April 6, 2010 Tom Bihn gets personal with the Co-Pilot
The next big thing from Tom Bihn is…quite small. The Co-Pilot shoulder bag is Tom’s attempt at creating the ultimate personal-item/seat-side bag for the iPad/netbook era. The 12” x 10” x 5”, 600-cubic inch bag is available in 1050 ballistic nylon or ultra-light Dyneema ripstop nylon, weighing in at 17 and 11 ounces, respectively. Like all TB products, it’s just a little bit different and truly multi-purpose.
The bag’s front panel is divided into three vertical compartments. The left compartment has a nifty ultrasuede-lined pocket for iPhone or other mobile device. The center compartment is made for a water bottle (up to 20-ounces, at least) and even has a grommet at the bottom to allow for spills to drain. The right compartment has pen slots.
The unpadded rear compartment is large enough for an iPad, netbook, printed material, or folded clothing. This compartment includes two large pouch pockets. On the bag of the bag is a flat magazine compartment.
This back should work well as a personal item for many and may serve as an everyday bag for netbook or iPad users, provided they have a low-profile sleeve.
The bag’s Seattle pedigree is evident in its gasketed, splash-proof zippers.
Price is $110. Details from TB website.
BALLISTIC (LEFT) & DYNEEMA
REAR COMPARTMENT
WHAT IT HOLDS
COMPARED TO WESTERN FLYER
SUEDE MOBILE POCKET!
EATING A NETBOOK
Frank@OBOW
I don’t have an iPad so the TB crew sent this picture:
Frank@OBOW
More thoughts:
- After heading to the coffee shop I’m thinking the Co-Pilot is not as “pursey” as I first thought. The Tom Bihn standard strap has been improved, but a more macho strap like the TB Terra Grip or Red Oxx Claw might “man” it up a bit. The Absolute strap would be overkill for a bag of this weight.
- My wife likes it and she’s a hard sell.
- This bag will be easily scalable if conditions (like today’s carry-on charge news) necessitate. (Alan and I must think alike - scary).
- Does anyone want to try 10 days in Europe - with just the Co-Pilot? I think I could pull if off since I have the Touch.
- I packed: netbook & charger, Touch, phone, wallet, camera & cards, raincoat, ExO undies, s/s undershirt, magazine, and a 20 oz. bottle — room to spare, especially in the front “gadget” pockets
- 3-1-1 bag could fit in any of the front three pockets if not stuffed.
- The Dyneema nylon is really not much more liable to bulging than Cordura, if at all.
- The TB backpack cubes (and here) are made of Dyneema as well. Paired with this bag you’d have a really nice, ultralight, minimalist outfit with more clothing capacity. I’ve done some short trips with the cube pack but haven’t written about them.
- The Dyneema version of the Co-Pilot would be great to stuff in a main carry-on as a day bag.
- Why the Co-Pilot instead of vertical messenger like the Cafe bags? The horizontal design, being less deep, is easier to get into quickly. The lack of a flap top also speeds entry. The vertical bags are better for carrying lots of printed material (magazines, notebooks, newspapers). The Co-Pilot accommodates 8.5” x 11” with little room to spare.
Frank@OBOW
Frank@OBOW
TB says the center front pocket will fit a 1-liter Sigg bottle. I tested it with a 20 oz. plastic bottle.
Frank@OBOW
The Co-Pilot’s rear pocket is now zippered at the bottom to make it possible to slide over the handle of a rolling bag.
Reader Comments (49)
Better yet, and currently relevant, Spirit Air will allow it as a carry-on for only $10 if you pay in advance....
Hum? Ten days? Depending on the time of year, how many pockets I can manage to fill in a coat (wish ScottEVest would make more women's models, and something that looks more professional / "elegant") - would love to try. (Pretenidng that I can be allowed to bring a handbag too!) Alas, I also will have to figure out how to get purchases home, as I tend to go a little nuts in a book store, or any place that sells my favourite silk scarves! Shipping things home isn't always practical.
