Funky, Chic and Cool Laptop Bags

Laptop Bag: the Sumo Laptop Purse from Mobile Edge
Full Laptop Bag Index

Laptop Sleeve: the Altego Clear Laptop Sleeve from Samsill
Full Laptop Sleeve Index

Netbook Sleeve: Lady Damask Netbook Sleeve from Slappa
Full Netbook Sleeve Index

Laptop Backpack: the Pink Fabric Laptop from Gnana (via CareerBags.com)
Full Laptop Backpack Index

Laptop Bag for Men: the Expand-It Messenger from BBP
Full Men's Bag Index

Knitting Bag: the Lady B Tote from Lexie Barnes
Full Knitting Bag Index

Bags in the picture (from the top): Melissa Beth Pretty Printed Netbook Sleeves, Gnana Laptop Tote, Rainebrooke Black Candy Laptop Tote, Laurex Messenger and Abbi New York Carrie Print Laptop Tote.

We've hit the post-holiday blahs pretty hard here in Vancouver. It's challenging to get excited about the new year when it's so gray and drizzly out. I was in desperate need of a pick-me-up; something to bring back that holiday cheer for the whole year. So naturally, my eyes lit up when I saw the cherry red Sumo Women's Laptop Purse that Matthew from Mobile Edge had sent over. Red! Quilted! Glory!

Of course the colour of the Sumo Women's Laptop Purse is the first thing that caught my eye, but I was also delighted by the shape of it; instead of your usual rectangular bag, the Sumo takes the edge off and curves around the top to create a softer silhouette. The quilting, accomplished with white topstitching over the high quality ballistic nylon, gives it a fun, fresh look and the leather trim and handles add a little je-ne-sais-quoi to the whole affair. Kicky!

The exterior of the Sumo has three small pockets - two zippered pocked in front and one open slot on the side. The zippers are covered with flaps and the zipper pulls are small - a challenge to open when you've just put on lotion - but the pockets themselves are ideal for those little items you're always reaching for - bus pass, keys, gum, etc. The pocket on the right has a little grommet to pass your headphones through - very handy for those long commutes when you just want to choose a playlist and go.

The two handles on the Sumo are a good width and have an 11" drop, so they'll fit nicely over your winter coat. The handles aren't padded, but the bag is extremely lightweight and well-structured - even when it's full of laptop and accessories, it's not too heavy to carry comfortably.

The bottom of the bag is a pebbled leather; there are no feet on the bottom, however, so a word to the wise - when your laptop's in there, it can get a little tippy.

The main zipper on the Sumo is good, sturdy and covered by little flaps, which I particularly appreciate during the wet season here on the west coast. The zipper pulls have PVC inserts with the super cute Sumo logo on them; the logo also appears on the front of the bag.

The interior of the Sumo is organized really well. There's a built-in padded laptop sleeve for your machine, with a velcro strap to keep it secure. The lining of the laptop sleeve is very plush and soft, to keep your laptop safe from scratches. It's SO plush, in fact, that I would like to take a nap in there. I was a little jealous of my laptop.

On the opposite side of the bag there's a large zippered pocket and a divider; a great place to put letter-size files or magazines to keep them pristine. On the other side of the divider there are three open pouches (a smaller, flannel-lined one and two larger ones) that easily hold your cords and electronic accessories.

The Sumo is quite roomy but thanks to its structure, it's difficult to overload - a blessing to someone like me, who always wants to take the kitchen sink everywhere I go. The laptop sleeve padding, along with the overall structured sturdiness of the bag, make the Sumo a good choice for commuters or travellers; I wouldn't hesitate to place the Sumo in the overhead compartment.

When I read up on the Sumo Women's Laptop Purse on Mobile Edge's site, they mentioned that they set out to create an elegant bag that doesn't scream "laptop" (which is perhaps why there are no little feet on the bottom of the bag). Personally, I feel the ballistic nylon makes the Sumo a little more "sporty" than "elegant" but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment of the bag. The Sumo is both really cute and, like all of Mobile Edge's great designs, very functional.

The Sumo Women's Laptop Purse is available in red or black and in two sizes - 13", which retails for $119US or the larger 15.6", which is $129US. See them both on the Mobile Edge site.

