As I mentioned in last week’s laptop bag review (the Slim from Knomo), I’d take some time this week to check out the Lima Max from From Knomo. Unlike the Slim this one is a proper bag with space to fit your laptop.

The Lima Max is a 13″ cross-body bag that comes in black quilted nylon. On the inside there are 2 compartments: one for your laptop and one to hold all your other stuff. I was hoping it would be a bit more roomier; I managed to get my phones and wallet in, but it was all a pretty tight fit. On the outside there are both front and back pockets for stuff you easily want to reach.

I didn’t find this the most pleasant bag to use on a daily basis. Because of the vertical design, you have to ‘dig quite deep’ until you find what you’re looking for. Also being a bit on the short side, it felt too large for me; even though I’ve had bigger bags before, this vertical design makes it feel larger and not that suited for my length. I think if you’re taller than me, you won’t find it that much of a problem, but for me it really didn’t feel right.

The Lima Max is a pretty bag, but not one suited for my needs. If you’re only carrying laptop and papers with you, I think this could be a good fit. It’s a sleek elegant laptop bag, but if you want to carry a bit more, I suggest looking for another design.

The Lima Max is available at the Knomo store for £59.99.

I’ve been eyeing Knomo’s bags for a while now, and they have some gorgeous designs. I was lucky enough to try out two of their 13″ bags/sleeves: the Lima Max and the Slim. Next week you can expect my review about the Lima Max, today’s one is about the Slim.

I got to try out a beautiful red 13″ Slim. Knomo sells these as a sleeve, but I find it’s somewhere between a simple sleeve and full blown laptop bag. There’s one huge compartment for your laptop, but at the back of the sleeve there’s an exterior pouch, perfect for your power cable, screen adapter and whatever other small laptop accessories you carry with you.

The top part of the sleeve is leather, while the rest is quilted nylon. I love the quilted design; it looks great, but it also makes sure that your laptop is sufficiently padded and protected. And it’s light!

The Slim has a retractable padded handle that fits nicely in your hand and you can carry it around as a simple handbag (like in the picture above). What I loved though is that it also comes with a detachable shoulder strap that you can easily clip on and use the sleeve as a shoulder/cross-body bag.

The one thing I didn’t like was the zipper; it’s a bit tricky to navigate the zippers around the corners, making it a bit of a hassle to take your laptop out. I’m guessing if you use the bag regularly though you’ll get used to it.

For me this is the perfect ‘extra’ bag. If you already have a pretty handbag which you use daily, but doesn’t fit your laptop, the Slim would make a great companion. I used it this way last week, and while it felt a bit silly having 2 bags with me, at least I knew my laptop was nicely protected in its own bag. As a sleeve it’s a bit bulkier than most, and not the type of thing you’d put in another bag (which I normally do with my other thinner sleeve).

The Knomo Slim is available in 4 sizes (10″, 13″, 15″ and 17″) and seven colours (Black, Brown, Blue, Indigo, Red, Dusty Pink and Silver), although not all colours are available for all sizes. At £50 for the 13″ it’s on the pricey side for sleeves, but as a simple bag it’s actually a good deal.

As I mentioned last Monday, I’m starting a new recurring feature covering girly laptop bag reviews and the first bag I got to try out was one of Crumpler’s latest additions: the Russian King. It’s a gorgeous bag and I was completely psyched to get the opportunity to try it out.

The Russian King is one of the three laptop handbags that Crumpler has to offer (the Russian King, the Daggy Kate and the Dentist’s Wife… I love Crumpler’s names for their bags). They are all practically identical with a couple of small differences. The Daggy Kate is the standard handbag and comes in 2 different sizes (S for up to 13″ laptops and L for up to “15 laptops) and 4 different colours (dull black, black grey, dusty khaki and grey white). The Russian King is the same bag, but is the prettier leather version, again in 4 different colours (black, off white, bordeaux red and dark chocolate). Then there is the Dentist’s Wife, which again is pretty much the same bag, but it’s part of Crumpler’s luggage range. This means it comes in colours that match their trolleys, has a bit more padding and a different layout of pockets.

The one I got to try out was a small leather Russian King which will fit laptops up to 13″. It’s a beautiful bag, half leather and half Crumpler’s usual Tex fabric. The bag has two main compartments for all your stuff, with an integrated laptop sleeve in the middle. All 4 inside ‘walls’ (the 2 around the laptop sleeve and the actual two inner walls) have pockets, giving you tons of ways to organize your things. Two of the pockets can be closed with a zipper, two with velcro and then there are 2 open pockets for cards, papers and other flatter stuff. Finally there are two open pockets on the outside that are easily accessible.

I could easily fit two books, a notepad, my wallet, tons of smaller gadgets (2 phones, 2 chargers, headphones, and a Nintendo DS), girly stuff (sunglasses, lipstick, mirror) and still had space left. And with all the different pockets it’s so easy to organize all your stuff, giving everything its own special place. I couldn’t my bulky Nikon D4o camera, while the laptop was in the bag too, but any smaller normal camera could easily fit. I liked that there were outside pockets; they’re perfect for your oyster card and other stuff you want to reach quickly, but nothing too valuable that could fall (or be taken) out.

As much as I like the inside of the Russian King, it wasn’t as comfortable as I expected it to be. With handbags like these, you want the straps/handles to fit perfectly onto your shoulder. With me it didn’t. One strap would fit comfortably, but the second one just felt awkward. The straps have been designed to be nice and sturdy, but they are on a bit of a weird angle and are just too wide to fit comfortably. The bag also comes with an adjustable and removable shoulder strap. I tried it out, but again it didn’t really work for me; any way I wore it the actual handles were in the way. If you’re interested in this bag, I’d suggest stopping by the Crumpler store and trying out the bag for yourself. It didn’t fit on my shoulder, but it’s worth checking with this bag if it fits you.

The Russian King is a good sturdy laptop bag with tons of pockets to organize your gadgets. At £189 it’s on the pricey side, but not as pricey as some other leather laptop bags out there, and it is type of bag that will last you for years. If you find the leather unnecessary, you can also go for the Daggy Kate (£119) or the Dentist’s Wife (£109).

Russian King
Brand: Crumpler
Sizes: Small (for up to 13″ laptops) and Large (for up to 15″ laptops)
Colours: Black, Off White, Bordeaux Red and Dark Chocolate