However, unfortunately I must say as usual with TB, I have some reservations as to design choices.
First reservation. This is definitely in the big purse format, not in the personal item format. Although if you see what some ladies say is a purse, their purses are actually bigger than personal items. How is a personal item defined? A personal item is defined in two way by the airlines, none of them includes a direct size or weight limit. It is defined by the restriction that it must fit under the seat. It is defined by examples. The usual examples are: briefcase, photo bag, purse. So the Co-Pilot fits the personal item definition. The problem is that it is quite a bit smaller than the personal item definition would allow. So this is wasted space. Here are two things you need to consider when you determine the size of such an item. Firstly, you can check the airline policy for hardsided pet carriers. These must be under the seat in front of you. No other place to put them. So these dimensions will give you the limit of what is considered a personal item, even if the airlines do not spell it out for you. This measure is usually in the 36-41 linear inch category. The Co-Pilot measures only 27 l.i. it thus stays quite a bit under even the most restrictive personal item rule. Too bad! The other thing is that this minimum requirement is not likely to change, which is nice. Why will it not change? Because the underseat space is a perfectly efficient and save space to put stuff. There aren't too many other spot available in an aircraft as we all know. And since we are all getting fatter, the airlines won't be able to make the seat any smaller or they will lose customers. The electronic boxes for entertainment systems are likely to get smaller rather than bigger. Electronics are constantly getting smaller and smaller and lighter is good for the airline's profit. Thus, if anything, underseat space will increase because seats will have to be wider and electronics will take less space under them.
Second reservation. Now you will say why would I want all this volume and I will say you (we) are really in the minority if we are not asking for all the volume we can possibly eek out given the slew of restriction. Basically, if he made the bag just 1" wider (13 instead of 12) the Macbook 13 or a similar laptop would fit in a slim sleeve. Now that's a really huge missed opportunity. This bag could have been so versatile if it fit a decent size laptop and not only the sub-size class. So a definite marketing decision for lifestyle over practicality and versatility. All the more since their entry briefcase is a considerable step up in volume and price, the Zephyr is 17.5l vs. 10l for the Co-Pilot. So with just one inch more they could have sold this as a briefcase and as a personal bag. In fact, even the Zephyr is only 35 l.i. all around. But that's already a nice size. My fully packed Tumi 26141 is 15x12x7. You could use a bag of that size for the classic OBOW 10-days-in-Europe challenge. I'm afraid with the Co-Pilot it would become a 10-day exercise in asceticism. So again, TB doesn't develop the bag to the full potential.
Third reservation. As far as I can tell from the article and website this doesn't have a slip-through magazine pouch sleeve to slip it over the handles of a roller. A massive oversight. While TB doesn't make rollers, that doesn't mean people who use rollers wouldn't like to be able to use a TB bag with their existing rollers. WHY?
I guess we have to look for the reason in competitor products. The Co-Pilot seems to be heading for the Gator by RedOxx. Same measures, half the weight, similar layout, $5 more.
Personally, I wouldn't buy either because they both have the shortcomings described above. But if they made the Co-Pilot two inches wider and two inches deeper it might be serious contender.
After all, what is the justification for such a bag. It's too small as a briefcase or a laptop bag. It's really too small for a sensible carry-on volume as stand-alone bag. As a purse it's pretty big. But if I'm limited to two items I already want to try and max those out as far as possible and I'm really a light packer. If I were limited to ONE item only, it would be totally ruled out.
The sad thing is that even if the were to design a hook-on pack to increase volume, it wouldn't help the darn 12" length limit. That's the main shortcoming, literally.
The Patagonia Lightweight Travel Duffel weighs 14 oz and has 2600 cubic inches of capacity.
I love the design of the Synapse--nice and clean; and been happy with the Smart Alec.
I just hope that TB will not go the way of so many other companies: too many products. They have been great because they have a few good well thought out products that are multipurpose and versatile.
