It seems like when you watch movies where there are scientists out in the field, they inevitably have a hard-case laptop bag that they just set on a rock and open up. Boom, laptop! Well, those big ol’ chrome suitcases may look cool, but they’re a bit unwieldy. Better to get something a little smaller and softer, yet robust enough to withstand a few kicks. The Viper from Booq (not to be confused with the harder Vyper) seems to fit the bill.
I’ll be checking one of these out soon, which will be a big change from my usual shoulder-bag tendencies. Personally, I’m just excited to get out in the wilderness or something, and suddenly set this thing down on a log and open it up — no thanks guys, I’m just going to play Megaman 2 for a while without taking the laptop out of the bag, you go on ahead without me.
The Viper is available now, in sizes that fit both 15″ and 17″ laptops.
Their bags used to be really good quality but the last one I bought was noticeably worse than in the past. Perhaps they sent manufacturing over to China or something. There was uneven stitching and some loose threads. Will never buy another one.
I bought a BOA CASE M this summer and was really looking forward to it. The handle broke on the very first day. I looked closely and the attachment was incredibly weak. No more Booq for me.
To their credit, they promptly refunded the order. I got a North Face laptop bag (Agent) instead and have been very happy.
I’ll be sure to check that out on the Viper.
So how do you not fry your computer?
I had an earlier model and my shoulder strap pulled away from the bag. I had one side fixed locally, and then the other side started to go. For what I paid I expected higher quality. As good as these look I’ll never buy Booq again.