I just bought this sweet backpack from the Microsoft store. It's got room for a 17 inch laptop (although mine is only a 12 inch laptop) and a hard EVA shell that can help protect my varied assortment of smaller electronics. Despite my actually owning three other laptop bags, I really needed one with enough room for all the crap I carry around. I mean, who just carries around their laptop? I've got:
- a laptop,
- power supply for the laptop,
- a Sony PSP,
- power supply for the PSP,
- games for the PSP,
- headphones for the PSP,
- an MP3 player,
- headphones for the MP3 player,
- a headphone splitter in case 2 people want to listen to the same MP3s,
- memory sticks,
- cellphones,
- USB cables,
- portable external hard drives,
- wireless mouse,
- batteries,
- four or five pens,
- Altoids,
- Advil,
- chewing gum,
- and a sea of paperwork.
All this crap takes up a lot of room. The bag I got from TechEd last year was great, but I wore it out with all the junk I kept stuffing in it. The bag WAS big enough to hold all the above crap AND a full sized book or two, and I usually filled it to capacity. I'd long ago purchased the blue bag I'm using now, but it's much too small. When I received my MVP award, I got a very attractive slimline bag, but it's not good for carrying anything more than the laptop and maybe a notepad. I refuse to get something with wheels though - I'd rather just get a small suitcase if I do that. Then I'd really be able to carry stuff around.
The best part about the new bag - it's free thanks to the generous gift of Microsoft store credit from the MVP program.