During Jerry’s and my meeting with Kensington during CES, I had ample opportunity to admire their new Contour Balance line. As described on their site:

With lightweight microfiber materials, sleek organization, Contour features to minimize strain, concealed pockets and DropShield® notebook padding for protection, these cases doesn’t compromise form for function and style.

One of my wistful complaints at the time was that a bag was not available to fit my 17″ Toshiba. While there still isn’t a bag large enough for “value-sized” laptops, it no longer matters quite so much to me since I now own a 15″ MacBook Pro. When I was offered the chance to take a look at their Contour Balance Notebook Case, it took me all of 30 seconds to respond “brown, please.”

front side

One the bag arrived, it was just as I remembered: trim, feminine, and loaded with features. Make no mistake about it, this is no plane brown wrapper; white stitching is used to break up the monochrome brown, and a complimentary pattern of brown interlocking ovals and rounded rectangles cover the contrasting beige microfiber material.

Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

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Last month Alison wrote asking about laptop bags which could also hold a DSLR with accessories for her upcoming trip, and one of the first things I said in my reply was that most of the ones I had seen were a bit drab, especially considering how much I know she loves color. See, that’s the thing about Alison - she and I will ooh and ahh over purses and laptop bags together, but invariably I will find myself contemplating the brown ones, whereas she will be drawn to the purple or aqua ones; that girl loves color!

So back to my story. The next morning, after doing a bit more research, Alison sent me a link to the Crumpler Europe site where she had found a bag that we both immediately began to salivate over: the Crumpler Limited Leather Daily. Available in black & dark gray, dark brown & dark orange, dark red & white…and the magnificent combo of off white & dark green, the Limited Leather Daily is a big, bold bag. Needless to say, we both wanted one; Alison made me promise that if I got one it wouldn’t be a brown one - even though I thought the dark brown & dark orange one looked pretty good.

The Limited Leather Daily is not available on the US Crumpler site (which is why I didn’t even know it existed), and the price displayed on the European site was a little bit distressing considering that the British Pound is basically worth twice an American Dollar. That Alison is a crafty woman however, she started bargain hunting and found them on another UK site for substantially less with free shipping (UK only). Even after paying for shipping from Alison to me, I got off for less than the listed retail. After impatiently waiting for what seemed like forever (but was really only a couple of weeks), my off white & dark green Limited Leather Daily arrived.

Gorgeous, isn’t it?

Instead of the rubber Crumpler logo which we have all come to expect, this limited edition has a shiny metal badge.

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Q. Hi Judie

I hope you’re well. Knowing that you’re the expert for bags of all shapes and sizes, I thought I’d submit a Dear Gear Diary question to see if you can help me.

I’m going on vacation in a few weeks and security regulations in the UK only allow for one piece of hand luggage. The maximum dimensions allowed are 22” x 17.5” x 9.85”.

Within this one piece of hand luggage I need to accommodate passport and tickets, wallet, ipod and headphones, cellphone etc, plus my 13” Macbook and my Canon DSLR with battery grip and 2 lenses (one of which is quite large). I’d like a bag with compartments to protect all of my gadgets, but obviously I want to keep the size down as the measurements are pretty restricted. On top of all of this, I’d really like a bag that looks nice too, but that’s a secondary thought.

Does anyone have a good recommendation for me? My current laptop bag is very nice, but doesn’t fit my camera. All suggestions gratefully received!

Cheers!
Alison

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Part of the lure of a being on holiday is the ability to get away from all of your tech distractions. But if you’re reading this site, then you’re probably like me and derive an inordinate amount of enjoyment from having all of your toys and gadgets with you wherever you go. There’s a lot to be said for putting your smartphone, MP3 player, digital camera or laptop away in order to be able to fully soak in your surroundings, but when used in moderation, I think gadgets can actually enhance your travel experience.

