Think Tank Airport Check In Laptop Bag Review
My primary briefcase is a Swiss Army expandable briefcase that has been bullet
proof over the past 10 years. However it isn’t necessarily padded and is harder
to tuck under a plane seat.
I purchased a Lowepro Express 1600 (that also included a removable stand-alone laptop case and detachable travel case).
I was not too happy with it on my last few trips as it’s cumbersome and at times
it seems the designer never travelled so I started looking around for a
replacement.
I dug up a Think Tank catalog from a camera show and found a possible bag, but
the price seemed somewhat high. It’s just a laptop bag after all and there is no
room for a DSLR so what gives? The catalog extolled the virtue of real world
photographers using their gear designed by real world photographers. Hmmmm. I
wondered if these guys ever travelled and sure enough they actually do and they have some great products for that but I needed a laptop bag.
So let me tell you right off the bat that what makes this bag interesting is 10
things: backpack strap, roller bag handle insert, well padded , fits easily
under airline seats, holds 15-17" laptop size, rain weather cover , beefy YYK
zippers and a cable management system. Also in the Think Tank style is lots of
well thought out pockets, business card holder and an ergonomic design. The bag
looks very bulletproof and on closer inspection you can see the strong seam
stitching, solid hardware, beefy zippers and did I say very high quality fabric?
Now this is classified as a laptop bag and briefcase for photographers using
rolling luggage and it succeeds in this regard but it does also for an excellent
every day laptop bag as well.
An amazing item that is included is a Cable Management system zipper case
for storage of items, this removable see-through pouch is an invaluable organizational tool. The compartment can be divided into 3 sections, 2 sections, or 1 large pouch.
This is perfect for storage of cables, mouse, pocket hard drive, point and
shoot camera, car GPS and other items. This keeps everything neat and
organized.
I didn’t realize how great this pouch is until I ran it through airport security. I can
pull the laptop out, pull the cable 50 case out and the airport security
inspector can easily see what created an interest as it scanned through x-ray.
And since it has 3 compartments, see through and zippered there is little chance of
anything getting lost.
This cable management pouch can also be used outside of the laptop bag if you
plan to use it in a roller bag, duffle bag, back pack or other style camera bag.
Think Tank sells this and a few other models separately.
The clever guys at TT also included some side pockets for a water bottle or a
cell phone or similar sized item. You know the design team at TT actually use
this bag and its got everything you need.
I found the removable shoulder harness extremely useful when not using a roller bag for
those long walks between gates at the terminal as I can sip my Starbucks and
talk on my blackberry very easily. If I am using this bag in a rainstorm, not to
worry there is nice seam sealed rain cover that can be easily deployed.
The 3 zippered compartments are used as follows: rear for the laptop and files, middle for
cable management system pouch, front for pens, keys , passport, (with zippered pockets to keep items safe) etc. The bag still lots of room for reading material or a Kindle or Tablet. Zip it all up and stow under your seat and all is safe and sound.
So after using this bag several times it really comes to mind that Think Tank
although more money than their competitors, you really get a high quality, well
thought out product that will last many many years. You get what you pay for
these days and without a doubt you will be very happy with this purchase even 10
years from now and the highest quality always commands a slighter higher price than the usual garbage that’s in the marketplace today.
www.thinktank.com