I've been watching The Tudors series on CBC. Up here in Canada, the season just finished and I've been wondering how I might start working more brocade, puffy sleeves, jeweled head pieces and snoods into my wardrobe. Luckily, I have found the perfect bag that Catherine of Aragon or perhaps her daughter, Mary would carry. Elegant and stylish without being over the top - a bag fit for a queen. I'm referring to the Lady Lindy laptop bag from Bobarra. Andrea from Bobarra was kind enough to send over one for review.

When I first unpacked the Lady Lindy, I was struck by two things. One - the unusual fabric pattern. When carrying it, I've had a number of people say "Great pattern - what is that, fleur de lis?" Then they look closer. "It's frogs! Frogs!?". Yes, frogs. I have the "Charlotte" pattern (named after the delightful southern city in North Carolina; Bobarra also has several other more traditional fabric patterns if you're not a ranidaphile). From a distance, it looks like an elegant, slightly Tudoresque fabric - but up close, whimsical frogs. Very clever! The second visual aspect of the bag that really stands out are the scalloped top edges. I've never seen this is a laptop bag before and to me, it really takes the finishing to a whole new level. Again, sophisticated with a touch of whimsy.

Structurally, the Lady Lindy has two separate compartments which fold out flat, clam-shell style, making the LL checkpoint friendly. Very smart. One of the compartments also has a built-in clear plastic bag for carrying your liquids in your carryon. Extra smart. These two compartments are zipped together when you're carrying it. The "seam" where these two compartments join is protected by an extra strip of fabric-covered canvas; this is also the bottom of the bag so there are four demur silver feet to keep the Lady Lindy off the ground.

One side of the Lady Lindy is intended just for your laptop. This compartment is padded and lined with microfiber. The larger Lady Lindy fit my MacBook Pro 15 easily, plus I had room for a magazine. It would hold a slightly thicker laptop if you have a PC - just contact Bobarra and ask.

The other side of the Lady Lindy is where you stash the rest of your gear. The interior wall of this compartment has a zippered pocket for valuables or documents you want to keep separate. The exterior wall of this compartment has three open-topped pockets for small gadgets (my iPhone and iPod fit perfectly) or a small notebook as well as a few requisite pen holders. The main part of this compartment is quite roomy. I fit a Moleskine notebook, my powerbrick for my Mac, a small pouch of electronics, my business card pouch, a folded pashmina and my noise canceling headphones (the big, over-the-ear style) in this compartment.

The hardware on the Lady Lindy is quite strong. All of the zippers are high quality and the zipper pulls are padded and covered in canvas fabric for easy gripping. I found the Lady Lindy light and easy to carry; the canvas straps are quite comfortable both over the shoulder and to carry in my hand. And the centre zipper on the Lady Lindy to activate the checkpoint friendly clamshell feature is easy to open. Just remember, you can't have anything else in the compartment with your laptop in it.

My only tiny quibble with the Lady Lindy is that there isn't an external pocket for something like my boarding pass or iPhone. But, I know that it would distort the elegant lines of the Lady Lindy, so I was happy to stash those items in my purse.

The Lady Lindy comes in two sizes (for 13" and for 15" laptops) and four patterns. It starts at $175 for the smaller size. You can find the Lady Lindy at Bobarra's web site. And while you're there, check out the Kindle covers - in both fabric and leather.

As much as I enjoy the darker months of the year, I must admit that occasionally, when I am out with the dog and the weather goes from sunny to ice pellets in mere seconds, I long for the mildness of spring. The idealized version of spring, of course, where it doesn't rain much and the trees on our street are resplendant with pink cherry blossoms for weeks on end.

So I was thrilled when Steve from Rainebrooke sent over their latest laptop bag, the Emily Laptop Tote. Not only is it a sleek, functional design, but the Emily is just the right shade of cherry blossom pink to nurture my spring fancy.

The Emily is a nicely structured tote with plenty of room for your day-to-day necessities - and your 17" laptop! For a structured bag, it's very lightweight and the padded faux leather handles are perfectly padded for easy carrying.

The Emily also comes with an adjustable, removable strap if you'd prefer to carry the bag over the shoulder or across the body, messenger-style. The strap has a nice shoulder pad attached, so even if you pack the bag full, it's comfy to tote around.

