A bag for my gadgets?

[ChoiceStriker]

Hi everyone,

 

I know that many of you, like myself, are gadget aficionados. I carry a Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra and a GameBoy Advance to and from work every day, each in its own protective pouch and carried in a messenger-style bookbag. But in a few weeks I think there may be a third child to carry around - a Canon Wordtank.

 

I'm going back to grad school next month, and I'm planning on buying a better bag for my books and gadgets. I was hoping to find something that would let me securely tote my gadgets without carrying around multiple cases within my bag as I'm doing now. Does anyone know of a good bag that has room for books and things with separate secure compartments for personal electronics and things?

 

I'm sure many of you have this same problem - I remember some excitement on here about the Scott E-Vest a while ago. I'm just wondering if anyone has a similar solution in a bookbag format. I don't even know where to start to look for such a thing, so I'm interested to see if anybody has any suggestions for products or stores that might be a good fit.

 

I don't have many criteria, other than I'd prefer a messenger-style format, but I'd also consider a backpack. Some kind of crush-resistant pockets or compartments would be nice. I'm sure I could do without the GBA, but the Zen and Wordtank will be with me every single day, no exceptions. So I'd like to be able to carry at least those two. And I'd like to keep it under $100 if possible.

 

Anyway, I'm interested to see if anyone has any suggestions or what everyone is doing in a similar situation (I'm sure there are others in the same boat).

 

Thanks!

[Robot Monkey]

I sure like the BooqPaq3 (review here), but I don't have any personal experience with it.

 

You might want to browse these reviews:

 

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/gearlinks.html

 

-j

 

EDITED to fix bad URL I gave

[kelley]

sounds to me like you need a murse.

[ChoiceStriker]

Thanks Jay, I actually remember seeing that booqpaq a while ago and thinking it was pretty cool. I think a lot of it is going to come down to just getting my hands on something in the store to see whether it's going to work for me. It's hard to really get a feel for something from pics online.

 

"It's not a purse, it's European!"

[Orpheus]

I've got a Version 4.0 bag by LoopNYC. Holds my Zen, GBA, cell phone, and digital camera as wellas cables and a few magazines. Absolutely love it. The new Version stuff looks like shit, maybe they'll be changing the line up again.

[rustyjaw]

Anyway, I'm interested to see if anyone has any suggestions or what everyone is doing in a similar situation

 

Well, I'm not in grad school, so I don't carry books..although I do carry around at least one book most of the time.

 

I'd consider a ScottEvest for your gadgets and a regular bag just for your books. When I was in school I damaged a rather expensive walkman by smashing it with heavy books that were all in my backpack along with the walkman. Since then I've been skittish about carrying anything valuable in the same bag as 100lbs of books.

 

One nice thing about the SEV is that you don't have to remove it or go into contortions to get to your stuff...it's all right there (unless you use the enormous back pocket). You also don't have to fumble with headphone wires since they are inside the jacket and at the ready.

 

Last friday I got a ScottEvest 3.0 cotton (32 pockets!), which replaces my 2.5...and it's really a nice improvement in several respects. They improved the weight distribution, there's a wider variety of pockets, including a set that are perfect for GBA games (and a camera battery). The lining is way better than my 2.5. The internal wiring system is better and more comprehensive.