This is a nice change from the other bags he has available. Tom Bihn has plenty of lap top bags and styles for briefcases, backpacks, and messenger bags. Yes, one more inch may have helped make this a more user friendly bag for lap tops, and perhaps a larger version will appear later on (witness the Tri-Star which is just a little larger than the Western-Flyer).
I like that it's more for a carry-on seat side bag and taking the minimal amount and yet still big enough to cart around a good deal for a daily bag if required. (And I know I can make it work for a weekend away bag, if not longer...) It's unusual compared to his other bags and styles. I've been waiting to place a Tom Bihn order until seeing this new bag. I look forward to trying it out for myself.
And for those who pack well, it will easily fit inside his main travel bags such as the Aeronaut and Tri-Star.
I know when I'm on vacation, i don't want to lug a bag around with me that's big enough for my laptop. Or even if I'm running around town and want to carry a light jacket in case of rain as well as my cellphone, ipod, a bottle of water, etc. I don't need a laptop bag.
This bag was not planned with the idea of Spirit Airlines carry-on limitations as those were announced today and this bag has been in the works for months. It's a personal item bag for both men and women who don't need to lug a big laptop.
The Mandarina Duck that I have and that is almost identical, except that the main compartment opens to the top when you carry the bag and it has no backpack straps, dates from 1988. Well, that's when I bought it but I think it was "invented" earlier.
I just looked it up; the Tank series came out in 1981. But I wouldn't be surprised if the actual bag design is derived from a military bag.
Unless they have already cut the material for hundreds of bags it might not be too late to make it an inch wider and thus MUCH more appealing and to give it a real edge over the Gator. Bihn has listened to customer input before. This time they should listen and act extra quickly.
BTW, Brad I totally dig your idea of using the Aeronaut backpacking cube together with a small bag as a really neat luggage combo. That is a great idea. I got the Aeronaut cube to go with my A. Saks bag. I must say I like it quite a bit and along with the Tristar, Freudian Slip and Braincell I think it is among their best products. But if they don't do something with this new bag, the CO-PIlot is literally not gonna take off, I fear.
The Aeronaut cube could fit an extra pair of shoes filled with underwear and socks in the small compartment. The big compartment can easily hold 2 pairs of pants, 1 sweater, 3 shirts and 2 t-shirts. Possibly even an EC 15" shirt folder but I'd have to check that. The hopefully upgraded co-pilot would get laptop, gadgets, 311 bag and miscellaneous items needed for the trip. Perhaps there'd even be room for a light hardshell jacket. Total luggage weight would stay under two pounds. And in the grey dyneema it would even look sharp. I think this is what Brad will try for the next ten day challenge, no? :)
Checkpoint Flyer
Empire Builder
Smart Alec
Super Ego
Ristretto
Brain Bag
Buzz
ID
Zephyr
Ego
Imago
Synpase
Why would he need to make another?
The co-pilot is the perfect LEISURE bag for people who DON'T CARRY A LAPTOP. (Sorry about all the caps but I'm trying to make a point. The only reason to make a bigger bag is to carry a laptop. it's not needed.) However, if someone needs to travel with their laptop, then this bag is not for you. There are plenty of others out there.
And as far as what can be packed in the Aeronaut, there's a section on the Tom Bihn forum where people post their packing lists. You'd be amazed what the bag will hold.
Remember, if a bag doesn't meet you requirements, it doesn't mean the bag is flawed or no good...it's just not right for you. Would Tom Bihn be in business this long if he made bags people didn't want?
What I'm saying is that there is a gap in the laptop bag range and there isn't a very big leisure range. And in between the leisure range and the laptop range there is nothing. This bag could fill the gap very nicely. That's why it's such a missed opportunity. And just because most people won't analyze it that way doesn't mean it isn't true.
