Brenthaven Mobile Urban Laptop Wheelie Bag Worth a Look
Written: Apr 14 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Invisible telescopic handle, Softdrive Wheel Suspension System, vertical orientation.
Cons: Expensive, Sleevecase would be better without the flap.
The Bottom Line: It may cost a few bucks more but quality of the product is well worth it. Overall the Brenthaven Mobile Urban is tough, functional and good looking.
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| powerpage's Full Review: Brenthaven Mobile Urban with Softdrive |
There are three discreet types of bags that people use to carry computers: shoulder bags, backpacks and wheelies. Being a shoulder bag user myself I was recently converted to a backpack after using the Brenthaven Mobility Backpack. Once I got over the initial fear of looking too much like a student I awoke to a new world of functionality I was previously missing - my arms and hands.
A shoulder bag forces you to use one hand or another pretty much all the time to stabilize and prevent your bag from swinging around you as you walk. This means that you cannot easily carry items in your hands while you tote your PB. Sure you can freehand a shoulder bag for a bit, but this is dangerous as it can swing around and upset your balance. A backpack liberates the hands and is much more comfortable on the lower back.
While pondering PowerBook luggage I decided that if a backpack is better than a shoulder bag then wheels are probably the ultimate. A wheeled bag allows you to offload almost all of the weight of your PowerBook to the ground, a huge back saver, but it also comes with some caveats: it is heavier, require some navigation in crowds and isn't meant for snow.
Some field technicians and sales professionals carry a lot of accessories and even multiple laptops on planes, trains and automobiles. If this sounds like you then the Brenthaven Mobile Urban is a wheeled bag that is worth a look.
The Mobile Urban (US$379) is the cream of the crop in wheelies. It has the ruggedness and quality materials that we've come to expect in Brenthaven products and looks good too. Most laptop wheelies that I have seen are ugly they look like overstuffed computer cases with a handle and wheels grafted on.
Not Brenthaven. Living up to their reputation the Mobile Urban is a cool wheelie worthy of your PowerBook. The model I tested fits a 15-inch PowerBook G4 comfortably with enough room for AC adapters, cables, a pocket FireWire drive or two and plenty of paper. But exercise discretion, it is easy to over pack a bag and even easier to justify because it is on wheels. I now take a minimalist approach to packing accessories: AC adapter, phone, Ethernet and FireWire cables, boot CD-ROM and one magazine. If I'm going for less than a week, that's it.
The main features I like in the Brenthaven Mobile Urban are:
1. The invisible telescopic handle, it hides when not in use and is tall enough for someone over six feet tall to use - with a fully extended height of 39 3/4-inches.
2. The Softdrive Wheel Suspension System is a pair of skate wheels that minimize the damaging vibration caused by sidewalk seams and other obstructions you roll over.
3. The vertically-oriented Mobile Urban rolls down the aisle of a commercial aircraft without catching on the seats. Something that can't be said for horizontal wheelies.
The matching Maximum Protection Computer Sleeve is one of the best in the business featuring a bed of high-density foam at the bottom of the sleeve to protect your PB during that inevitable drop. My one improvement would be a flapless sleeve. The flap adds more protection, but I prefer to zip open the bag and slide my computer in or out, the flap adds another step.
It may cost a few buck more than other bags but quality of the product is well worth it. Overall Brenthaven has impressed me again with their Mobile Urban, it is tough, functional and good looking. Available from dealers nationwide.
Brenthaven Mobile Urban
Model #3830
US$379
1.800.803.7225
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
powerpage
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Member: Jason O'Grady
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Editor and Publisher of O'Grady's PowerPage, publishing daily mobile technology news since 1996.
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