As a public speaker, frequent traveler and overall geek, the bag I carry is important. My current tech bag is a Briggs & Riley Bag – it’s getting a bit worn and the straps lack enough padding.
I’ve had it for many years.
My back hurts when I wear it for more than an hour or so. It’s probably time to get another one. I’m not sure if the pain is from the straps not being padded enough or from the weight I carry. Either way – I suspect more padding would help.
I’ve been eyeing Tumi, but wonder is it worth the $400 – $500 – which is a comparable cost of a Briggs and Riley bag.
But then I wonder, should I pay $50 – $200 for a much cheaper tech bag from Target or somewhere else. Sigh….yet, Tumi, Briggs & Riley and other “high end bags” have style, form and function – which I like.
I reached out to my Facebook friends to get their insight on which bag to purchase.
Carland Wright suggested North Face – definitely durable, low cost but not a line of bags that look good with a suit and tie. Serenity Baldwin is a North Face voter too.
John Lawson (ColderICE) – e-commerce expert and speaker – suggested a Swiss Gear bag from Target. He bought one on sale for $30. Their line of bags look pretty good.
Jenny Baio suggested a customizable bag from Vans.
Bryan Eisenberg said that Ebags is a good option. They take good bag designs and make their own bags – but cheaper. I’ll check them out.
Jon Ferrara, founder of Nimble (social CRM software) and Mario Kroll (gaming consultant and more) said to go with Thule. Thule bags are light and strong, Jon says.
Jay Baer, global speaker and online marketer and author of Hug Your Haters is a fan of Piquadro. I never heard of this brand – but if Jay likes them – they must be pretty good.
Steve Strauss is in the Tumi camp! PR consultant Haim Hass switched from Briggs & Riley to Tumi.
Sylvia De Gusto, is an executive image consultant and her expert opinion is that a well dressed man should not be wearing a backpack.
Robert Patterson of Progressive Computing, says that Incase is his brand of choice for backpacks.
Ellen Williams said that if my back was hurting I needed to ditch my back pack and use an option that would not hurt my back. Ron Fleming said that he uses a wheeled bag.
On the other hand, Virginia Steinberg said that with her back pain, it was suggested a backpack might be best to more evenly balance what she needs to carry.
Richard Marker said that book bags work well – but uses a wheeled bag if it’s heavier than a laptop computer.
