Tom Bihn sent us a little package with a few things inside to look at as well as the bag, below is info and details on all the products we are looking at today.

BigProfessionalDaypack:Brain Bag

The ultimate on-your-back, student or business organizer, the Brain Bag is designed to accommodate the optional Brain Cell or Monolith laptop cases to protect your laptop. The Brain Bag will also accomodate the Size 2XL Soft Cell, which fits 17" PC laptops.

The Brain Bag consists of two main compartments plus four external pockets. The small top pocket on the back is perfect for a wallet and has an inside snaphook for keys. The two vertical front pockets are large enough for water bottles or even a small thermos; both inside pockets are pen/pencil organizers. The left pocket has an outside flat mesh pocket for brochures, plane tickets or even a small U-Lock. Between the pockets are two lash straps for umbrella or a rain coat.

Both main compartments have clips inside that accept the Brain Cell or Monolith laptop cases so you can carry your computer or your books against your back, as you like. You can actually carry two Brain Cells or Monoliths, and therefore two laptops in the Brain Bag. Side compression straps compress the bag when it is not full and stabilize the load. The Brain Bag has a quality nylon/foam/nylon laminated pad on 2" webbing handles, contoured shoulder straps with sternum strap, and a 2" waist strap. The back is made of Dri-Lex Aero-Spacer mesh and is padded with 3/8", high quality, closed-cell foam.

If the organizer pockets on the front of the Brain Bag just aren't sufficient, or if you need to carry papers, folders, etc. and keep them neat, consider adding the Freudian Slip. One side will protect those papers; the other provides extra organization for pens, business cards, and small electronics or laptop accessories. The Brain Bag is made with fabrics that are coated on the interior with urethane for water resistance and treated on the exterior with a durable water-repellent finish. Over time these surface treatments can wear, leaving your bag and its contents more exposed to rain and snow than you might like. Nikwax is designed to replenish the water-repellent finish. It is also recommended as an extra precaution for your new Brain Bag if you intend to use it in an extremely wet environments. Nikwax is environmentally friendly and is not tested on animals.

The Monolith on the left and the Soft Cell on the right both offer the protection for the laptop inside the bag.

The Monolith provides all the super-tough protection of the Brain Cell, but in a vertical orientation. Your laptop hangs suspended, cradled in 8mm thick soft foam padding in a 4mm hard corrugated plastic insert that protects from the front, back, and bottom. The sides are protected by dense cross-linked closed-cell polyethylene foam. This offers the toughest protection you can get for your laptop in a case that is still light and minimalist. Just beneath the zipper on the top of the Monolith are two padded flaps. Your laptop will be protected from every angle.

The Monolith is designed specifically for use inside our two daypacks, the Smart Alec and the Brain Bag, which come with removable clips that secure the Monolith in place.

The Soft Cell is designed to protect your laptop against scrapes and scratches. It features an exterior made of durable 500 Denier Cordura and an interior of super-soft brushed nylon. The Soft Cell protects your laptop with little bulk added and is ideal for those who don't want their laptop case to make their loads heavier or take up a lot of space.  The Soft Cell is available in six Vertical sizes (5, 4, 4X, 3, 2, 2XL) and two Horizontal sizes (5, 2) to fit a wide range of laptops.

The Vertical Soft Cell is designed to slip inside our Brain Bag or Smart Alec backpacks, or most other backpacks. The Horizontal Soft Cell will slip inside our Empire Builder briefcase, or Super Ego or ID messenger bags, or most other messenger bags or briefcases.

Also in the package for us to look at was the ( From left to right )Tom Bihn Keyboard cover, The snake charmer, Freudian Slip and for those that don’t have enough pockets the Organizer Pouches

The keyboard cover is self explanatory, the snake charmer is a bag to be placed inside you bag to keep your cables separate from the rest of the contents, I am fond of this idea as I always experience the tangled wire situation when removing my powerpack from a bag. The Freudian Slip is also another handy option available from Tom Bihn that enables users to store important documents in for added security.

Not satisfied with the above well here is and explanation of the Guarantee “you can expect a TOM BIHN product to give years of hard service. TOM BIHN products are guaranteed to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original owner. If something goes wrong and it's our fault, we'll fix it free. Repairs due to normal wear and tear or otherwise not our fault will be done at a reasonable charge.”

They are also that confident you will like your purchase that they even promise that If you simply are not satisfied with a purchase, you may return it at any time for a refund of the purchase price.

As you can see this bag and accessories are looking quite nice but a lot of people may get confused on the fact you need to buy either a Monolith or Soft Cell to put your laptop in before placing it in the bag. You could have a complaint with this that I would like to see it stated more clearly on the Tom Bihn site that one of the 2 are needed for secure transportation of the laptop in the bag. Let us move on and take a look at what we have.

Next Page, Physical Layout Part 1 – Accessories