The Bihn is in!

Mobile Tech Manor is awash in the scent of rich Corinthian ballistic nylon as the Buzz sling pack from Tom Bihn has arrived.  I took it for a spin to acquaint it with Starbucks so it can see where it will be spending a great deal of its time and I have to say I am impressed with the comfort of the Buzz.  There are only two compartments in the Buzz, the back one is a large pocket for a laptop and contains a padded half sleeve that is sewn into the bottom of the bag.  This is a nice touch because it not only pads the laptop it also allows you to put other flat gear in there and keep your precious Tablet PC (you do have one, right?) protected.  I put the ThinkPad X61 in the sleeve and the extra 8-cell battery on the other side of the sleeve and it worked well with no fear of damage or scratching.

The front pocket is a simple one with a few pockets sewn into the back of the pocket, and they are sewn in at an angle which sort of limits their usefulness for the kind of stuff I'd like to put in there such as my iPod.  That said, I was able to put everything I normally carry in my Booq bag in the Buzz with no problems, there are just less pockets to keep things organized.  The bag is still extremely thin fully loaded, in fact lying on its side it looks empty.  My Buzz is all black and looks pretty good and the wide shoulder strap makes it very comfortable whether wearing it as a sling pack or just looping it over my shoulder.  The cell phone pocket on that strap is pretty worthless though, as it is too narrow to fit any phone I've used in the last two years, much less my iPod.  The water bottle pocket is a nice touch, though, and will even fit a small umbrella.  So far I am happy with the Buzz and feel it will make a capable replacement for my beloved Booq Boa bag.  I was going to take two photos comparing the bag empty and loaded but it's so thin when loaded I just shot that one:

Comments

[Ben]

What sleeve do you use for the X61?

[James Kendrick]

Ben, I don't use a separate sleeve. The Buzz has a built-in half sleeve which protects the x61 in the bag.

[Dave Zatz]

I just ordered the Ogio Metro to replace an older Ogio backpack. They're indestructible and comfortable. They also have several clever compartments. The Metro could use a water bottle holder, but I'll get over it.