[Echo63]

I Apologize in advance for the poor photos in this review, my big camera is on charge, along with the flash etc, so i am photographing this with my point and shoot camera

First up, this bag isnt cheap, but it is very well built, this is my 2nd crumpler bag (the other one is a camera bag) and my wife has 3 (laptop, camera and handbag) and her 2 year old crumpler handbag has been dropped, kicked, slid across the floor, and if it were washed it would still look brand new (she normally wears bags out in a year to 18 months)
Crumpler Site for this bag is Here showing the colour variations and price in australian dollars.
I Bought mine from the Crumpler shop in shafto lane, Perth


first thing you notice, is this is a plain black bag, depending on how full it is, how well shut the flap is etc, you may see the some green hilights
the velcro field on the front does NOT come on the bag, it is a modification i have done, so i can put reflective tabs, name patches, and flag patches on. the 2x clips at the bottom, secure the front flap, in addition to the velcro


on opening the bag, you are confronted with a retina searing blast of green

and the main space of the bag, in this case the top of the pic, is the "front" of the bag, and the bottom is the back where the flap is attached.
The green flap at the bottom is the padded laptop section, although my laptop isnt in there, as i was writing this, and had to reshoot this pic while the laptop was out (i am also using it to carry a 13" macbook not a 15")

there is a big zippered front pocket, which is great for things like, cables, chargers and other assorted stuff


here is all the stuff i carry in my bag (can you tell im a Mac Geek ?)

Top Row
Camelbak 1l Better bottle, Cat5 cable and Long Charger cable, Pocket organizer with EMT Shears strapped to the back of it

Portable 320gb Hard drive, USB Cable,Tissues, Orange gaffa tape and a plastic bag, 2x "fasty" Straps, Macbook Charger with short plug fitted, Long usb cable, Bag with cord and Niteize Figure9 cord locks, Sandisk Card Reader, Present from when i bought the bag, Plastic Spork, Energizer emergency phone charger, Blackberry headset, bandaids and KFC Handwipes, Lipeze and the little black tin in the front right near the laptop has 2x panadol, 2x advil, 2x cold and flu tabs, 3x voltaren tabs, 4x immodium tabs in it along with dosage info.


Laptop - 13" Apple Macbook (yes i know i have a bag for a 15" laptop, but the 13" bag didnt have enough space for my stuff)
on top of the laptop,
Business cards in holder, Leatherman wave in pouch, Pen, Lens/Screen cleaning cloth, 4gb USB Drive on Canon Lanyard, and a Mini Pen and 4x Magnifier (the little green thing)


Pros
Good solid Construction
Lime Green interior makes stuff easy to find
plenty of padding for a laptop
came with 2x padding strips to reduce laptop compartment to fit a 13" laptop
Comfortable to carry, even full of stuff
Velcro and Clips to hold flap shut, velcro can easily have another strip attached to stop it sticking, if you prefer clips
3 size options (moderate, considerable and dreadful embarrasment for 13", 15", 17" laptops)

Cons
Expensive (but bugger all compared to the price of the laptop it protects)
Colour options may not be to everyones taste
Crumpler site is impossible to navigate, and the descriptions are fairly useless, better to handle one in person if you can, or read lots of reviews before purchasing


I would buy one again, as i have a crumpler shop 20 mins drive away, with helpful friendly staff,
they also make good bags, i only have experience with their messenger style bags, but i have looked at their backpacks, which appear to be just as good.
i dont know how water resistant they are, but the other crumplers i have seen have a thin coating on the back face of the fabric, this bags flap is 2 pieces back to back so i cant tell whether it is coated or not.

Hope this helps anyone looking for a Laptop bag





I also mentioned a freebie i was given with my bag
A few mini boxes of matches,

How Mini ? - Hows This ?

[tombull]

Thanks Echo63, I too am a Crumpler devotee (enough to log on and write about it, which is saying something... ) after being a Crumpler disser because of the gaudy colours, however a while back I was in need of a bag that could hold my Panasonic DVX100 Mini DV camera with accessories and 15" PowerBook.
I forget what model of Crumpler bag I ended up with (thanks to the weird naming system) but the versatility, build quality and comfort did it for me and I even found that they started making bags in decent colours!
I have since purchased a nice bag similar to the one reviewed that holds my laptop and other stuff for uni and again, l love it.
They are a bit pricey, but seem worth it to me!

