As my wife will tell you, I’m a bag addict.
I love them. I buy a new one every few months.
I didn’t know about this addiction until we moved to NYC, where suddenly I was in a “portable culture” - one in which I was walking (and carrying) a LOT more than when I lived in the midwest.
The first bag I purchased was this huge monstrosity (Mistake #1) at The Gap (Mistake #2). That bag stayed with me for… oh a week or so. It was too big and it killed my back.
My new job had just started and with that came a new 12” PowerBook. This was my chance to find a bag replacement. I scoured the Web for the best bag I could find for my new little baby… and I came across Tom Bihn (www.tombihn.com). I got a Buzz slingbag and was impressed by it’s workmanship and comfort. I used it for months… until I got a different laptop.
Suddenly I was faced with another predicament - a new, faster laptop… that wouldn’t work with my Buzz. At this point, I fell off the wagon and began using bags made by other manufacturers. Forgive me, Father Tom, for I have sinned.
However, I begain to reap what I had sown. After several months with those other floosie bags, my back was encouraging me to reexamine my priorities. I needed a smaller laptop, but my 12” PowerBook was beginning to show signs of age.
Fortunately, Steve Jobs heard my plight and he announced the MacBook Air. I thought it was perfect for what I needed. However, the form factor was so different from my other models that none of my bags - including my Buzz (both the old AND the larger, redesigned version) - fit properly.
Wanting desperately to return to the Good Side of the Force, I ran back into the loving arms of Tom Bihn, hoping he would forgive me and give me a solution. Interestingly, Tom had also recently changed from using a 12” Powerbook himself and was designing a solution specifically tailored for the MacBook and MacBook Air for a better solution. The result: The Ristretto.
I immediately ordered one, hoping it would fill that inner longing and emptiness I had in my heart for a portable companion that I could dump on and wouldn’t weigh me down. I would spend every day looking at the product page… reading… then re-reading the product description. Was this bag too good to be true?
Finally, it arrived. The craftmanship and attention to detail was amazing. The laptop fit beautifully. I began packing the essentials I needed… power adapter.. Airport Express… a few cables… earbuds… it all fit perfectly.
Now, after several weeks with my Ristretto, I’d like to confess to the world - no, the universe - my undying love for this bag. It is perfect. The best thing I love about it: It doesn’t LOOK like a laptop bag - it looks like a MESSENGER bag. It’s so light that l literally take it with me when my bride and I go into The City.
I can honestly say that I’ve never enjoyed or appreciated a bag more.
This isn’t to say that I won’t ever buy an additional bag (call me a Bag Polygamist), but the Ristretto will always be my one true love.
