Hello everyone!

I promised a review of this new offering from Renaissance Art several weeks ago, so here it is.

Ordering/Customer Service -- 10/10:
The ordering process was very straightforward. The entire bag is custom made to specifications given on a web form at the Renaissance Art web site. I picked the options I wanted, put in my credit card number, and away it went. All of the options were carefully explained, so I never felt as though I wasn't sure of exactly what I was getting. Renaissance Art took only one day to get my bag together and ready to ship. No incidents with the shipping. Overall, I'd say that they really are as good as everyone says regarding customer service.

General Impressions/Utility -- 7/10:
When the bag arrived, the first thing I noticed was that the leather looked much different than the pictures on the web site. Even my pictures below don't do the actual finish of the bag justice. I expected a smooth leather like it appears in the picture, but the leather actually has bumps and pock marks in it. I don't actually care for the finish much, though that might be personal preference. I anticipate that the finish will get better as the bag wears in, though it is certainly not what I was expecting and I was a bit disappointed by it. I was also disappointed by the lack of padding in the bag. Since this is a laptop bag, I assumed there would be at least some level of padding, but there is absolutely none. Finally, the strap, as you can see from the pictures below, resembles a belt with a buckle. This would be fine except for the shoulder pad will not go over the buckle and so when the messenger style bag is worn like it should be the shoulder pad is only on the very front of the shoulder, and not on the top (with the buckle digging in on the top). The good news is that the bag is basically what I was looking for -- a professional bag that can carry my laptop, yet still look classy while avoiding the typical Tumi-style "here is a laptop bag please steal me" look. The price for a leather bag of this quality is fairly reasonable, as well.

For reference with the below images, my bag specs were:
Laptop Messenger Bag
Snug fit for MacBook Pro 15", with Small-sized shoulder strap
Outside front compartment, extra internal compartment, no closures
The final picture shows the size of the bag compared to my Crumpler Very Busy Man, and my Timbuk2 small sized messenger bags.


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A messenger bag is usually worn at such an angle that you really don't want the strap pad in the center. Most laptop bags are far too padded for normal life - Crumpler being a prime example, mine is ridiculously overpadded - and I'm not too easy on my bags/laptops. The leather will break-in nicely, it will take a while but six laptops from now you will love it!
Nick

The problem with leather is that it is a natural material and therefore has bumps and pock marks in it. As far as the padding is concerned, I use a neoprene cover - Crumpler - The Gimp. This might work unless the bag chosen is the snug fit. It looks like you need a longer strap or that they should redesign the bag so that the buckle is fixed to the bag, but therefore not detachable. The specs look similar to what I would have chosen except for the snug fit.

I just gave away a Very Busy Man as they had really gone over the top with the padding. I am down to a Cheesy Disco for my MBP 15 and a Boomer for my PB12. Should I visit the US in the future then I might well pick up a leather messenger bag to sneak back into the country!!

I don't see your point. Scott said that the bag has no padding, and you responded by saying that Crumpler bags are overpadded.

My take on it is that less padding is a good thing.

Scott, it looks like oil-tanned leather to me and you will see more and more patina as it gets used, as you said. It definitely looks ten times cooler than the other ones. I use an inCase top-loading neoprene sleeve for my Mac, it works well and it's not bulky.

Thanks for the responses everyone! Just a note about the shoulder padding...I normally wear my messenger bags across my back (especially if I am riding my bike). I believe this is the normal location for these things, and the pads on the other bags fit well. However, what I am trying to say about this particular bag is that the pad only really works properly if I have the bag at my side, which is really uncomfortable. Of course, I could switch the strap so that the buckle is at the front and the pad can move further back, but honestly who wants to walk around with a large gold buckle clearly visible to all the world.

As for the padding, I guess my disappointment is mostly that they called this a laptop bag and then put no padding in. I have been hard pressed to find bags that are specifically made for laptops but then never put an ounce of padding in. It seems misleading, and the only difference between this bag and the more typical ones they offer is that they add the extra compartment to exactly fit certain types of laptops ... which seems like a fairly minor change.

I must say that if I ordered a specialist "laptop bag" I would expect some degree of extra padding protection - otherwise it is just a messenger bag that a lap top can fit inside. I suppose it is easily fixed by acquiring a laptop sleeve but it adds another step in bagging your laptop.
I only have a couple of Renaissance covers and have found them to be exceptional quality. I suggest you give your feedback to Art as he is always open to constructive criticism.

Thanks for the response! I actually just sent them a feed back e-mail regarding the shoulder strap and padding. Hopefully, they'll at least clarify some of these issue on the ordering website, or at the most make some design changes to really make the bag tip-top.

