Timbuk2 Freestyle Plus Messenger Bag

We have way too many Timbuk2 bags etc.. This thing is the perfect size for my purposes. Canteen style Nalgene water bottle, light jacket or sweater, all your basic other crap, and of course my iPad fit perfectly. With these daily essentials it is not overloaded or packed too tight. It does not feel too bulky while 'wearing' it. My only suggestion of improvement is that it needs the magnets that hold the flap closed similar to another of my Tim2 bags. The Velcro will eventually get less grippy and yes I can replace the Velcro but the magnet system is FAR superior. Loves me some Timbuk2.

The chassis of the 11" Macbook Air measures 11.8" across (this information is freely available on the web). The sleeve of the Freestyle Plus measures exactly 11.8" across, which means the 11" Macbook Air does not fit. With a lot of shoving, the computer only goes in at best 2/3 of the way, and then is very difficult to extract. I usually love Timbuk2 products, but come on... do some research before you construct and then advertise a bag for a specific computer. Otherwise, the design and construction are great. The bag is just falsely advertised as fitting the 11" Macbook Air.

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This bag fits the bare essentials well. I fit the following things in it and it will still close easily: MacBook Air 11", 1 Spiral notebook, pens, charger, kindle fire (small version), computer lock, small bottle of Advil, a few feminine products, ecig kit the size of a small pencil case, 3 flash drives, and ear buds. It is a very small bag, but holds what I need and nothing more (which keeps it light). The laptop sleeve will not accommodate a MacBook that has a hard plastic shell cover (like mine that has a Maclocks case screwed into the bottom), but I can slide the laptop behind the sleeve and then put a spiral behind it for added protection (which I guess the hard case would also provide to an extent) and use the sleeve for my kindle. (this inability to put my Air in the sleeve was why it got 3 stars instead of 5) The strap is well designed and wide enough to distribute the weight but not so wide that is impossible to use as a courier bag for me (and I am on the busty side). Also the Velcro is incredibly strong, so if you're lazy like me an don't always use the clips close the bag, the Velcro will offer moderate protection from things falling out. The bag fell of the passenger seat of my car and landed upside-down in the floorboards and the Velcro held--nothing fell out of the bag, even from the sides. I would like to see a few more internal pockets, but that would also mean making the bag larger, and the whole point of this bag is for it to be small. The styling is excellent, and I use it as a work bag as well, so it dresses up or down well.

To sum up: if you want a very small courier bag that is well designed and the biggest thing you need to transport is an 11" Macbook Air sans plastic shell, or an iPad, then this bag is an excellent choice. If you need to put anything bigger than that (even a clip board or Air in a plastic shell) then you should size up in your messenger bag selection.

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