Welcome back!

I’m a sucker for great bags, so I had to get a Timbuk2 one sooner or later. The Commute XL looked like a winner – this Flickr image lured me into thinking I might be able to carry my work stuff and the D40 in it.

Thanks to the nice people at trekking-point.de it got to me quickly, and I could start loading it with all the stuff from my current bag (a TUMI backpack).

Unfortunately it became obvious very quickly that it would hold a lot less than the TUMI, and with much worse accessibility. That came as a surprise, as all the reviews online tout the massive size of the bag (when I unpacked it I checked if it really was the XL version…). Once you start loading the large fron zippered pocket with cables, charges and all the other stuff a roadwarrior needs, the inner compartment visibly shrinks. You can force the D40 in, but then the bag looks really stretched.

Here’s a picture of the bag’s inside. Go to the Flickr page to see my annotations.

Verdict: It’s going back, with a tear in my eye. The bag looks fantastic, and as a laptop bag only I would be really happy with it. Unfortunately, it falls WAY behind the versatility of the bag it was supposed to replace (granted, the TUMI was more than three times as expensive), so it would just add to the clutter.

What’s your take – do you know of another bag with similar features? I already tried the Crumpler New Delhi 620, but that was way too “fat” for my taste.

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