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The Road Warrior Review - Pacific Design Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag

Pacific Design of Austin, Texas is a relatively new player in the computer and iPod case market, but if their Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag is any indicator, they're a force to be reckoned with.

The combination of practical-minded design and imaginative innovation put me in mind off the excellent line of computer cases formerly manufactured by Willow Design. Back when I would receive a new Willow product to review, it was always fun to explore the clever design touches that had been implemented. I got essentially the same vibe from this Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag, which is the first Pacific Design product I’ve reviewed but I hope note the last.

My first impression was that the very reasonably priced Ruckus bag is an attractively fresh and stylish variation on the familiar messenger bag theme. Our review unit came in sleek-looking Bold Black/Slate Grey/Pearl Grey livery, but two other tri-color schemes are available including Rose White/ Granite Grey/ Posey Pink, and Olive/Bold Black/Super Yellow. All are attractive, and make the Ruckus stand out from the crowd.

The bag’s front closure flap is emblazoned with the Ruckus logo in two shades of gray on our test unit. This creates an interesting and eye-catching look, but some might consider it a bit too sporty and “non-serious” for certain office and professional environments. Also on the outer face of the foldover flap is a moisture-resistant pocket with a translucent window that lets you see what’s inside.

On the back side of the bag is a 5/6-width generously padded pocket with Velcro closure, which will accept wide and a relatively shallow items, but is not deep enough to accommodate magazines or file folders without them protruding.

The right-hand side of the bag is what Pacific Design calls a “Luxury Items Pocket” which has a zipper closure and is felt lined to protect easily-scratched items. The shape of the pocket suggests sunglasses as possible contents. Opposite, on the Ruckus’s right hand side is a “Water Bottle Pocket,” open at the top but with a vertical zipper opening that allows an internal elasticized gusset of strong nylon to expand. I didn’t have an appropriately-sized water bottle to try in it, but it nicely accommodated in a Contour mini-mouse in its plastic travel case very neatly.

The closure flap is secured with a good sized polycarbonate quick-release snap, and its inner face is lined with contrasting-color nylon fabric bearing the Ruckus logo. The under-flap front panel of the bag has a transparent business card pocket, three elastic pen loops, a small zipper closure pocket, and a translucent window that allows you to see the contents of the Internal iPod pocket. There is also a port for your iPod’s earphone cables to pass through so that you can listen to your ‘Pod in situ.

Inside, the Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag’s large front organizer compartment does have plenty of room for stuff like magazines and file folders. On the inner side of the front panel is the aforementioned iPod pocket with a Velcro-closure nylon as security strap, three open nested pockets in the middle, and a quick- access zipper-closure compartment for a laptop power adapter.

The back inner wall of the front compartment has three more nested open pockets - somewhat smaller, a Velcro-closure center pocket with accordion expansion, and a handy key fob snap.

The computer compartment occupies the back half of the bag, with what feels like about one quarter inch thick EVA foam padding inside the partition separating it from the front compartment, and the same on the back wall, augmented by the aforementioned padded back outer pocket. The end panels of the computer compartment are also padded, with at about one half-inch clearance between them and the outer side panels of the Ruckus Messenger. Armored padding on the case bottom and a padded inner fold-over flap with a large Velcro closure complete the picture the computer 360 degree protection from bumps and knocks. The computer compartment is lined with nylon fabric and is large enough to accept a 15-inch MacBook Pro or PowerBook , so my 12” iBook slipped in easily.

The Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag is about four inches thick, weighs less than 2.5 pounds empty, and Pacific Design claims that is up to 30 percent lighter than unspecified “other laptop bags.” Since I mentioned Willow Design cases at the beginning of this article, I compared the Ruckus to a Willow Walmopizstreet Slipcase whose computer compartment is an inch narrower, and which has no front compartment, and the considerably more commodious Ruckus is indeed somewhat lighter. Suffice to say that it’s comfortably light.

The Ruckus bag has an adjustable shoulder-strap of two inch wide nylon webbing with a large and generously-upholstered removable shoulder-pad. One criticism is that the shoulder strap is not detachable, which makes carrying the case in briefcase mode with the attached briefcase handle a bit clumsy, although you can gather up the slack of the shoulder strap inside the shoulder pad (which has a quick-opening Velcro closure) to keep it from flopping lose. The briefcase handle it is attached to the back panel rather than the center of the case, which tends to hang at about a 30 degree angle from vertical rather than straight, making it looked a bit awkward, and the handgrip is a smaller diameter (about one half-inch) than is ideal for comfort, especially if the case is heavily loaded. The mountain bike handgrip used on Waterfield Racer X Messenger bags is a better solution. However, it’s obvious that this bag is primarily intended to be carried with the shoulder strap, and the briefcase handle is just in there for added convenience.

I couldn’t really find much else to complain about. The Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag seems to be well-constructed with quality materials, neat stitching, and a generally high standard of finish. It looks great and is definitely distinctive in a tastefully but lighthearted and stylish way. I would categorize it as a seriously practical container for your laptop and associated paraphernalia that doesn’t take itself to seriously, and evokes a refreshing joie de vivre. If that sounds like your outlook on life, then this could be the laptop bag for you.

Customers who register their Ruckus products at http://www.pacificdesign.com will receive a free removable cell phone/iPod pouch.

Features:
Dimensions 16” x 12” x 4”
Weight / Volume 2.4 lbs / 670 cubic inches
Material Nylon face; breathable mesh back

Computer Compartment
• Maximum Laptop Size: 2” x 14.4” x 11”
• 360-degree laptop protection with wide, padded secure strap

Organizer Compartment
• AC/Cable zipper pouch
• Padded secure pocket for cell phone or MP3 player, with molded rubber headphone port
• Clear ID pocket, pen holders, 3 slots for wallet items

Additional Features
• Side-access velvet-lined Luxury Items pocket
• Semi-transparent, water-resistant front zipper pocket
• Water bottle holder
• Formed base helps pack resist tipping over, even when empty

Colors
Olive/Bold Black/Super Yellow
Rose White/ Granite Grey/ Posey Pink
Bold Black/Slate Grey/Pearl Grey

The Ruckus Laptop Bag Collection is available at various North American retailers including Sony Canada (now) and Staples (January 2007), or online at http://www.ebags.com , http://www.cdw.com , and http://www.pacificdesign.com , which launched a commerce-enabled website in November.

The Ruckus Laptop Messenger Bag sells for $59.95 (currently on sale for $53.95, and qualifies for free shipping).

Pacific Design is a certified Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE). For more information, visit http://www.pacificdesign.com or call 888-797-8755.

Product page:
http://www.pacificdesignstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=271

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