Switch MB Brenthaven Bag – Review

 

Switch MB
Company: Brenthaven
Price: $144.90
http://www.brenthaven.com/

TAKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE
Are you tired of blending into the sea messenger bags and backpacks around you? Do you secretly desire to scream out, “look at me”? Here is your opportunity to show the world your creative side. With the, “Create your flap” custom flap design system <http://www.brenthaven.com/cyc-create-your-flap.html>, Brenthaven allows you to customize your Switch MB and stand out from the crowd.

The system works well and is fairly intuitive. You are presented with options for the front and back sides of the bag’s cover flap. You can select any combination within the offered selections (more on this later). In a few minutes, I had configured my masterpiece consisting of a G.I. Joe (side 1) and an Amsterdam (side 2). I also selected the Additional Shoulder Strap Pad for additional comfort and convenience.

DESIGN
The first thing I noticed about the Switch MB was the quality of materials and craftsmanship.

The heavy canvas material of the G.I. Joe flap is indicative of the quality built into this product. The feeling of the product in my hands was that great sensation you feel when you first pull a new product out of the box and immediately think to yourself, “they got this one right.” The Army green of the G.I. Joe flap looks great and feels rugged and durable. In the reversed configuration, the stylish color combination of the Amsterdam flap is modern and very distinctive. I immediately felt a sense of pride over my personal creation.

Reversing the flap to display either of the two design choices was very simple. Simply disconnect the two buckles, separate the velcro, reverse the sides and reconnect everything.

Storage is in abundance on the Switch MB. The G.I. Joe flap has many pockets for all of your smaller items which, in the OCD rich environment of Geekdom, must be separated. Under the flap, the Switch MB did not disappoint. In addition to the standard notebook compartment, there is a large main compartment with numerous options to place all of your bits and bobs. Additional storage is available in front of the main compartment as well. All in all, very well organized in terms of the design and layout.

As if that were not enough to meet your storage requirements, there is additional storage on both sides of the Switch MB.

Rounding out the design in Brenthaven’s legendary top notch fashion, is the back of the Switch MB. It is both fashionable and functional.

Incidentally, there is another pocket on the back if you just need to squeeze every last drop of storage out for that special trip.

FEATURES
Of course the big feature of this messenger bag is its customizeableness (is that a word?). The Switch MB also features Brenthaven’s Zero Impact (on your computer, the environment, and your health) system. As a user of other Brenthaven Zero Impact products, I have found the Zero Impact system to be of great value to my computer, world, and back. For a list of additional features, jump to the product page.

USABILITY
I found the Switch MB to be very comfortable and practical. The Additional Shoulder Strap Pad was a nice addition. The thicker padding managed the weight and stress on my shoulder without a hitch. The overall size and weight of the bag (when packed), was more than manageable. It should be noted that this is not a bag for carrying larger items. As a vertically oriented messenger bag (as opposed to a horizontally oriented design) there is a limit to how wide of an item may be carried. However, for your computer, cables, and some smaller items, the Switch MB will more than adequately “FIT” the bill.

As for the Starbucks quotient, the Switch MB racks up high marks. This beautifully designed, by me of course, bag, really stood out among the crowd of mocha drinking, crowd following lemmings at my local purveyor of all things Starry. For those who like to stand out, the Switch MB is a great choice.

MAKING A GREAT THING EVEN BETTER
The one area which, IMO, could make this great product even better, is the ability to add even more personalized designs to the flap design and creation system. How cool would it be if you could add your company logo or a personal graphic to the flaps? This would make the Switch MB a truly personal messenger bag for the masses.

MyMac.com Rating:
The Switch MB is another fine product from Brenthaven. It is comfortable, secure, practical, and customizable. What more could you want in a messenger bag within this class? Accordingly, I am awarding the Brenthaven Switch MB an outstanding rating of 5 out of 5 in our MyMac.com Rating System

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