Got an e-mail today from a fellow Dell 8600 and Tumi Briefpack owner asking if I’d ever decided on a new backpack. The short answer is “sorta.” After the original postings I spent the following two or three weeks contacting every local retailer I could think of to find out if they carried the Dakota Computer Brief Backpack, which seemed like the closest approximation to the original Tumi for the widescreen world. Unfortunately, I found none. I did visit about a dozen computer and luggage retailers with my 8600 in tow to scope out which backpacks were available that offered a proper fit and adequate protection.
And the final verdict was that there were none.
During this process the strap on my circa 1996 Geoffrey Beene leather briefcase broke. Faced with an immediate need to purchase something else to carry my laptop, I decided that the best compromise from my list of requirements was the “backpack” part and picked up a Tumi Expandable Flap Computer Brief. The sleeve was snug at first but now my 8600 slides in and out smoothly, and this is a bag that can carry quite a lot of stuff. My only real nit to pick is that the outside storage is minimally useful — anything thicker than an iPod risks stretching. And I wish that it had red piping to add just a little bit of flair.
I do still think that the Dakota may be the ultimate Tumi Briefpack replacement for Widescreens, but without detailed pictures and specs I hesitate to buy something without touching it first. And if I hadn’t been pressed to purchase something quickly I might have waited for the Shaun Jackson BIG BackOffice to come out. While it lacks the carry-everything capabilities of Tumi, the former road warrior in me is drawn to it’s ability to quickly convert from storage to workspace in your lap or on any surface. I’m hard-pressed to imagine a better bag for actually using a computer on the road as opposed to simply transporting it.
