Tom Bihn

Price	$120.00
Requirements:	15″ or smaller laptop
What’s Hot:	Built-in protection and convenient storage options
What’s Not:	Built-in compartment divider can’t be removed

I’ve reviewed my share of bag styles over the years: messenger, backpack, briefcase. In all this time, though, I’ve never tried a sling bag. In hindsight, it seems kind of strange, because really, who hasn’t walked around with a regular backpack hanging off one shoulder? A sling bag seems like a natural progression. To be honest, I’ve always found the look of sling bags a little questionable, though, with the asymmetry putting me off some. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be sold on the aesthetic qualities of the sling bag, but for those of you who like them, Tom Bihn’s Buzz seems like a great bag.

Despite my reservations about the sling bag style, the Buzz is probably the best looking bag I’ve seen in the category. The company always chooses amazing color combinations, oftentimes using colors I would never think to put together. The materials–such as the 1000 denier Cordura exterior (as I’ve said before, for those of you who aren’t synthetic fiber aficionados, 1000 denier Cordura is good)–are so obviously high quality, the bag looks very smart. This doesn’t look like the cheap sling bags you see on school children.

Tom Bihn does a fantastic job making adjustments to both the aesthetic and practical elements of the Buzz to take advantage of the different angles that come with sling bags versus backpacks, messenger bags, briefcases, etc. Visually, the lines of the bag bend nicely, suiting the angle that the bag sits at when being worn. In more utilitarian terms, though, the zippers forms arcs that make sense for easy access, and within the smaller outer compartment, the standard holder for pens and pencils, wallet, keys, etc., is angled diagonally to compensate for the way sling bags sit.

The main compartment is divided by a quarter-inch thick sheet of foam laminate to separate your laptop from your other gear. The part of the Buzz that rests directly against your back is similarly padded, which makes it both more comfortable and more protective for your computer, functioning as a built-in sleeve. The Buzz can handle a 15-inch MacBook Pro and other thin 15-inch notebooks, and of course smaller notebooks work just fine in there, too.

The other portion of the main compartment isn’t gigantic–the Buzz is only 850 cubic inches, so it’s for the lighter traveler–but should be plenty for students or most professionals. There’s room for a couple textbooks, a binder, or lots of files and folders, in addition to the notebook computer.

One thing that helps compensate for the Buzz’s diminutive size is that it features an iPod/cell phone holder on the strap, and another holder on the side. The side holder is listed as being for a bike water bottle or Nalgene, but I’ve found it also holds my compact umbrella nicely. I wasn’t sure if the iPod/cell phone holder would work for me, but it features a smooth material that should limit scratching, and has handled both my older iPod photo and a short, fat flip phone with aplomb. I haven’t tried it with other iPods or phones, though, so I can’t speak to just how flexible it is.

As for comfort, I don’t have other sling bags to compare with, but I found the Buzz comfortable. It’s essentially like using a messenger bag, as far as the sense of weight being distributed. The inclusion of a waist strap definitely helps with comfort when carrying a heavier load. As I said before, the fact that the portion of the bag resting directly on your back is padded helps, too, even if it’s just for your laptop’s sake.

So what didn’t I like? After all, I don’t want to be like those car reviews in the newspaper where every car seems to be perfect. The only thing I’d suggest is making the sheet of foam laminate used to divide the main compartment a removable item. For those times when I’m not carrying a laptop, it might be nice to have the flexibility of an extra-large main compartment. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of preference and needs. If you want a sling bag, the Buzz is about as nice as they come, with high quality, good looks, meticulous design, and a lifetime guarantee.

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