Did you know that “rucksack” is German for rucksack? Neither did I, until I just made a guess and wrote it down. And Fabric Horse’s new Rucksack Luxe (Luxus, in German) sure is a Luxe sack for your back (Ruck, in German).
I'm a sucker for bags, and — like TV's Dexter — I have come to be at peace with my darker side (I'm just starting season 4 though, so maybe he gets all crazy after becoming a father and everything). I realize that no matter how many sleeves, totes, backpacks or messenger bags I buy, it will never be enough.
I haven't yet started bagging up the old, discarded models and tossing them into the Gulf Stream to be carried off to a watery grave far away, but it can't be long. In the meantime, help talk me down from dropping almost $200 on this simple but gorgeous wool and leather sleeve.
Remember when Buster found an iPhone at the bottom of a river while he was floating down it on an inner-tube? The previous owner had the right idea: he sealed it in a plastic bag to keep out the elements. But he forgot one thing: Even in a bag, the short, heavy, ugly iPhone 4 will sink like, well, like last year's crappy iPhone.
What he should have used was Coghlan's Dry Pouch.
SAN FRANCISCO — American companies are rightly proud to show off any manufacturing facilities supporting jobs during the current recession, and San Francisco-based Timbuk2 is no exception. This week, the company known for its messenger bags showed us the hangar here in the Mission district where workers cut and sew colorful swaths of material and help contribute to the local manufacturing economy.
As a group of reporters was ushered through the trendy open-plan set-up, it made us think about what a factory tour of Apple’s manufacturing plants would be like. We’ll never know, of course. Tim Cook would never allow a tour like this one.
If you were to ask me what my ideal Christmas morning looked like, then the photograph above is a pretty good answer. I have a thing for bags, cases and sleeves of all kinds, and these leather and cotton twill Pathway bags from Incase make for a compelling range. The only problem is choosing which one you want.
Man-bag. Murse. He-purse. Call it what you like, but you need one. Finally men in the U.S are following the European example and carrying their day-to-day gear in a bag instead of stuffing it all into a wallet, and then jamming that into a back pocket.
Cameras, iPads, iPhones, chargers, e-books and — yes — even wallets need a place to go, and what follows is our roundup of the best bags to put them in.
And who knows? Maybe one day your adult males will stop wearing baseball caps and shorts and start dressing like grown-ups instead?
Given the number of iPad cases that arrive at my door each week for review, you might be surprised that I still buy the things. And a couple of weeks ago when I picked up a natty little felt iPad bag in a local store, I couldn’t believe the price. At just €20 (around $25), it’s a steal.
For the last week and a half, we’ve been asking Cult of Mac readers to spill out their gadget bags and show us what’s inside for a chance to win one of three incredible bags and sleeves by one of our favorite designers, Waterfield Designs, as part of our “What’s In Your Gadget Bag?” contest. We got dozens of fantastic entries, but at the end of the day, we only have three prizes to give away, so here are the winners.
Here at Cult of Mac, we love showing off what’s in our gadget bags. It’s like a ritual: first to meticulously pack your bag with all the gear you could possibly need to get through the day, but then to empty it out, arrange it neatly and present it for the scrutiny and admiration of your fellow computer geeks.
We love seeing what’s in people’s gadget bags, so we’re throwing a contest in partnership with one of our favorite bag makers, Waterfield Designs: show us what’s in your current gadget bag and if you impress us, you could win one of three amazing new gadget bags and sleeves for your Mac, iPhone and iPad!
Here’s how to enter Cult of Mac’s “What’s In My Gadget Bag?” contest!
The thing I like best about the Chromonaut camera bag isn’t the price (it’s a ridiculous $215), or the fantastic retro styling. Nor is it the name, which makes me think of 1970s pulp sci-fi magazines. Nope. The best part of this cool camera carrier is the removable padded inserts, which mean that the bag doubles as, well, a regular bag. An expensive regular bag, sure, but at least it won’t get left at home when you go to the beach.
We reviwed the STM Velo earlier this year, in our first encounter with the Aussie-based outfitter, and came away with the distinct impression that, wow, these guys really know how to make a great bag.
Our time with the STM Scout ($50), a tablet-specific, heavily-padded canvas satchel, proved that the outfit can make a sharp-looking protective bag for your Thrive, Galaxy Tab or iPad too — though it didn’t blow us away like the Velo did.
Unique deal here today. For $25 you get to spend $50 at incase. If you’re a Mac, iPhone, or iPad owner you’ve probably seen (or own) some incase before. The Apple Store stocks their gear, so do most other places who sell Apple gear. Why?
Quality.
