The Perfect Mac Book Pro Day Pack

I travel a lot for business. A lot.. A whole lot.

I always bring my Mac along, which is now a Mac Book Pro: 15 inches. I recently moved to a Mac Book Pro, and all my  Mac Book sized cases (13 inch) are now too small.

This is the report on my goals and the results of my search.

The bottom line:

What I Need 

I am doing a lot of international traveling, often for a week or more. Therefore I am checking a roller bag (A Victorinox 22") and sclepping a back pack on the plane. Currently, that backpack is a largeish Victorinox backpack with 5 pockets, and large padded shoulder straps. It is optimized for traveling, and especially for carrying a consdierable amount of junk onto a plane, including room for toilteries and a change of clothes, just in case the roller bag doesn't show up at the other end.  It's well suited for that purpose; but not for the day-to-day issue of simply schlepping the Mac and a few odds and ends around for a day.

So I need  a small day pack for the Mac Pro, but it has to fit inside the backpack when I get on the plane. In many situations (like leaving London from Heathrow) you are limited to a single carryon. I have completed a search for the perfect tiny day pack: one that can almost act like a padded sleeve, except with some sort of straps. And I want it to be as light as possible, too.

Alternatively,  I could keep a day bag in my roller, and pull it out only when arriving elsewhere, in whcih case a larger bag is possible, but perhap less usable, since I would have to move stuff from one bag to the other. But a possibility.

And The Options Are... 

Crumpler - The Skivvy - Medium 

I liked the size and weight of the Crumpler Skivvy: 1lb 3oz, large enough for the Mac and a few doodads. But the strap is a shoulder type, and no padding. Ugh. 

$57.50 at eBags, so not a life-changing prospect. 

Tekstyl Tekmod

The  Tekmod has two modes: top loading (like a sleeve), and an open mode, where it acts like a notebook cover, opening with the laptop.

3lbs is a bit heavy, however.  And it goes for $79.99...

Manhattan Portage Messenger Bag

I had a very simple messenger bag for year, with one big open pocket and two smaller gear pockets. I loved it,

So this Manhatten Portage bag is very attractive, as is the waterproof oil cloth waxed canvas. And at 16 oz, it's light as a feather. 

The bag has a few pockets -- one zippered on the outside of the flap, another inside with a zipper. Plus, I have a number of gear bags that I travel with, so I could alwasy throw one in the big pocket for a day trip, too.

The strap isn't padded, but since it is messenger style, it is broad, and meant to be worn messenger style, not only hanging from a shoulder.