, neoprene, nylon, lycra)--something that will last a several years.


2. Not suede (the dye in the suede leaks onto my clothes)--this is why I needed a new laptop bag. The brown suede bag that I've been using for the last couple of years started leaking brown dye on my clothes when I carried it around.

So, after hours of blindly reading and shopping online, I felt confused. But as soon as I created my set of criteria, I discovered the two following possibilities within a few minutes. (It's weird how knowing what you want can really speed up matters.)

The possible suspects:

Mamba Pack, $135 (or it's other incarnations: the sling and the saddle)
Pros: I thought this bag had everything I was looking for actually. All seven criterion.
Cons: But I wondered: is it professional looking enough? I was especially concerned with the backpack style. I've only seen one professor carry a backpack and it was leather, so the leather kind of ups the professional factor; most professors I've seen use tote bags or messenger bags, so I worried a backpack would be too student-y.

Ristretto Messenger, $90
Pros: Durable. Funky styling.
Cons: I wasn't sure if it's wide enough to carry a couple books in addition to the laptop. Also, how awkward is it riding a bike with a messenger bag? They don't even seem to stay in place while I'm walking. Plus, the messenger style tends to dig into my shoulders, and, already having back issues from my car accidents when I was 17 (couldn't walk for 8 weeks), the bag style tends to hurt my back because I always seem to weigh it down with everything I need to be on campus since I'm there all day (it's not uncommon for my bag to weigh 30 pounds).

I decided to take the plunge and buy the Mamba pack (added bonus: it came with a free Venom pulse bag that I can put my digital camera in). But when it arrived, it was bigger than I anticipated. The website makes it look so sleek, and sleek in my mind tends to go with small (kind of like iPods). They gave the dimensions, so I should have been prepared, but I wasn't. (They really should have pictures of the bag on people for scale and perspective.) It's also as wide as my back (wider, in fact, in places like my shoulders and where my waist comes in) and it's as long as my back as well.

So I was terribly conflicted when I opened it. On the one hand, it's a beautiful, beautiful backpack. And damn if it ain't sturdy. And the lycra and polyester fabric, surprisingly, is really supple and kind of awesome to touch.

On the other hand, though, it was huge and it felt like it dwarfed me. How could something so big possibly be professional? It's fine if I'm wearing jeans, but what if I wear I suit? Won't it look silly?

Since I don't have a mirror (except a tiny medicine cabinet variety), I took pictures. In my favorite suit.

That's how big the backpack is in comparison to my body. But it's structured so it doesn't look messy like my other backpacks, so it actually doesn't look bad at all. The more I look at it, the more I like it. Plus, all the compartments are designed really well, so there's lots of storage space without looking overly big and sloppy.

And this is why people should always have one full length mirror in the house. If I had a mirror, then I could have seen that the backpack actually doesn't bad at all, even with my suits. But I freaked out and called B and was like, "I'm not sure if the bag works! Can I take pictures and you tell me what you think?" But I didn't need his response because as soon as I saw the photos, I was convinced.

Labels: backpacks, booqbag, fashion, funky, laptop bags, professional, style, suit

( 2comments )

at August 9, 2008 9:56 PM  natalia said...

That's a great backpack! I really like the way it looks. Keep on blogging. I love reading about your life in NY. I miss you!

 

at August 12, 2008 11:49 AM  Chandra said...

Nice backpack!

I carry my laptop in a Harajuku Lovers' tote... but I don't do a lot of hauling it about or I'd have to get a backpack, too.