This Fossil Messenger Bag Perfect for Netbooks
The search for the perfect gear bag is almost obsessive in nature, and not just for me. You do it, too — you know you do. The objective is to find a bag that doesn’t look too bad and is no bigger than necessary to carry the exact gear you take with you. Today I found a great bag for netbooks and smaller gear, and I just had to pick it up.
The Fossil Nevada is a small messenger bag that will just fit a netbook and the accompanying gear. It’s not big enough to carry lots of accessories, but if you’re carrying that much stuff, then get a big bag anyway. The magnetic flaps (under the fake buckles) close easily, and there are just enough pockets to keep stuff from rattling around. I got the one in olive canvas and brown leather, which is the only color. The most compelling feature of this Fossil bag is that it doesn’t look too much like a man purse. No it doesn’t. $68.
I’ve been happy with my STM Medium Alley Shoulder Bag. Fits the MSI Wind, AC adapter, a couple of necessary cables, and other accessories while maintaining a slim (vertical) profile. No leather trim, but only $39.99 or thereabouts.
Have you considerd any of the bags from Tom Bihn? They are well made, and they come in a large variety of shapes and sizes. I have several and use them to carry all kinds of gear when on the go.
–Ken
My Eee 701 sits nestled (like it was made for it)in a $15 Travel all Shoulder Bag from Mountain Equipment Co-op (www.mec.ca)- with room and pockets enough for all the bits and pieces. Would work for the 900 series too, obviously. Definitely not a Man Purse, either.
If I ever ‘upgrade’ to one of the larger netbooks, it’ll be back to MEC…
My ‘gadget bag’ (or murse, as my friends like to call it) is a $20 Mossimo bag from Target that looks rather similar to this. It doesn’t quite fit my Dell XPS M1330, but it fits the Dell Mini 9 perfectly, with a TON of pockets for various cell phones, adapters, etc.
This is one of the things I love about netbooks – the ability to carry a full computer in my gadget bag, rather than needing to tote around a full-on laptop bag. Excellent find, James.
I was given the Billingham Hadley Pro camera bag which I actually use for my Wind. http://www.billingham.co.uk/acatalog/Hadley_Pro.html
Unfortunately it costs about the same as a netbook!
Any danger of those magnetic flaps interfering with the netbook’s hard disk drive? Just wondering.
Good question but I don’t think so. I’ve used lots of bags with magnetic closures and never seen one cause trouble.
I would pick the Solo mini messenger bag – it’s small, has room for “junk” and fits anything from a netbook to a Sony TT.
That being said, James, can you recommend a good bag for a 13 inch? I’m looking for something more than that incase sleeve, but don’t want to move up to a 14/15 inch case.
Fossil has a messenger bag that is only slightly bigger than this one. I waffled between that larger one and this one before deciding to go as small as possible. I was in the Fossil store in the mall so I could actually handle each of them.
Lucious, I’ve been using this bag since just before CES – fits my 13″ MB perfectly and the domed front area is great for my adapter, camera, various cables. Think I got it for about $60 from Newegg.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/17/engadgets-recession-antidote-win-a-be-ez-labesace-lime-drop-la/
Oops, that Engadget giveaway is a 15″ model. Mine must be smaller, fits the MB like a glove. Also carrying the Consumer Reports Netbook edition today.
I bought a brand-new bag for my ASUS eee 904HA from Value Village for $7! I have no idea what it was originally intended for, but it is perfect.
I got my bag from REI. Its the REI Boarding Bag ($39.50). It holds by HP mini with power cord and/or extra battery in the back pocket. The middle pocket has interior pockets for pens/change/etc. The front pocket holds receipts/notes/etc. There is also an open pocket on the back for papers, a small pocket on the front and a water bottle pocket on the side.