[Echo63]

Originally Posted by tombull

They are a bit pricey, but seem worth it to me!

Tombull, They are a bit expensive but compared to the 2700 i paid for my macbook, and the 10k worth of camera gear they protect, they cost bugger all.
im pretty sure this wont be the last crumpler product i buy either, even though i dont need any new bags

[Ozi]

Nice article. The crumplers are well built, and when at uni the crumpler backpack I had did a fantastic job of protecting my Powerbook.

[Squirt758]

I have a 5 Million Dollar Home for my D40 and accessories, its well built, a bit expensive but worth it in long run... I can attest to the water proofing of the bags also, my bag got fairly wet after some rain but the contents were dry as a bone...

[Echo63]

Originally Posted by Squirt758

I have a 5 Million Dollar Home for my D40 and accessories, its well built, a bit expensive but worth it in long run... I can attest to the water proofing of the bags also, my bag got fairly wet after some rain but the contents were dry as a bone...

i have a 7milliondollar home, my wife has the embarrasment, 7milhome, headaitch handbag and a industry disgrace camera strap

the embarrasments (hers is the same as mine, reviewed above) are fairly new, but the 7milliondollar homes, and her handbag have held up wonderfully to the punishment we have given them over the past couple of years

[kimnkk]

Thanks for the review, i love crumpler bags! I've got a considerable embarrassment coming soon, when the store gets more stock in.

At the moment i've got a few crumplers. King Single, Karachi Outpost, 7 Million Dollar Home, 5 Million Dollar Home, Moderate Embarassment and soon to have a considerable embarassment (in the same colour combo as yours). Great bags, without a doubt.

[muskawo]

I used to hate crumpler bags cause of the colours, but last year I found a "western lawn" bag in blue, brand new at the op shop so I picked it up. It's been my work bag ever since. I would probably buy crumpler bag as a laptop bag seeing how long it's lasted - I spent 270 on a dc/incase backpack a few years back and it got wrecked pretty fast, but this bag is pretty good except for being a bit dirty.

[Echo63]

Originally Posted by muskawo

I used to hate crumpler bags cause of the colours, but last year I found a "western lawn" bag in blue, brand new at the op shop so I picked it up. It's been my work bag ever since. I would probably buy crumpler bag as a laptop bag seeing how long it's lasted - I spent 270 on a dc/incase backpack a few years back and it got wrecked pretty fast, but this bag is pretty good except for being a bit dirty.

i wasnt a huge fan of the colours either, but they are really solid, well made bags
i managed to get my 7milion dollar home in black with a nice tan coloured interior, and i really like the flouro green in the embarrasment, makes it easy to see stuff in the bottom of it

[Goodbye]

I love Crumpler bags too! I have a 3 Million Dollar home, and a Considerable Embarrassment, both in red, and love them to bits. They are a tad expensive, but they're awesome!

My only complaint is the copious amounts of velcro they have on them. I always feel so self-conscious about opening them in front of people because of the stupid loud velcro!

[mattydee]

Originally Posted by Goodbye

I love Crumpler bags too! I have a 3 Million Dollar home, and a Considerable Embarrassment, both in red, and love them to bits. They are a tad expensive, but they're awesome!

My only complaint is the copious amounts of velcro they have on them. I always feel so self-conscious about opening them in front of people because of the stupid loud velcro!

hehe, thats why its called Considerable Embarrassment!!

[Echo63]

Originally Posted by Goodbye

My only complaint is the copious amounts of velcro they have on them. I always feel so self-conscious about opening them in front of people because of the stupid loud velcro!

you can go to a material shop (spotlight, textile traders etc) and buy 50mm wide velcro, (you want the sew on stuff, not the stick on) and cut it to fit the velcro patches on the bag.
stick it on the velcro patches (either side works, you dont need to do both) and voila - the velcro doesnt stick anymore, and doesnt make loud noises on opening

[Angsty]

Originally Posted by Echo63

Cons
Crumpler site is impossible to navigate, and the descriptions are fairly useless..

Lordi, I cannot express my hatred of the horrible design and un-intuitive navigation of their site!!

I thought it was just me being an old fart that wasn't *hip* and *cool* enough to "get it" .... a sort of barrier to entry for unwanted riff-raff