Also, would it detract anything from being the perfect leisure bag if it were just one inch wider and COULD hold a laptop? No. But it would add so much functionality. Same with the handle sleeve zipper. It wouldn't detract from the bags functionality it has now. It wouldn't add greatly to cost or weight but it would add greatly to ergonomics. As you say, it is still roomy and when packed with gear can get heavy, so why not put it on the roller handles. Open up another group of customers instead of automatically excluding them
Lastly, ideas of leisure may be different but A LOT of people will bring their computer with them to play, listen music, watch videos, surf the net and stay in touch with loved ones. All of that are perfect leisure activities where a computer is necessary. And not everybody has the money to get a specialized bag AND a specialized computer for every type of function. Thus a universally usable bag is desirable.
I even found another small detail that could be easily changed. The main compartment zippers are not lockable. Some may say that won't be necessary but when I use the restroom in the plane I do like the fact that my valuables are not SUPER easy to access.
Among the most universally usable bags I have in my collection is the Valoroso VT18 six pocket tote. See here: http://www.londonluggage.com/andvt18.htm
18x12x7 inches large it can hold anything from sports gear to camera gear, thick books, a computer, a lot of casual clothes. It has plenty of organizational details, an attachment for roller handles and you know what? It is still right at 36 linear inch, hence at the lower personal item limit and it will fit under the seat. Having bought one for $59 instead of $275 makes the deal just the sweeter. :) Looks great, too. Almost the same color as the Bihn steel grey.
So here are the three changes I'd like to see:
1 inch wider
slip through pocket in the rear
lockable zippers
I bet that most users will agree that these improvement will only add to the bag and not distract anything at all. Cost to realize this is maybe $10. Is that asking too much?
Hmmm, sounds just like my REI Stratocruiser Bag. So far, I have used it just once, for a day-long birding trip, holding a variety of stuff ranging from a Cliff Bar to a spotting scope. Regardless of the exact bag, this is a good size, and a nice format to complement a larger carry-on bag,
I agree that if it where versatile enought to fit my macbook pro 13" laptop it would be an absolute must have.
My main problem with most laptop bags are that they are too big and not clean looking.
I love the look of the co-pilot. Just wish it were slightly larger.
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/specs-13inch.html
I don't like messenger bags because of the flap, and when I was shopping for a bag to use as my everyday briefcase, and well as something to put under the seat, I eneded up getting the RedOxx Metro, which also has the ability to fit inside the center compartment of my RedOxx Airboss. A slightyly longer Co-Pilot would still fit, and have the added utility of leaving enough room for a pair of shoes.
Part of my disappointment is probably due to the fact that I was hoping for an entirely different type of bag than this. Something to fit between their Tristar and Aeronaut.
My dream bag would basically be Air Boss size, but with Bihn materials and little tweaks. As much as people rave about their Tristars, I'm afraid that I'm not quite good enough at one bagging yet that I would enjoy going that small. Perhaps if it were 2 main compartments instead?
I think the Tristar is actually quite a good size. Again, 1" longer to make it 20" would be a it better to pack suits. I scoured a lot of airline websites to look at the diverse regulations. If you want a bag that can fly on ANY airline you have to look for the smallest LXHxD dimensions. You take the smallest posted length and combine it with the smallest posted height and depth. This will give you dimensions of 20x13x8. The Tristar is pretty darn close to that.
It is soft and light, has backpack straps for when shoulder carry gets too heavy and in black is fit for business, or maybe even in grey which I really like.
However, I can see how people would like a bag one up from the Tristar but not quite as big as the Aeronaut. The thing is if you have a bag with good compartments and organization as well as a little structure (i.e. not the Aeronaut) it doesn't matter if you don't pack it quite full. The contents will stay in place.
The larger issue seems to be the idea of pushing limits. I saw one comment about how the bag should be larger since it COULD be larger by most definitions of carry on. I think this misses on the philosophy here of NOT being larger but going as small as you can.
If your philosophy is to go small then you will look to a tablet or a netbook. If those are too small for you to enjoy then you've decided what is most important to you and maybe you pick the 13" laptop instead. That's fine but that is also making the decision to not travel as light or as small as you can.