The Emily boasts three exterior zippered pockets - two smaller ones on one side of the bag, a large one on the flip side - for easy access to your phone, keys or passport if you're travelling. These pockets are quite slim, so you can't pack them full of things - which is great for me, as I'm always trying to pare down the amount of stuff I carry around.The zippers on the pockets are covered with a flap to keep them from becoming unzipped by accident - handy!

The bag itself is divided into two separate zippered compartments. The front compartment is organizer section with slots and open pouches for pens, business cards, PDA, maybe a book (or the e-reader you hope you're getting for Christmas - hint hint!) and any other cords or tech you may be toting. There's another zippered pocket in the front compartment for anything you want to keep especially secure (or for small stuff that can get lost in the bottom of the bag).

The back compartment is a separate, padded section for your laptop. The bag comfortably fits up to a 17" laptop and the structured padding keeps your computer snug and safe on your daily commute. You could also use this section for documents - plenty of space if you have a lot of papers to carry around.

The Emily is the ideal bag for the laptop-toting woman wants to add some colour and style to her laptop's wardrobe. And because of that roomy back section, I think this bag would be particularly great for teachers, social workers, lawyers, accountants - anyone who might have a lot of files or reports to take to and from the office.

The Emily comes in two colours - light, cherry blossom pink and hot pink (for when your laptop's feeling daring) - both are guaranteed to put a little spring in your step! The Emily is on sale right now for a mere $59.95USD - get yours at Rainebrooke.com.

The romance began before we even met. I was entranced by the Geisha Rolling Laptop Tote as soon as I saw it on CareerBags.com. And when I opened the box that Ellen from CareerBags sent over, the love affair grew. The rich purple fabric...the exotic floral print...the roomy interior...the white faux leather trim...the wheels. I couldn't believe it was mine. And neither could my MacBook Pro.

I couldn't bear to be parted from it - but fortunately I was about to embark on an extended business trip and needed a laptop bag to accompany me on my journey. We ran away together to Toronto, the Geisha and I ...and even after two airports and 10 days of commuting to far-away locations, I have no regrets.

First off - the exterior. The Geisha is structured enough that I trusted it to protect my laptop in the overhead compartment, but it still had some give to it, which was nice. The texture of the Geisha was a surprise - I was expecting a harsher, nylon sort of feel, but the Geisha's exterior fabric is more like a thin flannel over neoprene - soft yet sturdy. Even after a 10 day business trip, where I dragged it through various parking lots, the fabric shows no signs of wear.

The faux leather handles of the Geisha are nicely padded and they snap together for easy carrying (although sometimes the snaps did their best to foil me - oh, Geisha, you're so coy). If you want to carry the Geisha like a tote, it is surprisingly light for a wheeled bag and the telescoping handle zips into the bag when not in use, lifting smoothly out when you're ready to roll.

The only exterior pockets on the Geisha are the two on either end of the bag. They close using magnetic snaps - depending on what I had in them, the snaps would open unexpectedly, so I made sure not to keep my passport or anything valuable in those pockets. They were, however, excellent for gum and other flat items.

The interior of the Geisha is refreshingly simple. There's a section for your laptop that straps your machine in with a velcro strap. There's a zippered pocked for valuable or smaller items you need to keep track of. And then there's a roomy main compartment for all your essentials. The heavy silver zipper pull and zipper keep everything securely inside - no wimpy zippers here.

Not only did the Geisha have ample room for my laptop, cords, giant noise-canceling headphones and a thick novel, but it also had a calming influence during my latest business trip. For a wheeled tote, it's very light and handles very well. The extendo- handle is reassuringly stable and the bag is very well-balanced, both on the move and at rest, making the Geisha a pleasure to roll through the airport.

Plus, thanks to the Geisha's flower print and evocative name, I could imagine I was serving little cups of sake and giggling behind my giant sleeve at one of the Chairman's bon mots, rather than waiting in a fury of impatience for the glacially slow security staff to okay my tiny bottle of Purell.

I enjoyed the Geisha immensely and would definitely recommend this bag for the fashionable commuters among you. Going to and from the office, it's got room for your laptop & lunch or a pair of office shoes - plus it's easy on your back and its unusual floral print and fetching design definitely turns heads. And if purple's not your bag, it comes in red and lime green as well.