I own several things from incase, including a bag that I’ve abused but still looks great. And funny that we should be talking about incase, because Charlie Sorrel just highlighted an incase product in his recent blogging from the iPad post—the incase Origami Workstation.
This deal ends today! Seriously get it. The Origami Case is as awesome as I thought!
You lucky thing. The summer’s over, or nearly over, and you’re already planning on heading back to school. Just like last year, you will begin this year fresh and full of energy and enthusiasm, only to be ground down by the man. Luckily, we’re here to help with advice on the best apps and gear to get you through the year and into next year’s summer vacation with the least effort possible.
So sit back, relax and take a look at the Cult of Mac back to school/college superguide.
This smart iPad case from Aussies STM Bags is called the Half Shell, so let’s get the TMNT jokes out of the way now. Done? Good. Let’s continue, because this case has an interesting little secret.
It would take a long while to get through all the innuendo-laden jokes made possible by the LenSkirt. So I guess we’ll just take things slow. But first let me tell you what it is: a black cloth bag which sticks to windows so you can shoot through glass without reflections. Now, let the schoolboy fun begin.
I used to think that Wash & Go – shampoo and conditioner in one bottle – was the greatest combination of all time. That’s until I found out about the Camera Cooler, a camera bag and beer cooler in one. Clearly, the predictions that the Singularity would occur in 2012 were correct.
Laptop bags are all well and good, but sometimes, they just can’t fit what you need to carry: groceries on the way home from work, a change of clothes for the gym, a picnic lunch on a nice day or a bag of books you picked up on the way home. And while a well-made laptop bag might be very fashionable on a man, on a lady, it might not be nearly as chic.
One of our favorite bag companies, Waterfield Designs, has just outed a new bag that address both issues: the Outback Tote. And it’s a beauty.
You’re on a bike. You’re carrying your MacBook Air and your iPad with you, when it starts to rain. Do you: a.) duck under the nearest bridge to wait it out (and maybe play a few quick levels of Angry Birds); b.) Panic a little, but carry on, hoping that your crappy messenger bag holds up; or c.) laugh out loud, and turn left instead of right at the next stop and add another few kilometers to your trip. After all, riding in the rain is fun, right?
If your answer was “c”, then you probably already own the new Chrome Lieutenant Rolltop Messenger Bag.
The Somersault ($90), from iBackFlip Studios, is a sling-style backpack built to give you quick, on-the-go access to the tablet it is also sworn to protect: your iPad.
It works like this. While traversing life’s urban landscapes, you keep the Somersault on your back, iPad stowed safely within. When you want to use your iDevice, you simply swing the bag around to your chest, unzip the iPad storage pocket, and now your iPad sits perpendicular to your stomach, ready and waiting for all your oily finger-poking.
Of the many keyboard options available to the iPad-toting traveler, one that is often forgotten is Apple’s own aluminum Bluetooth keyboard. It is light, tough and slides easily into a bag. But if you want it to last more than a few trips, you should probably use a case.
This last weekend I did what every good Englishman should do and returned to Blighty to get drunk in the name of the Queen. And as I figured there might also be some work to do, I packed my keyboard in Waterfield’s $29 Keyboard Slip case.
Believe it or not, some people still carry around laptops. Sure, those laptops are ultra-thin MacBook Airs, but they’re laptops nonetheless, used in ignorance of the real future of portable work — the iPad paired up with a Bluetooth keyboard.
Still, we don’t judge you luddites out there. And to prove it, we bring you this sleek little sleeve made just for your MacBook Air. It’s called the City Slicker, and it comes from SF Bags in San Francisco.
The Retrospective 7 is another one in Think Tank’s great lineup of stealthy-ish camera bags. This one distinguishes itself by slapping a pocket on the side which is designed to hold an iPad or an 11-inch MacBook Air.
The International ($350), from Think Tank Photo, is similar to every other piece of rolling luggage you’ve probably used, with a retractable handle and rolling wheels, but on the inside, instead of keeping your dirty drawers stowed, it secures treasures of a different kind: your plethora of expensive camera gear. And it does so admirably.
Rickshaw, the folks behind my favorite bag ever, has released a new biker-friendly reflective messenger bag which can be used to tote your 13-inch MacBook Air in addition to all your other junk. It is in fact a fancified version of the Zero Messenger I use every day.
Velcro. I love it and I hate it, and it seems I’m not the only one. The folks at TrekPak took one look at their camera bag and realized that, while velcro does indeed let you easily customize the dividers within, it also drives you crazy by grabbing those same dividers before you get them into place. Their answer is TrekPak, a modular padded insert for your camera bag that doesn’t use velcro.