It seems like faulting the bag for being this size is the same as faulting someone who buys a 13" laptop when a 10" netbook is available. Sounds crazy but the logic is similar. The difference is no one is questioning a person who wants a larger computer because it's their preference. Yet they are questioning a person who wants a smaller bag as their preference. Arguing the bag should be bigger is like arguing that anyone with a 10" netbook should upgrade to a 13" laptop.
I have the Red Oxx Gator and I love/hate that bag as my personal item. I can see this bag replacing it. I disagree that the bags are similar though. I think this one might be much more user friendly as opposed to the wide open design of the Gator.
As a side note, one thing I loved about traveling with my Gator was how easy it was to store in the seat in front of me and how easy it was to take in/out during a flight. I could store something larger, I've even fit my massive Tom Bihn Brain Bag under the seat. But having room for my feet and being able to constantly get at the bag was refreshing and led to much more pleasant flights for me.
So from an economic and rational perspective of profit maximizing it makes sense for the user to choose a bag that maxes out the carry-on allowance. In practice, that is what happens with 90% of travelers because it simply makes sense.
It also makes sense for company to design a product that can be used by and is appealing to a large number of people. They would sell more if it could handle 13" laptops. Why exclude those people? The group of people who would like to take a 13" notebook is arguably bigger than that rare group of people who not only carry only a netbook but also don't want to maximize their personal item volume for philosophical light packing reasons. As I said, making it one inch longer will not hurt the netbookers and it won't hurt the very hardcore minimal packing crowd (i.e. 0.1% of travelers). The pack would still be severely undersized. But it would very much benefit the large group of 13" notebook users who might want a bag that is not huge, very much in the light packing philosophy.
So, I'm not criticizing the bag itself but rather the strange decisions and omissions that make the bag not realize its huge potential.
Regarding the much debated inch, I think there needs to be a demarcation between bags for ultra-mobiles and notebooks. Also, I feel the bag should be kept as small as is feasible. This means not catering to the 13" notebook crowd.
Since I have a 17" MBP, I'm more than happy to stay with my Tri-star--instead of wondering why Tom Bihn won't expand the Western Flyer.
"Also - the Co-Pilot would have to be significantly larger to fit a 13" laptop. At a certain point, we have to keep bags the size that they are - otherwise, every bag would be as big as the Super Ego so it could fit everyone's laptops. :) There will be other bags out this year that will fit 13" laptops."
http://www.tombihn.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2770&page=3
Brad - hope it's okay to post the above quote and link. Please delete if otherwise.
So Tom Bihn is not quite finished with new bag releases for the year! Ah, the debate will continue later I'm sure!
Cheers!
My uninformed guess is that when the long-awaited camera insert comes out, the Co-Pilot is the bag it will fit perfectly. It just looks like a camera bag.
P.S. The Aeronaut now comes with internal compression straps, so the contents won't shift even if the bag isn't full.
If you really want to take a step back you can even look at the TB Aeronaut and say "why did they make anything smaller"? If it fits in nearly all overhead compartments then why would someone get a smaller bag? And wouldn't TB be silly for making a smaller bag which would not be purchased by people who needed a larger bag? For a while TB only had the Aeronaut as an option but I guess he figured he could make more bags in different sizes and still make money.
I think the same concept applies here. He must run his shop well enough to support multiple products to appeal to different customers. Those who want to travel small and light now can with their iPad and this new bag. Those with the 13" laptops can still buy one of the other bags at TB that is made for laptops.
If this were the only bag offered by TB I could see the point but otherwise I'm not sure why it's a debate. The only other analogy I can think of would be for a person who travels a week at a time to question a bag made for the over night traveler. Would you complain that an overnight bag wasn't big enough for 7 days of travel? Then why complain that a bag for the iPad and netbook crowd isn't big enough for the laptop carriers?
