Crumpler 'Very Busy Man' Notebook bag Review (Pics)

[coriolis]

edit(I knew I forgot something): Reviewed by A.W. in Toronto, Canada

First of all, before any explaining or talking...

One must go to the Crumpler site.

It'll be a good 5-10 minutes before you're back here to read the rest of this review though.

Here's the site: Crumpler!


You back?

Allright, after all that random fun from their site, which barely had any information about themselves, so I had to google around. Not much, but I found some infomation from eBags hah.

By the way, My Photo taking skills aren't the best(I've got butterfingers!)

Company Information

Originally Posted by eBags

Crumpler, developed by Stu Crumpler, is a slightly irreverent, high quality designer of messenger, shoulder and camera bags, brought to the U.S. from Australia. In the words of Crumpler: "Crumpler Bags not only look good, they are made good. How good? So good that we could ONLY EVER THINK OF USING DUPONT COURDURA®PLUS for CRUMPLER BAGS. And because it's twice as tough as regular nylon, 3X tougher than polyester, 4X tougher than polypropylene, 14X tougher than cotton and 600X tougher than that skinny bit in the bottom portion of your underwear. They are not the type to puncture or tear easily, they have airline strength straps and buckles and size 10 zips to make sure everything in your bag stays in your bag, always. No ifs, no buts: CRUMPLER BAGS are good bags. Thank you for listening and good night."

What does a Crumpler bag have that makes itself unique?

Well, it has DuPont Cordura Plus fabric, as well as "Chicken Tex" protection, size 10 zippers, rip stop lining, and heavy duty industrial webbing. Those make the bag virtually waterproof in all ways.

But wait, What's Chicken Tex?

From Crumpler's site, it states the following:

Chicken Tex protects Crumpler Bags from inclements, weather and assassination attempts. We take feathers, DONATED BY MIDDLE CLASS CHICKENS, who receive a tax reduction, and soak up all their all natural CHEMICALLY ENCHANCED FEATHER GLUG AND SMEAR IT ALL OVER THE CRUMPLER BAGS BY HAND.

WHEN NEW TECHNOLOGY CHICKENS COME OUT, IT'S STILL CLUCKIN' GREAT!

Err......

So, what's the bag you have all about?


The name of this model of bag, but this line has been 'refreshed', and It's now called 'Horseman'

It's named 'Very Busy Man', and from the site here are the specs:

Very Busy Man

BIGGER BUSIER BAG NO TIME TO TALK CAN'T TAKE YOUR CALL RIGHT NOW

Features:

Original 1000 D Cordura Nylon, Extra Layers of Heavy Duty Padding; Internal and External Zip Pockets; Padded Shoulder Strap; Escape Hole for audio or communication devices; Quick Release Buckles and Laptop Stabilizer.

Holds:

Up to a 15.1 screen Up to a 16 screen

Dimensions:

21.7x14.2x7.9 inches FAT, Massive

And it's indeed very big.


Bag sitting on chair and looking pretty (Larger Image)

Design

It's a great looking bag, from afar it doesn't look very big, but inside, this bag is HUGE! It has many pockets, and you can easily put many items inside the main pocket. It's kinda heavy though, but for this size, amount of padding and all, it's obvious why, and it looks heavier then it actually is.


A SumDex 15.4" Sleeve in the bag (Larger Image)


A SumDex sleeve, and a few binders.(Larger Image)

You have 8 Different colours to pick from for this model, and for all the Crumpler models, there are at least 6 different colour schemes for the bags. Outside it has a Forest Green shade with a grey sidings, trimmed by a bright orange trim. Inside, it is a somewhat baby-blue colour, which can not been seen when the bag is closed(Good for some people heh).


The Logo of Crumpler on the bag and shoulder pad



To be continued..

[coriolis]

Usability

This bag is great for carrying around, it has a very comfortable shoulder strap, which is 14" in length and 3.5" wide, as well as a 'on-the-go' quick release/tighten hatch for adjusting the strap length. And for the main design of a Crumpler bag, it is to 'wear' it, kinda of like a backpack, and not like a messenger bag. It's hard to describe, it's worn like one of the 1 shoulder sling backpacks, the Crumpler is angled on your back. I'll try to get a picture for this.

Not only can it be used for notebooks, you can use it for anything.

Looking inside the bag, it is VERY padded, as every side is around 1" to 1.5", and the laptop pocket actually 'hovers' 3" over the bottom of the bag, so if it's dropped, there won't be much, if any impact. I've read stories where people drop it off a small building and there was no damage. I won't be trying that for sure

However, this bag was 'made' for a 17" notebook, and right now, it fits the SumDex 15.4" like a spandex glove, which makes me wary if it does fit a 17".