The Geisha Rolling Laptop Tote retails for $170 US at CareerBags.com

I grew up smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt. Consequently, I spent a lot of time at church, listening to evangelical preachers exhorting sinners to join the flock. One of the most common motivational questions I heard was "Do you know that you know that if you died tonight you'd go to heaven and meet Jesus?" I always thought this was a pretty good motivator - a little fear, a little hope and the promise of schmoozing with one of the biggest celebrities around.

What does this have to do with cool laptop bags? Well, two decades later and I still don't know if I'd go to heaven, BUT, I know what laptop bag I'd take with me to meet Jesus. And that bag, my friends, is the Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag - brought to you by Mobile Edge. When Matthew sent over a review copy, I thought I HAD died and gone to heaven. This bag is as close to perfection as possible. Let's break it down ...

First, the look of the bag. I adore anything vintage. Maddie Powers bags and accessories all sport covers from authentic pulp novels and digest magazines from the 1940's and 50's. Tres chic! This messenger bag has a cover from a novel called "Bright Promises". The rest of the exterior is black except for the back pocket. Flip this bag over and you have an exterior pocket that is covered in a royal purple faux-velvet. Read that again: Royal Purple Faux Velvet! This same material covers the shoulder strap pad. So HOT! Now, I only have tested it for a week, so I'm not sure if over the long term (and especially in the winter) the material will pill or not, but so far, so good. The back pocket seals with a small strip of velcro.

OK, let's flip open that front flap and see what the interior is like.

Yup, no vintage in here. This is all modern, sure to please any 21st century geek girl.

The main interior pocket has a self-contained sleeve that is made from SafetyCell [tm] ... a cool "lining" for the sleeve that has all these independent foam bumps. They function as "object deceleration" .. which I think means that they absorb more of the shock than regular single-layer foam cores if you drop the bag. Nice. Outside the sleeve is a large pocket that will easily hold several files, a notebook, magazine, power cord, etc. It also has a zippered pouch which would be good for items like plane tickets or travel docs that you want to keep separate and handy.

The other interior pocket in the front of the bag has the usual sets of pouches: mobile phone, pens, etc. It is big enough to house a power cord, wallet or other miscellaneous items. And it, too, has a zippered front pouch for additional docs or other important papers. The non-removable shoulder strap is very comfortable and can be adjusted to be quite long - so us big-busted gals can do the full across-the-body carry. The entire bag is really well constructed and is made of an easy-to-clean, water-resistent MicroFiber.

The whole thing closes with opposing velcro straps and they are long enough so that you can "over stuff" (really, can you ever carry too much stuff?) For the quality of the material and construction, the Cutebug Messenger doesn't feel any heavier than other bags of its class. It is, however, a little larger both in width and depth; I ended up wearing it a little lower on my hip than other bags.

Overall, I am really impressed with the quality of the Cutebug Messenger, let alone the funky quotient of this bag! There are only two tiny things I would change. One, it doesn't have feet on the bottom - most messengers don't have them, but I think they would really enhance this bag. Plus I'm finding that I really appreciate them, in general, to keep the bottom of any bag dry. Secondly, like all Maddie Powers bags, it comes with a set of Lucky Seven dice fastened to one of the shoulder strap attachments. Super cute, but super annoying after about 3 minutes of walking. Luckily, they are removable.

I love this bag .. like seriously. To me, it is the archetype of a funky, chic and cool laptop bag. I really hope Maddie Powers continues the line. I'd love to have some additional options available for the exterior picture, or, a way to swap front flaps, depending on my mood. Product extension?

You can find the Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag on the Mobile Edge site where it retails for $89.99 USD. You can also find its cousin, the Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Sheba Bag - made for laptops 14.1" and smaller.

Oh, and as a reminder, the good folks at Mobile Edge offer Free Shipping to all Squidoo customers. Simply type in SQUIDOO upon check out and receive free shipping on all purchases through 2007!

I'm delighted to feature laptop bag designer, Lexie Barnes', new collection across the FunChiCo lenses this week. She has three fantastic new patterns as well as a new sleeve, laptop backpack and ultimate tote.



The Echo Laptop Case which I've reviewed before has also gotten a facelift and comes in her three new patterns for fall.

I'm trying out this new feature from Squidoo where I can break this lens into multiple pages for reading. So, make sure you check out the bright orange bar at the top of the lens! I've got sections on Messenger Bags, Laptop Totes, Bags under $100, High End Bags and some of my favs that have been retired. It looks like this:

Please check out the additional reviews!