My trusty Nomad backpack is aging. The zippers are breaking and the thing has worn out on most places. Besides it is very inconvenient carrying a laptop in a large bag of only one compartment. Packing it and finding stuff in any of the two compartments is somewhat of a pain (and getting more and more so).
My first instinct has been to get a Crumpler bag. They have a nice store situated nicely in Rotterdam and I have been hearing nothing but good stuff about their design and usability.
The only problem is that a Crumpler logo on your bag screams not only that the bag was expensive but probably that its contents are very much worth having as well. Looking ripe for the plucking is not a smart idea in urban holland.
Enter: Waterfield! I was browsing through Flickr’s whatsinyourbag tag to see what other geeks are using to trump their stuff around and I stumbled upon Joi’s ultimate bag contents photograph.
Joi is sporting a Waterfield bag to carry his impressive load of gadgets in. I have browsed their site a bit and I am pretty much sold on their looks, design, usability and utility. Their SleeveCases alone look like great protection and transport solutions but for day to day use I think my demands require a Cargo Bag to carry my life with me during the day. Love the hanggliding and best of all, this side of the pond these bags do not have the instant aura of expensive (though they are).
Luckily they have a combo offering which gives you that and more for a greatly reduced price. I just clicked through a possible order and it would give me the whole package including shipping for an equivalent €180 which is not that much more than a Crumpler would have costed me.
The only thing I am still thinking about is whether to get the Medium or the Large one. The site does not give me a decent impression of the room provided and how much you can fit inside. Besides the usual my bag would have to contain some books, a DSLR and accessories, sporting clothes and preferrably leave some room to spare for small groceries.
Rereading this, rules the Medium one out for sure, but if the Large one will accommodate my needs I am so going to get it.