This bag has 5 large pockets, and an large empty space for random stuff. Right when you lift up the front flap after unlocking it from the plastic 'clips', there is a zippered section, and once opening it, that is the main storage area of randomness.


Here, pens, watches, cell phones, keys, etc. all can go here. (Larger Image)

The zippers are very large, sized 10, but work well, as you don't need to feel around for the zipper 'dongle'. As well, inside the front pocket, there's another zippered pocket where you can store more things.

On the Bag flap itself, behind it there is another pocket, but it's weirdly placed in my opinion. If you unzip it while wearing, I'm sure all the stuff inside will fall out. I don't kow why this was put there, and I don't think I'll ever use it..


Another angle of the bag. From the top, you can see(Well, it's there ^_^ ) two more pockets which close by velcro. Under that is the main storage area for books, textbooks, binders, tshirts, Guinea Pigs...and stuff! Under that you can see a protective laptop 'holder' which adjusts on velcro so you can snugly put the laptop in. Near the bottom before the velcro that is the weirdly placed pocket.(Larger Image)


Conclusion

I love this bag. It's a great bag for all kinds of usage, not just for a laptop. It's also pretty discrete, as it's not as "ITS A LAPTOP BAG!!!!!!!!" as Targus bags(those are good too). There are many choices of other bags by Crumpler, for different sizes of laptops, as this one perfectly fits a 15.4" in a sleeve. It's cool looking, it's comfortable and it's one hell of a protective bag.

The bag is quite expensive, at stores, it's $160 USD and more for this model. The price is much lower for the smaller ones. Also, this model will be cheaper, as it is out of production, and 'refreshed' with a new updated model. But you can still find these bags around. I bought this bag off eBay, since there aren't Crumpler Bags in Canada, I bought it for $64.95 USD, and just under $85 Canadian with shipping and Insurance.

Where to Buy

Direct from www.crumplerbags.com

You can also look at their store directory to see resellers from your region.

You can also get it from eBay for a smaller costs, or if it is not availiable in your area.

[Andrew]

wow, their site is insane, i have to say although it's fun it fails miserably on the usability and access to information test. which is a shame since it looks like their product is a good one. nice review coriolis, i've heard you raving about this bag for a long time and it's great to see the pictures and get your thoughts. on it!

[LuckMC11]

that's a great review coriolis

[geoffrey]

Quick question Coriolis, would you feel comfortable using the bag without the extra protection of the Sumdex Impact guard?

[coriolis]

Here's the ironic part.

I have not received my laptop yet, All I have now is an old 14" IBM T2x series :P

And that does not fit the bag at all!

The Sumdex will add about an inch to the dimensions of the laptop, so It'll fit, I'm not sure if it's just right, but should be. I don't think I'll mind if its a bit loose, becase the velcro 'flap' of the laptop insert pocket will snugly hold it in place.

I'll add more pictures once I receive my laptop

[Hell Raiser]

This is the weirdest retail site I have ever seen in my whole life....I don't know what to think...I really dont. The school hymn's look like nice laptop sleeves..."school hymn"?? I don't even know where to start on that name.

But I don't know...I guess I'll consider these guys when I make my next laptop purchase. They might be on to something with this concept...or they might not. I can imagine some people might not pull out there wallets to buy something from a site with chickens and banjoo music playing in the background.

And when And Item is not in stock they show a middle finger??? yo...they didn't teach this kind of marketing when i was in college

Feels like half the features they are pushing are made up..I don't know what to think about them. CHickenTEX...comes from feathers donated by middle-class chickens who recieve a tax deduction for it???

what the hell am i buying here? lol

[coriolis]

But it WORKS


You should see their 'model' for the bag sizes....

[Vindicated]

Thanks for the review; I loved how you put multiple binders in there. Little things like that are such a big help (I'm a college student looking for a bag for laptop & 1 or 2 textbooks), yet even the “professional” reviewers neglect to do that half the time. There is one thing that’s still missing though, and that’s a model wearing the bag in a realistic environment (e.g. walking on the sidewalk or talking to a friend).

If you could get pictures of yourself or a friend wearing the bag that would be awesome. That way we can see how the bag fits and hangs when being worn.

[coriolis]

Here's an image that I saw from the Crumpler site but that one had nudity, but this one is from an eBay auction, and it's ben 'censored'



I'll try to get someone to wear it..