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PBZone Bag Week Review:
WaterField Designs' 17" Racer-X, Large Cargo, and Small Cozmo Bags

by Doug Landry

WaterField Designs

Price:	Racer-$139, Cargo-$209, Cozmo-$139
Requirements:	Shoulders and a laptop.
What's Hot:	Exceptionally well made, colorful accents, their unique style
What's Not:	Not much

SanFrancisco-based WaterField Designs is another small firm doing battlewith the larger mass-produced laptop bag companies by providingexcellent quality, design, and personal service. We're taking a look atpractically their entire line of carrying bags for PowerBooks. TheRacer-X is a square briefcase-style bag that can carry your 17"PowerBook and a good helping of files or accessories. We checked outtheir 17" size, but other than the size, they offer identical 12 and15" sizes. We also are reviewing their small portfolio-style Cozmo bag,which has a similar larger size as well. Last, we took a look at theirlargest case, the Cargo, a large messenger bag that has plenty of roomfor anything you need to bring with your PowerBook.

First,we'll address some qualities that all of the bags share. Each hasaccent fabrics that cover varying amounts of the bags to add textureand color. We especially like the bright taxicab yellow color that'savailable. The zippers are beefy and the quality of the straps, fabric,handles, and stitching is flawless. We went over every inch of allthree of these bags and could not find a single defect, inside or out.

TheRacer-X is an angular, square bag with a large, neoprene-linedcompartment for your PowerBook that is sure not to scratch the finish.Only the PowerBook is designed to go in this zippered area, which takesup half the bag. The other half is another zippered compartment forcords, accessories, or files. There's several organizing pockets insidethis compartment. There's one external open-topped compartment alongthe back of the bag to place a magazine or a few files.

The bag hasoffset metal D-rings to which the included shoulder strap attaches. Thestrap itself has a nice neoprene-bottomed pad to cushion your shoulderand prevent slippage. It should be noted that no additional sleeve orpad is needed to protect your PowerBook when it's in the Racer-X'scompartment. As with many of WF's bags, there's a neat design elementadded--the handle on the top of the Racer-X is a comfortable rubberbicycle grip that complements the overall bag nicely. It

TheLarge Cargo bag is a messenger bag on steroids. We should mention thisbag's unique touch first--the airplane seatbelt buckle that keeps itslarge flap secure. In addition to looking cool, it's functional;WaterField's website points out that it can be operated with one hand,unlike many other closure options out there.

TheLarge Cargo has a rigid plastic bottom so it stands up on its own. Themain zippered compartment is enormous, with room for your PowerBook, anovel or two, and all the accessories you'd need. There's a diagonalzippered compartment on the outside of the flap which is convienent forcar keys, airplane tickets, or anything you need close at hand. Underthe flap are two separate additional compartments for storage.

There'sa cell phone pocket on the side of the bag and it has a wideintegrated, adjustable strap with a removable thick neoprene pad thatwraps around the strap with velcro. The Cargo includes a set of sturdycarrying handles as well. You wouldn't necessarily have to buy a sleevefor your PowerBook with the Cargo, but we'd recommend it. WaterFieldmakes horizontally or vertically oriented sleeves that are a thin outerwrapper of neoprene forall sizes of PowerBook available.

At$209, it's certainly not the cheapest messenger bag out there. But forits size and style, the large Cargo is well worth the money. If youdon't have a need for a lot of gear with your PowerBook and aresensitive to the price, take a look at one of the smaller Cargochoices.

Last,the WaterField Designs Cozmo is a simple, elegant portfolio case thatis designed to carry a PowerBook along with the trappings of your dailywork. From the outside, you see a rounded, single compartment case withhandles at the top and colored fabric accents at the corners. Eachouter side has a thin compartment for paper materials. The interior ofthe small size we took a look at has room for a 12 or 15" PowerBook ina sleevecase and a few accessories.

The bottomof the case has a hard plastic insert so it stands up on its own betterand, like the Racer-X, has offset D-rings with a removable comfortableshoulder strap. The Cozmo is probably the best choice of the three bagsif you don't carry a lot of paraphernalia along with your PowerBook.

Eachof these three choices is a great case to complement your PowerBook oriBook. From the minimalist portfolio-style of the Cozmo to the hugeLarge Cargo with the Racer-X inbetween, if you like the style ofWaterFields' designs, they have an option for you.