Following the recent “Dance of the Laptops” (conducted to the music of the Polvotsian Dances by Borodin)throughout various members of our household following yesterday’s acquisition, the new netbook finds itself without a bag. I’m guessing the reason netbooks have become so affordable is because they don’t give any freebies away any more.
I’ve done this bag shopping thing before. I’m almost afraid to start looking because I know the choices are so diverse. I also know that any bag I really like will cause a sharp intake of breath when I find out how much it costs. Perhaps my expensive tastes in just about anything means I have good taste… who knows?
The broadly sensible choices would seem to be as follows;
Slipcase
This is probably a given - and will be purchased as well as the bag. That said, the price range of the slip cases is huge. At the cheap end you find neoprene bags with zips - at the other end you have NASA memory foam. I almost expected to find non-newtonian liquid filled bags (I’m making that bit up, if you were wondering).
Skinny Backpack
I hadn’t considered this before - given the diminitive stature of a netbook, you can get “low profile”, or “skinny” backpacks. It sounds like a good idea until you start thinking about wearing it. It will look fine with a hooded top, but pretty hilarious with a coat. It would be easily wearable on the mountain bike though (my main mode of transport).
Messenger Bag
The most likely victor, purely because it’s the most flexible, the most wearable, and the practical choice. The only problem is there are more designs of messenger bag around than you can shake a many pronged stick at - everything from Manga inspired art emblazoned visual assaults, through to armoured photography targetted bags designed by the likes of FA Porsche (and everything inbetween).
It sounds a bit weird really, doesn’t it - buying a cheap netbook, and then spending perhaps a quarter of it’s cost again on a bag to keep it in. Why not just get the cheapest slip case, and throw it in my existing back pack? Perhaps because it’s huge, and I don’t particularly want to look like an Apollo 14 astronaut going on an extra-vehicular expedition on the rare occasions I get to frequent coffee shops.
There’s a problem with getting a new messenger bag though…
Every single messenger bag I have ever owned has ended up being appropriated by my better half. She has already requested a new messenger bag for Christmas, so perhaps if I buy one for each of us, it might head it off this time.It’s interesting really, isn’t it - after all these years messenger bags are more popular than ever - and yet they are the most simple design you can buy - in our case they can easily be converted from laptop bags to school run junk-fests…
How do you carry your netbook around?