I will be getting a new 13'Macbook soon and need to decide on a good bag. I am deciding between either:

(1) STM small alley - $77
(2) All The Kings Men (ATKM) mini - $189

Could I please get some user experiences with these bags? I like the seatbelt buckle design with the ATKM, but do you think it's worth it ($$) (compared to the STM)? There are hardly any reviews on the web about ATKM so it'll be helpful to get some opinions.

I anticipate the bag will need to carry the usual things - macbook, power adapter, about 1cm thick worth of paper, snack bars etc...

Thanks

I have a Chrome messenger bag which is ridiculously sturdy and also has the seat belt buckle. They make a couple of laptop bags as well. Also expensive, but generally well reviewed.

You cant go past a crumpler

STM are very good! One particular feature that STM came up with which really was staring everyone in the face, was to make a lap-top bag that did not look like it carried a lap-top.

Certainly, designs like this one look like they'd have a few uni books and a couple of oranges in them, when in fact they're holding a couple of Apples!

Price-wise - I can't say, yet for the piece of mind over protection and the possibility of theft, even $189 is worth it against $1,749 through to $2,399 of expensive hardware.

Cheers and welcome to MTAU,

ClockWork

I have an STM that I used for Nemesis, but it now holds Slave I like a dream.

Apparently it was made for the 15 inch Powerbooks but I've not had an issue with it for either of those 2 models.

Thanks! I'll look more into it and keep you posted

spend the extra ten bucks and get the STM small loft. thats a damn fine looking bag...




or spend big for the STM cargo bag:




i've used both crumpler and stm. I had a black STM backpack, back when they only made ugly bags. I replaced it with a crumpler wee bee which was real pretty. Both were well made, tough and are still going strong.

but i'm gonna go back to STM for my macbook bag because they're cheaper, they've stopped making ugly bags, and crumpler still dont have a decent 13' bag.

damn that cargo bag looks good.

I bought a incase bag about 1.5 year ago and it still is a beauty.

Rik

STM all the way! Getting a Cargo Bag to put my Gecko Skin Case in. I also use a 13" MacBook and previously had an STM Alley bag.

I use an STM small loft - used to fit my 12" ibook beautifully, had no probs with a 15" Powerbook and now they've been replaced by a MacBook - too easy - easily fits an external hard disk, power supply, kensington lock, mouse, tablet, ipod and pda - oh and the mobile phone and charger.

always get "cool bag" comments too (:

I ended up buying the Tucano bag from the Apple site. It said it was for 13-15 inch and I thought it would be too big. Ordered it anyways intending to send it back if it was no good but it is brilliant. Could fit up to 15 inch in there but for my macbook its padded enough and fits whatever else I need and more. Glad I got it now.

Will you be walking around a lot? If so, narrow your options to back-packs.

I was chagrined by my physio for using a sling/single-shoulder computer bag for some two years. Never-mind the back-pain that I suffered.

Now I use a Booq Mamba S, and a Crumpler Salary Sacrifice.

BOOQ is okay. I didn't really like there sleeve, since the zip came un-hinged after a few months of day-to-day use. Maybe because I had an IBM? Anyway, I agree with you there, backpacks are defiantly good way to go if you are walking around.

For small walks, e.g. class to class I would use a case like the Cargo.

ive been using STM's for a while and love them. that said i do use the full backpack models as i have had back problems in the past...

I have a STM Small Alley for my 13" MacBook, and it's very durable and I'd definitely recommend it. Originally I was going to get the the Loft, but I preferred the look of the Alley. My only complaints is that there isn't anywhere to store a drink bottle, and I have to carry larger text books by hand.

Keep in mind that the Loft and Alley are the exact same layout wise, with the main difference being the colours. Here's a review > http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=130245

Yeah - you shouldn't have any problems fitting all of that into the Small Loft / Alley. You could always go the Medium Alley though if you wanted slightly more space.