I'm not sure I'll get a tablet or iPad but I like my netbook and I can't see going bigger than a 10" netbook. I can also see it being very nice to have a bag that fits the netbook snugly. I can fit mine in my backpack no problem but if I want to travel small and light this new bag might be nice.
And yes, when I was looking for a daypack type bag that is a bit smaller than my Tenba messenger I would have loved to stumble upon the Co-pilot and would have gladly bought it. But being able to swallow my Macbook was a main criterion even then.
I recently got an EC Compass baggie for purse and organizer duty, basically as a packing cube. Otherwise I must say, being the rational person that I am, all my bags trying to max out given limits. Some bags try to max out the personal item limit, others try to max out the MLC limit and yet others the checked limit. All of them serve different packing scenarios but all of them are sitting at or around a certain limit. OK, not all of them. Out of the 30 some bags I have 2 are intermediate sizes; one is a 24" duffel and one a 24" equivalent wheeled garment bag.
Obviously, for a severe luggage nut job such as myself, to talk about waste of resources when you get bags in all kinds of different sizes is a bit ridiculous. I can see that. ;) So for me, size is part of the packing scenario but not the most important part. I'm totally fine walking around with a bag that's a bit too big as long as the access, comfort, protection and look are suitable for what I packed.
I am keen to see what else they have in the pipeline. But I maintain that 1" bigger would be nice for the Co-Pilot (no pun intended). And so far nobody has disputed that the slip-through pocket and lockable zippers are indeed total Fails on that bag.
Again, I'm not running Tom's business but the sheer plethora of models must weigh the production time and resources used down a lot. Asian car producers (or watch producers like Casio) have long recognized how to build a wide range of products with good variation based on a minimal number of modules to streamline the production. The Germans have kind of understood that. And even the American car producers are catching up. But with TB there is not streamlining in sight. It's all over the place. It's really more like a fashion designer than a luggage company. The only way TB can rationalize this and use it for marketing is to say that they make highly specialized tools for highly evolved people who use those specialized tools.
I guess I just come from a different workshop. :D
Tom is a tall guy so he built big bags: The Aeronaut and the Brain Bag.
He also makes the Cafe Bags, the Large Cafe Bag attract the small messenger bag crowd and the Medium and Small Cafe bag, the purse crowd.
People shorter than 5'7" wanted travel bags smaller than the Aeronaut and backpacks smaller than the Brain Bag.
So Tom created the Western Flyer then the Tristar travel bags and the Smart Alec then the Synapse backpacks.
When the company realized that the knitting boom was sending customers clamoring for a knitting bag, they collaborated with Knitty magazine to design the perfect Yarn Art bag, the Swift.
The Stuff Sacks designed for skein and cone yarns, are bags of pure genius. They have been refined with the input of customers.
The Checkpoint Flyer and the 3D Organizer Cube were created to ease security check at the airport.
Customers and Forum participants asked for a reusable shopping bag and Tom created the Shop Bag, some wanted a bigger size Shop Bag, so, he made one.
As soon as a picture of a vintage Tom Bihn waist pack was shown on the Blog, people wanted a contemporary version, this is how the Side Effect was born.
Tom, Darcy and the whole staff at Tom Bihn Inc listen to its customers.
The "Mod Style" Co-Pilot is geared to people who need to have electronic toys everywhere they go. They are able to do so because of netbooks, e-readers, tablets, smart phones, small digital cameras and camcorders.
Due to the present luggage restrictions, the ugliness, dubious padding and huge logos slapped everywhere in traditional camera bags, the Co-Pilot has a market.
I love the fact that it can be girly but isn't, so a man can carry it; it can be customized to something else than an electronic gear carrier.
The water bottle holder had me see it as a cute lunch box, especially in ultra lightweight and spill resistant Dyneema.
It certainly beats the current offerings made of cheap nylon in pre-school colors.
It would make a great makeup kit for brides , which can be converted in a flash into an honeymoon kit, (with passports, medications, glasses/contact lenses, itineraries, emergency numbers and "other things")
It is the perfect size for front bike panniers.