How can less padding be a good thing?
I use a Brenthaven bag myself because it centre's the laptop and cushions it in 2" of foam on the sides and 1" of foam on the large sizes. Than some hard plastic on the outside and you are a bit more safe from bumps, shocks and accidents.
But not padding my Macbook Pro 17.1" with a nice high-res screen, 4Gb mem, 500Gb HDD seems like asking for disaster. If not by accidental bump, than at least in time because of the forces that work on a laptops casing (and therefore the logic/motherboard) are quite severe when walking with a messenger bag.

I can understand that you don't want a big bag which is just a laptop with a lt of foam around, but no padding or just a neoprene zipped brief doesn't sound like a wise protection for well over €3500 of hardware, not to mention the loss of time, work and irritation if you need to replace it.

I have carried my Mac laptop for the best part of 4 years in a neoprene sleeve inside an unpadded rucksack and it would be hard to tell it from new. I walked everywhere and even stuffed my shopping in the rucksack every other day for the walk home, partly across country. I either didn't have a car at the time or chose to walk.

I now have a Macbook Pro that gets carried around in a neoprene case inside a laptop bag that has some padding.

The only time that my Mac has ever failed was when part of the motherboard died in its first few weeks of life.

I think we are all kind of missing the point a bit with the discussion of padding. The point is not to determine what the correct amount of padding is...the point is that when you find a bag that is marketed as a laptop bag, there is an assumption that there will be some kind of padding built into it. I would not complain about the padding had they specifically mentioned right on the order form that the bag contains no padding what so ever -- in that case I would have full knowledge of what I was getting. In fact, I ordered the snug fit for the specific reason that I thought there was padding and I wanted there to be very little movement in the padded pocket. Now, I'm kind of stuck even if I did want to get a brief to put the laptop in before putting it in the bag.

A failing motherboard is a bummer indeed. But better within the first weeks than after a year (if you haven't bought AppleCare My coworker has a MBP and that is a Core Duo, one of the first. It looks like it has been abused by the Marines. Dent in the top/side of the screen, dents in the case, he puts it in his leather bag without protection. I'm really puzzled why his MBP didn't die on him yet.

That brings me to DrScott's point, I think indeed you would need some padding in a laptop bag, else it would get scratched, dented and ugly.
If the leather case is too snug to fit an advertised MBP with even a neoprene case, I think there is something not completely right.

I'm curious what you will do about this. I can't imagine putting my laptop in a bag without padding. Will you try to return it in order to get a better fit for the laptop with a sleeve?

Quite right, Scott, my leather laptop bag came with a padded pocket that is also suspended in the sidewall to allow 2" between the computer and the floor when I set it down on its feet. I agree that Art will make it right for you if you're willing to part with it long enough for him to make the corrections.

To be honest, I would have had the same basic expectations.

They must have changed the descrription of the bag since I was last at their site, quite some time ago, and it was refered to as a messenger bag or maybe it was adventure (?), anyway at the time they didn't offer it as a laptop bag and from what I can tell it was a change in the designation only, the bag looks exactly the same.

I need to say, though, that I own a Moleskine cover by them and it is wonderful.

Tom

Indeed, this is different than the adventure or basic bag they offered previously. There is a new category specifically for laptop bags now -- hence the confusion.

I think that the pictures should have made the lack of padding obvious personally!

Have you seen the pictures on their website? They aren't nearly as instructive in that regard. Here is the only internal photo of the messenger laptop bag they have available...
http://www.renaissance-art.com/images/prod...ons_XSpaces.jpg

In any case, I just got off the phone with Art from Renaissance Art and it sounds like my comments will be useful for preventing similar misunderstandings in the future. Apparently I am one of only a few people that order the short shoulder strap, so that was the issue there (it simply wasn't really designed to have enough room to move the should pad back far enough). As for the padding, Art said they experimented with it, but in the end decided not to go with it because of changes they need to make to the leather to get it to work. Totally understandable, and I think there will be some more specific instructions regarding padding, and how to measure your laptop if you plan to use a neoprene sleeve to protect it. Cheers to Art for being a very attentive business owner that takes pride in his work.

I purchased a very nice Hartmann laptop bag a few years ago which did not include any padding. The bag came with a removable padded sleeve which holds the computer and this design almost caused me to purchase another bag.

However, I am now glad I bought the bag since I no longer carry a computer and use the bag as a briefcase. Maybe this was the thinking behind the design of your bag.

I agree; the pictures do not make it necessarily look like there is no padding. I have a leather laptop carrier disguised as a sleek ladies' handbag, and the laptop section is very well padded without appearing so visually.



Not to be critical of Renaissance Art, but has there been a resolution for you? Will they redesign your bag, refund money, or did you decide to just let the issue go?

Thanks for checking in on the situation. The resolution to the situation is basically that I let the issue go. I spoke with Art from Renaissance, and he is making a new strap that will fit properly for me, but the padding is pretty much impossible to put into the bag as it is currently designed. Mostly, I just wanted Art and the FPN community to have a fair and honest review of the bag since it is a new item, and I was never expecting any sort of resolution.