Bags have an essential place in today’s society, thanks to the excellent marketing skills by Microsoft, Apple, Google, Audio Technica, Skullcandy, and so on. Essentially, you have a ridiculous amount of electronic goods, to the point where your existing laptop bag is being cluttered up by a whole range of goods, from Galaxy S2s, iPad 2s, and the odd Siberia V2. After your laptop bag resigns to it’s fate, and decides to burst its seams, littering the concrete beneath with the shattered remains of your expensive gadgets, perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that you need something bigger, something better to house everything in.
Yes, after a long search through the bowels of the internet, digging around, nothing really suited my needs, for a ludicrous amount of gadgets, and the protection offered by traditional ‘Man Bags’ were very inappropriate, considering I could hear my laptop clink, every time I put the bag down. After abandoning this quest for a worthy bag, I checked the progress of a Starcraft 2 player from Taiwan, Fnatic.SEn. Searching through the sites store for a SEn t-shirt, I stumbled across the Slappa Kiken, a tyrannosauric-proportioned laptop bag.
Supposedly, over two hundred people were involved in the design process, surveyed and interrogated to create the Slappa KIKEN, offering an insane level of protection, and nearly as much utility as the Samsonite Scooter-Luggage. For starters, the outside flap of the bag can be replaced to a new design, with differing levels of functionality. The black-checkered flap above features two additional Velcro straps, to which you can attach a keyboard, or other, flat, hard, rectangular shaped objects.
The bag is primarily composed of 1680D Ballistix Nylon; being puncture proof, and water resistant. In fact, the same material was used in the Second World War, to protect soldiers from bullets and shrapnel. In case you fall into a pit of spikes, or a ninja throws a shuriken at you, this bag is potentially life saving (Ha ha). Otherwise, it’s more than sufficient to protect your goods inside from almost any external aggressors. The carrying handle is made from the same material, so despite your best attempts, it will be quite difficult to detach the handle from your bag if you don’t like it’s aesthetic value.
For carrying the bag for longer periods, the shoulder strap is also made of the same sturdy nylon as the rest of the bag, being attached to it with two really solid metal clasps, while a small movable pad ensures that the nylon’s rough edges don’t cut into you, after loading it up with all your tech goods. On top of that, on the rear of the bag is a sort of air-cushion thingy, in the shape of the Slappa hand. It serves as a buffer between your waist/hip, and the bag, taking some of the strain off your bones.
After flipping back the face panel, there are three pockets, one primarily aimed at holding laptop chargers, while the other two pockets serve as miscellaneous item holders, such as headphone/iPhone holders and travel adapters. After unzipping the first compartment of the bag, there are two huge compartments, a main storage space for holding from synthesizers to shoes to last night’s sushi. A second large pocket nearly takes up all of the bag’s space- serving as a document or Macbook Air holder, if desired. Two smaller pockets provide additional storage for smaller goods, like batteries or cameras, while there are four pen/pencil holders also included- in the even that you’re short on space, and unable to store a pencil-case inside.
The Second side of the bag has the padded laptop compartment- ensuring that your most important electronic device reaches it’s destination safely. The padding is quick thick, probably lined with even more nylon, and with a nice synthetic surface that won’t scratch your laptop. On the sides of the bag after opening the flap, are two small pockets on the left and right, to hold key items such as your wallet, or pair of earphones.
As an added bonus, two flaps can be completely removed to comply with TSA regulations, allowing your progress at their airport to be very quick and painless. And of course, all bags are tested to carry over 80lbs quite easily, with the strain being tested on both the strap, and on the bag itself. Pricing starts from around $120, but prices vary from location.