There are all sorts of considerations to take into account when travelling with your tech toys. Will it have enough storage for all my photos and music? Is it durable enough to handle the rigours of the road? Will the battery last me until the next time I get to a power outlet? And what happens if my bag gets stolen?

Gadget insurance is something I’ll cover in another post, but the rest of the concerns are easily take care of with the right tech and accessories.

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Trust me, I’m really trying my best to quit hauling around so many gadgets in my backpack. A 13” MacBook, power cable, mouse, 2 pens, iPod, iMuffs wireless headphone, JawBone headset, a smartphone of the week, Tekkeon battery charger, various cables, business cards and a legal pad are my bare minimums. Oops! I forgot the digital camera! What was I thinking! I stuff all of these items in my Swiss Army backpack to and from work. Of course I throw in a couple of books, a brown bag lunch, gloves, stocking cap, and many more items. The other day, I saw my reflection in a glass window. I looked like a modern day pack mule. It’s time to slim things down!

Last month I was in California for a conference located in the same hotel. It was precisely then that I had the perfect use for the LAbesace CLASSIC. Let’s take a look at this laptop bag designed for the 13” MacBook.

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Well, even though my sample Skooba Skreener didn’t come before my business trip last November, it did come in time for the various holiday nonsense, so I was able to give it a good workout.

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I’ve been reviewing Mobile Edge laptop bags for a few years, and the one thing that has always impressed me about their products was that they are an amazing value for the money. Not only do Mobile Edge bags look very good, they also hold up well, and they are always affordable. Another way that Mobile Edge continues to impress me is because they have been donating to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for some time, through sales of their Caring Case Collection.

But I didn’t realize that Mobile Edge had been donating to the Komen Foundation for four years, and that their donations have now topped $250,000.00!

This is simply amazing, and I thought it deserved a mention here.

If want to support a worthwhile charity while carrying a gorgeous laptop bag, then be sure to take a look at Mobile Edge’s Caring Collection.

The full press release follows…

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When Sarah and I traveled to Amsterdam, I was trying to travel with the lightest gear possible, so I brought along my HP TX1327 which easily fit into a sleeve inside my carry on. But when Jerry and I went to CES, I wanted to bring the laptop I most enjoy writing on - the Toshiba X205. Now here’s the thing: the X205 is a 17″ beast, and I knew that it wasn’t a laptop I would be toting on the floor or bringing to meetings; I just wanted my laptop in the hotel room, waiting for me at night when I was ready to write daily recaps. So what I needed to make the trip was a carry-on bag large enough to accommodate my laptop and hopefully carry other items, too.

I soon found out that there really aren’t that many bags which can handle such a tall order, as it would seem most bags cap out at the 15.4″ screen size, but I did find one - the Targus 17″ Trademark II Overnight Roller. It wasn’t only a laptop carrier, it was also made to carry a couple changes of clothing!

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I was eager to review the Mobile Edge /Maddie Powers Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag, because it is one of the most original I’ve ever seen. Combining the extremely well executed features we have come to expect from Mobile Edge with the sassy iconic images Maddie Powers’ designs borrow from 1940s and 50s pulp fiction magazines, the Cutebug Laptop Messenger Bag is one hot tamale.

Check it out…

photo courtesy of Mobile Edge

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It’s not often that I get to do decidedly “girly” laptop bag reviews, but this week I have two of them to write about…lucky me! And lucky for all of you women who come to Gear Diary, as well as your significant others. Need I mention that Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching, and nothing says “I love you” more than a gift that will be used every day, one that celebrates and accentuates the feminine goddesses that we are. Well, jewelry works, too, but I digress.

Today we are going to take a close look at the Skooba Design Skooba Satchel 2.0 Luxe, a decidedly ladylike version of the popular Skooba Satchel 2.0. Composed of light gray Ultrasuede with pink nylon trim, the Luxe is much more than a pretty face. Let’s take a look…

photo courtesy of Skooba Design

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