You should try out the Waterfield sleeves as well (sfbags.com). Great stuff.

~Bill

Thanks for the comments and I look forward to trying out one of your bags to see just how well it works in action. The biggest complaint I have is that it still requires some action to prep the bag while en route. It sounds like the multi-compartment design you’re going for will be slightly different than the clam-shell design, so it will be intersting to see which one folks like more.

And, of course, there is the inevitable issue of the TSA not acknowledging their own regulations, but I’ll save that for another time.

Seth.

We’ve tested this bag and it offers the same protection as any other laptop bag with the exception of the hardshell bags which aren’t X-ray permeable nor cheap.

We’re pressing ahead with full scale production and given lead times will probably be the first to mass merchandise them.

-Ben Bosma
Aerovation Products

“How come I have to remove my laptop, but she doesn’t?”

“C’mon, I don’t have *that* much in my bag…”

“Why should I have to buy [Brand X (or Y)] just to keep my laptop safe from theft and damage?”

“That’s just discrimination!”

(Etcetera.)

Thanks for the comments. I am a bit of a cynic, and that comes out in my posts. On the protection issue, I’m hopeful, but the clamshell approach is still pretty annoying. It still requires unzipping the bag, which is half the problem today, but perhaps it will be a bit better.

On the profits side, while new bags will be purchased from one line or the other, there clearly must be some hope that this new effort will spur people to replace bags before they are really done, so there will be some spike in new purchases. I hope so, because it means that the bags really are good and will meet the TSA’s needs. I also know how articles get written and I know that the quote I picked was only one of what I’m sure were many things you said in the interview. At least I quoted the whole line and not just the “This will be huge” part of the quote. I hope for you guys that this is successful, because it means that the TSA has finally actually made things easier for folks travelling.

Of course, most of my concern is that the TSA will still manage to screw things up, since they aren’t really “certifying” the bags as part of this effort.

1. Regarding the protection issue, very good point. I think you will find when our final designs get out there that there is quite a lot of thought in them, and that people will fee very comfortable putting these bags through the machine.

2. Though you may not believe it, the revenue issue you mention is really not our priority, nor a subject we were avoiding. In fact, if you think about it, we already sell laptop bags… so if someone buys one style it is often in lieu of another. Of course we all hope to find new opportunities and grow our businesses–that is good for our employees and for our customers, and it is what any good, heatlthy company should want. But truly, our primary goal here is to design a problem-solving bag, and if it does well, that means it solved a problem. As someone who travels internationally and often, I find the screening process very frustrating, and (at the TSA’s invitation) this is a chance for us to help make a very bad situation better. Some people call it “doing well by doing good.” That’s what we hope will come of this. Hope that makes sense. We are a very conscientious company and–as cliche as it may sound–we really care about doing things right and doing right by people above all else. If success follows, hopefully it is earned.

Thanks for listening and considering,

Michael Hess
Skooba Design