Style From Down Under: Crumpler Laptop Bags The King Single Pros: Rock Solid Construction; Smart, Comfy Design; Rugged Cool Style Cons: Not Many. All Those Pockets Might Be Overkill for Some. In Sum: Awesome. Not cheap. But awesome. Pricing: $140 More Info: Crumpler US Site, crumplerbags.com The Part and Parcel Pros: Rock Solid Construction; Myriad Pockets; Street Cool Style Cons: Not Many. May be Too Large for Some. Style is Subjective, I Suppose. In Sum: Awesome. Not cheap. But awesome. Pricing: $140 More Info: Crumpler US Site, crumplerbags.com

by Noah Kravitz, Reviews Editor

22 May 2006

Those Crazy Aussies

Crumpler's "booth" at MacWorld San Francisco this past January was a crazy inflatable tent with a bag-toting monster guarding the front door. The inside walls of the tent were lined with the company's lineup of laptop-friendly messenger bags, backpacks, and computer sleeves. A current Crumpler promotion offers a discount on the purchase of any new bag if you show up at the company's New York City store with some top-shelf beer to offer as a trade.

The company was formed in 1995 in Melbourne, Australia, by two ex-bicycle couriers and a furniture designer. As Crumpler's PR literature puts it, the three guys set out to design "very durable (and visible) bags for bicycle couriers who really give their equipment a good thrashing ... Crumpler's spirit is rooted in iconoclasm, wackiness and irreverence (or is that total irrelevance?)," and yes, they'll really give you a discount if you bring them some beer. But it's got to be really, really good beer.

These guys are crazy. Their website is even crazier. And they make some killer bags more than capable of keeping your Mac notebook safe, sound, and stylish as you navigate whatever urban, suburban, or rural jungles you happen to frequent.

Tough as Nails
Crumpler sent us two laptop bags for review, a backpack and a messenger bag. Both bags are made from a water resistant 1000d nylon shell with a 420d ripstop nylon lining and feature webbed nylon straps, thick padding, and touches like oversized zipper pulls and large velcro pad closures that scream "I mean business." As soon as I took the bags out of the box they were packaged in - and waded through the various literature, PR CDs, and stickers Crumpler had thrown in there - I was impressed. Sometimes you know quality when you hold it in your hand. Crumpler felt like quality from the get-go - quality with a fun edge. But how would they hold up in the real world?

The King Single
The King Single is a backpack with an integrated sleeve designed to hold up to a 15" wide laptop, and so is best suited for Apple's MacBook Pro and 15" PowerBook models; two other backpacks are available to coddle 12" and 17" laptops. Crumpler sent the dark red/red/navy version of the bag, though three other color combinations are also available. The King Single features a removable padded laptop sleeve with a zip pocket and a grid of external organizer slots (for cables, flash drives, etc), padded main compartment with one zippered and two velcro flap pockets, and two external covered and gusseted zip pockets. In other words, there's plenty of space and pockets to secure goodies big and small along with your MacBook. Construction is solid throughout, and the computer sleeve features one of the cleverest, securest systems I've ever seen to keep it in place while in use and also allow for easy removal from the backpack.

The King Single is almost too good looking to take outside, but it's clearly built to be used and abused as needed. This bag would be equally at home in an office, airport, or hiking trail. When I put it on, I was surprised that the bag didn't weigh more, given its ample back-side padding, heavy fabric throughout, and the thick plastic buckles and accessory rings that adorn the padded harness straps. This pack is no featherweight, and while it's remarkably light and easy to wear given its strudiness and cornucopia of pockets and features, if you don't need all of that storage space and durability, The King Single might be overkill for you. If you do value space and pockets, however, it's a dream of a pack. Crumpler's choice to made the interior accessable from the rear-panel makes all kinds of sense, and The King Single proved to be easy to load up, carry, and access whether or not I had my iBook stowed away in the sleeve.

My only minor complaint with the bag is that the top-mounted carry handle is just a tad small for my hands. It's still quite usable, though, and that's about all I could find fault with here. The King Single is awesome. You'll probably draw some attention to yourself with a bag like this on your back, between its rugged good looks and the distinctive crumpler logo found on the front and back panels, strap, and zipper pulls. That's alright, though - people will be more likely to think you're a bike messenger or hiker than a Web geek with a MacBook Pro tucked away behind those zippers and pockets. One word of caution if you do take your bag out into the great outdoors: Water Resistant does not mean "waterproof." Crumpler bags can resist a splash or mist, but they're not going to keep the water out if you're out in serious rain for too long.

At $140, The King Single isn't cheap, but you'll get what you pay for. This bag is made to last a lifetime, and Crumpler stands behind their gear with a lifetime warranty on zippers, buckles, fabrics, bindings, and workmanship on their bags. Bag breaks? Mail it into Crumpler and they'll fix it.

The Part and Parcel

What The King Single is to backpacks, The Part and Parcel is to messenger-style bags: Tough, roomy, and chock full of pockets, zippers, and nifty touches. The Part and Parcel features fully padded main and (non-removable) laptop compartments, one external gusseted zip pocket with six pocket organizer, and three internal front pockets. This bag will hold up to 10 cubic litres of cargo, and is sized for a 14" iBook or 15" PowerBook or MacBook Pro. Again, other sizes of this style are available to better hold the 12" and 17" Apple laptops, as are other color combinations.

The Part and Parcel is a big bag, and had plenty of room for my iBook (or my fiancee's 14" ThinkPad) and almost everything else I could think to throw at - I mean, in - it. This is the kind of bag people tend to overstuff, as it makes you think you can "get away with just one bag for this trip." Crumpler must have seen the danger in this, because they outfitted The Part and Parcel with a heavy-duty webbed nylon shoulder strap with a giant hard plastic buckle and thickly padded, adjustable shoulder strap. I had no problem overloading this bag to the point of putting an uncomfortable strain on my shoulder and back when I set out to actually carry the thing, but packed to a reasonable limit The Part and Parcel is quite comfortable to carry. The courier-inspired "Third Leg" stability strap makes the bag more ergonomic by redistributing some of its weight from your shoulder to your lower torso.

Crumpler sent The Part and Parcel in a very sharp, subdued Dark Brown and Oatmeal color scheme that I really like, even if I'd be more apt to call the Dark Brown portions of it "Olive Green." The color scheme, along with the bag's overall styling and reduced number of Crumpler logos as compared to The King Single, gives this bag something of a more refined look. While there is no carrying handle on The Part and Parcel, the shoulder strap can be shortened enough to turn the shoulder pad into a useable makeshift handle.

Conclusion
What can I say? These are awesome bags. The King Single and Part and Parcle may be overkill if your looking for a featherweight, minimalist tote for your MacBook, but if you're in need of serious protection, organization, and style for your laptop-friendly "mobile office," it's worth your while to check out these offerings from Down Under. Like I said, Crumpler was started by two ex-couriers and a designer, and nobody knows the ins and outs of lugging cargo around in a bag like bike messengers. Crumpler bags are tough, cool, and full of features that make them a pleasure to hold on to. $140 might seem like a lot to pay for a bag, but when you average out over years and years of day-in, day-out use, it's well worth the money. Highly recommended.

The King Single backpack sells for $140 and The Part and Parcel messenger bag is $145. Both are available, along with the rest of Crumpler's bags and accessories, direct from Crumpler's website. Or find Crumpler bags at PCPrices/Mac.

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