Booq ships Taipan shadow notebook bag with luggage features
updated 07:45 pm EST, Thu December 3, 2009
New bag has unique Terralinq number
Booq has launched a new notebook bag, the Taipan shadow. It is a messenger-style carrying case geared toward maintaining a professional look. It can handle magazines, business cards, keys and notebook accessories, with a densely padded laptop compartment with a soft interior. The design also accommodates luggage trolley pass-through for easier transportation at airports.
The bag features a water-repellent nylon exterior and a zipper guard for the notebook compartment. A hidden pocket on the back of the bag fits smaller devices such as an iPhone or iPod. A unique Terralinq number can be used to help return the bag to its original owner.
The bags are available in black and purple colors, with different sizes to fit any MacBook Pro and MacBook. The 13-inch bag costs $80, while the 15-model fetches $90 and the 17-inch bag can be purchased for 100.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Mar 2005
Watch out for the shoulder strap
I found Booq's products through Guy Kawasaki and I've bought two so far. The Mambo rucksack is superb, but it's too big for my commuting needs, so I bought a Taipan. In terms of design, it looks great. In terms of quality of finish, it's a dreadful product. I bought it in May this year and the stitching is already broken in several places.
But the main issue is the shoulder strap. It's so thin and so badly attached to the bag, that even the weight of my 15" MBP makes carrying the bag painful on the shoulder. The padding on the strap moves and twists easily, and the buckles which attach the strap to the actual bag are not sewn onto the bag itself, so the weight pulls the the strap to one end of the buckle.
Looking at the photos of the new Shadow edition, these shoulder strap problems don't seem to have been fixed at all -- although the stitching on the buckle might be better.
I have a 20 minute commute by subway and carry at most my MBP and a few sheets of paper in the bag, but even that's too much for the current edition, so I've had to cut off the shoulder strap and replace it with something with proper padding and which doesn't twist on the shoulder.
In any case, I'd recommend trying this bag in a store rather than buying online if possible and think carefully about how much weight you'll put in it.