I just love that little bag. It is so chic!
Frankly, I can easily see taking something like an iPad as a laptop replacement to conferences, or any situation where I'd just want to consume content and heavy notetaking wasn't necessary. The Co-Pilot as is seems to be able to hold a tablet/netbook with enough stuff to get through a day, plus is attractive, small, and light enough to not be much of a burden physically or have you looking like you forgot to drop your stuff off at the hotel. That's the vision I think TB has in mind for the Co-Pilot, and it's purposely not designed as a laptop or one-bag travel bag. I can't imagine using it as currently designed for one-bag travel of any duration in any case, although I'd like to see how Brad would fare using this on a trip.
That said, there is clearly demand (in this forum alone) for a larger version, and I'd love to see TB meet that request. With growing reasons for underseat carryons, a scaled up Co-Pilot would be a very nice option for one-bag possibilities.
People behavior change with each Apple' product..... Looks like Tom is ready for this change
Well, me.
I was 99% certain I would buy one, until I read this thread. Now I'm not so sure, and I'll probably wait and see what TB unveils later this year.
Those who carry laptops, more power to you, but my back and shoulders are getting older and more fussy about weight on them. I downsized to a netbook (a 10.1" Acer with a 6-cell battery) and haven't looked back once. There aren't many bags which carry a netbook which will also carry anything else, alas. The Gator was one such, even padded, but at nearly 2 1/2 pounds EMPTY, just too much to carry all day once full.
Right now I'm using a Medium Cafe Bag from Tom Bihn, a netbook sleeve (the Cache) and bemoaning the lack of a water bottle pocket. A one-liter bottle won't fit in the Cafe with the netbook and my phone in place. The Co-Pilot has one, and that's what sold it for me.. The separate phone/iTouch/other compartments and pockets are just gravy.
There are lots of laptop bags/backpacks/carriers on the market, but I think the Co-Pilot is about to corner the netbook daybag market. My lunch might be a tight fit (or no-go, if it's Subway) if I have books with my netbook in the main compartment, but all in all it's a better, more comfortable, dare I say more stylish choice than the Red Oxx Gator, which seems to be the only competition in this size class.
Don't get me wrong - this is not Red Oxx bashing. I have lots of Red Oxx at home. I just think the Co-Pilot is a bag in its own class. Look for me carrying mine - in Indigo - at an airport near you!
BTW, the Madison is maybe not quite as thought out as the Co-Pilot but it comes in an array of colors and designs, has splash proof zippers, too, and costs only around $40 if you can find it. The only downside I see is that I can't put magazine in there without rolling them. Still it has been doing great man purse duty in these hot days in Paris and Berlin when it's impossible to carry a jacket and one still carries a fat European wallet (our documents and bills are bigger and we need more cash), a camera, glasses and a phone/ Ipod. If I were to stuff all of that in my trouser pockets I'd look like a clown, if I were able to fit it in my pockets in the first place.
http://emiron.zenfolio.com/p666584711/h306981d3?customize=2#h306981d3
keithsnow@gmail dot com
Does the Co-Pilot fits in the center comportment of the Air Boss?
If it does, are there any pictures to see how much space it takes?
Thanks.
http://www.tombihn.com/forums/index.php
In the front I keep pens and keys wallet on one side, Snacks in the middle "water bottle" section, and a portable speaker for the O.R. as well as a small electronics pouch and wallcharger for the MBA in the other front section.
I'm very happy with the construction, fit and finish.
The fit is a bit tight for the MBA. If the bag were just 1/2" wider the laptop and folder would be easier to get in and out.
I wonder is a judicious amount of wall padding would add a bit of structure and protection to the back section without adding too much bulk.
I'm 6'4" and don't feel like this is a purse at all. It carries like a small briefcase.
I will also use it as a day bag while traveling.
A serious onebagger might make this work for a short trip.