May 24 2005
Tom Bihn’s The Buzz sling-bag
The
Buzz sling-bag from Tom Bihn is made of an abrasion and tear resistant Cordura
exterior with “splash-proof” zippers.
It includes a rather large cell
phone pocket fits medium to large-sized cell phones and swallows small phones
whole. This pocket would also make a handy place for sunglasses or could also be stretched to hold an iPod.
If you keep your iPod in a case or even an FM transmitter, the Buzz’s water
bottle pocket will be a perfect fit. Surprisingly enough, the Buzz’s water battle
pocket is also well suited to holding a bottle of water in the event of iPod
absence.
Most important of all, the Buzz has a
padded computer pocket fits laptops up to 11.5″ x 9.5″ x 1.5″–a
blessing for 12″ iBook and PowerBook users and a disappointment to everyone
else.
Test driving the Buzz gave me an excuse to take my old Dual USB iBook out of
mothballs and lighten my load from the gadget-laden Tom
Bihn ID Bag in which I usually carry my 15″ PowerBook. The Buzz is
an extremely comfy bag to tote around. It may not carry as much laptop or as
many extras as the ID bag, but then it caters more to the light traveler; offering
easy access to your pens, wallet, PDA, business cards and keys. It’s a laptop
bag–clean and simple. And it does its job well. The computer pocket holds my
iBook securely while padding it and protecting it from the other nasties I might
throw in the bag after it.
My only beef with the Buzz is that there is no way to cram my 15″ PowerBook into it. If you’re in the market for a sling-bag for your 12″ ‘Book, you’ll find
a lot to like about the Buzz from Tom Bihn.