The quest for the perfect gear bag is almost as pressing to the geek as the quest for the perfect gadget.  We always look for a better and more comfortable way to carry all the stuff we might need on our daily jaunts into the real world (yes geeks do go into it) and I am no different than most in that regard.  I have so many gear bags it’s almost embarrassing, note that I said almost, and my bag tree is always full.  I have seen reviews of two bags that look pretty useful and thought I’d pass them along for those of you who are in the active "bag quest" mode.

First up is the CODi Courier laptop bag that got very high marks by PC Magazine.  The courier is a traditional brief case form that has a plethora of pockets and compartments that the reviewer found to fit a 15.4 inch laptop snugly.  For those times when you need to carry extra gear there is a zipper that opens to extend the bag three inches which should accomodate anything you might need to throw in there.  The reviewer rated the Courier 4.5 out of 5 stars so if you’re willing to part with the $174 this bag might do wonders for you.  You can find more information about this bag on the CODi web site.

The next bag reviewed is the Skooba Shuttle Backpack, a form that I prefer for carrying my stuff around.  I find that a well-designed backpack makes it much easier on my back to carry a bunch of gear around, although I probably carry less around than many.  Gear Diary has just published a thorough review of the Shuttle with a lot of photos and a real-world perspective that you should check out if you’re looking for a backpack.  The Shuttle looks to have a quality I really like in backpacks and that is it has a very thin profile.  I find this to make it much easier to travel with a backpack and the Shuttle looks like it would be very good in this regard.  I also found the interesting open pocket on the front to be potentially very useful for stuffing a sweater or jacket when the temperature gets too hot for wearing one.  The Shuttle is $140 but is on sale now for $120 which is a pretty decent price.  My personal feeling is the Shuttle is too big for me but YMMV.

My bag of choice is still the Booq Boa XS backpack that I have been using for several years now.  Unfortunately this is the smallest size Boa that Booq made and it’s no longer for sale, although they do still sell the XM which is a little bigger.