Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice interior design, poor strap design, November 28, 2008
I'm always on the search for "The Perfect Bag."
The Belkin Ceylon shoulder bag is a respectable attempt- at least, if you're looking for a bag that can carry your laptop plus various other digital devices.
This bag straddles "Professional" and "Hip Techie" better than any bag I found so far. The color choices are great- reserved main color with an accent color that says "I have fun, even when I'm carry my laptop for work." The material feels and looks great. The magnetic flap means it stays closed while walking but I can open it during meetings with out any distracting sound!
The small center handle allows for this bag to play at being a "briefcase" and the self standing feature- wow, I never realized I wanted this until now. It's great- Keeps the bag from falling over under chairs while at a meeting or dinner!
The interior laptop compartment is soft and fairly well padded. It fits my 12 inch laptop (even in its sleeve) like a charm- would probably easily fit a larger 15 inch laptop, though if you use a sleeve it might be a little tight.
The interior pocket design is nicely laid out. One of the most difficult things for me when searching for a bag is finding one that comfortably fits both my laptop and my digital camera. The stretchy pockets inside keeps my camera nice & snug. I am also able to fit my nintendo ds, a book, and my mp3 player inside with no problem. The triangular nature of the bag- wide base narrowing quickly to the top- keeps things from shifting around- nice! However, there are no pen holders inside, which I think is a minus.
The bag has a cell phone holder on the strap which seems like it will work for most clamshell, non-razor cell phones. However, since I carry my bag diagonal over my _right_ shoulder down to my left side, the cell phone holder is on my back! : ( I tried switching shoulders but it just doesn't feel right- I wish there was an alternative version with the cell phone holder on the other side.. or a way to move the holder on the strap. In addition the holder is completely opaque- this is a shame. It's nice when the cell phone holder uses a lighter netting so you can see the caller id/time without taking out the cell phone. Also, I prefer cell phone holders use an elastic rim to hold their pouch closed rather than the velcro that this bag employs.
As for the bag strap itself- it barely adjusts length at all! This is probably the biggest failing of this bag. It feels like it's tailored for a slightly taller body type (I'm 5'3"). I'd really like to shorten the strap a few inches more so that my fingers can reach the bottom of the interior of the bag while I'm still wearing it.
Other people have mentioned that the bag seems bigger than it should. I think this has to do with the stiff nature of the bag that gives it its aforementioned standing ability. Basically the bag does not contour around the body, which makes it seem wider and may bother some people.
Despite the shortcomings of the strap, I've found that it feels very light on my shoulders, even when loaded up with my laptop, camera, etc.
There is an mp3 player holder in the top of the bag- don't use it in the rain because there's no way to secure the opening from water. : /
Finally, I sort of wish there was some sort of quick access mesh pocket on the exterior of the bag so that if I'm traveling or taking photos I can quickly slip my camera or book or ds in and out of that exterior pocket rather than having to lift up the large flap. I had hoped the mp3 player pocket might provide this functionality but it's too narrow.. but I suppose an exterior mesh pocket would detract from the clean professional look of the bag. I guess you can't have everything!
All in all, there are some features that really "stand out" in the bag, so if you can get over the strap issues, I do recommend it!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Laptop Bag, June 16, 2008
I searched all over the internet for a great bag and this is it! It's stylish, lightweight and has enough space to fit a notebook or a couple of small books, bulky keys, wallet, a laptop adapter and a water bottle. And it's inexpensive. I would recommend this product for anyone looking for a nice laptop bag! Buy it today!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great looking bag but has flaws here & there., July 22, 2009
This bag is really nice material-wise and looks great as a messenger. It definitely isn't your traditional laptop bag because the way it's designed, it's more for carrying something light and putting a couple things in - netbook & accessories come to mind. I would call my old SF Bag a "laptop" bag. I could carry a 15-17 inch laptop in its sleeve, a book or two, adapter & cables, some CDs, and a desktop-sized mouse in that bag no problem. Of course it was heavy, but the bag was durable and had enough compartments to store even more. The Belkin Ceylon messenger however is not designed for that.
It has several compartments in the bag but the overall slimness of it doesn't mean I could put much in. There are two "wide" slots in the bag with the soft fabric one being for laptops and the other for notepads/magazines/etc. In these two slots I can easily put a netbook or a 13-15 inch macbook no problems (though obviously the laptop goes to the soft fabric slot). The problem with my setup though, is that a netbook can go into the slot and I can put a book and some writing material into the other slot fine. A macbook or equivalent laptop however, than things get tight and a book probably won't fit in there. I brought the bag with me w/ the netbook, 2 college-bound notebooks, and a 1/2 inch worth of other notes to jury duty and it was tight.
Now that's my impression of those two slots and the bag in general. It has 4 pockets inside the bag - 1 that has a zipper and 1 next to it (both run deep), and 2 in front of these that are 'elastic'. There's also a zipper to the side of these pockets to "expand" the bag I think. I'm not too sure but if it isn't that I don't see what purpose it serves. Aside from the 4 pockets you have your general space to put other things in.
As like the other reviewers, I think the strap is designed poorly. The strap on my bag seems to always fall towards the front of the bag where the flap closes. If not that, it always seems to magically make itself go under to the base of the bag. MAGIC! Why is this bad for me? Well this bag was advertised to "stand on itself." The strap magically going under the bag causes it to tip over. Now why don't I just move the strap to the front or the back and solve this problem? Well.... there's the other flaw. The base of the bag doesn't seem to have enough sturdy/heavy cardboard (whatever material it is) to hold its ground. My bag always tips over and the only time it doesn't is if there's nothing in there. I think it just needs a heavier base or a sturdier foundation, otherwise it seems to tip over often. My bag seems to tip over the front. Resting the strap in the front doesn't prevent this, and putting the strap to the back doesn't provide enough weight to hold the bag straight up. Grr.
Aside from these flaws, another big one. The bag is made of a nylon material (i think) so like I said before, putting many things in will make it tight and heavy. It will also buldge out. There were times I could not close the flap on the bag or align the magnets to have it closed because the darn bag just kept buldging out and warping the flap.
Ok so it sounds like there's a lot of negatives but this bag still gets 4 stars. Why? I really dig the water bottle extension. Unzip the side pocket, take out the elastic band voila! Instant water bottle holder. Very neat IMO. Also there's a hidden handle at the top of the flap so it can be a makeshift "handbag". The strap is adjustable to various lengths which is nice but the best part of it is a pocket for holding a cellphone or mp3 player. Very neat again!
Now that doesn't really warrant 4 stars but why does it still get 4? It's because this laptop bag is a "messenger" bag from what Belkin describes it as, and because of that it serves its purpose. It carries just what's necessary and not too much in excess, and provides other neat utilities like cellphone & water bottle holder. Btw guys, if you can get your hands on the black color one you're lucky! I had a hard time finding a place that carried that particular color and ultimately settled with the gray/green.
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