For a little more than a year my daily home/office commute bag has been the Tom Bihn 11

For a little more than a year my daily home/office commute bag has been the Tom Bihn 11″ MacBook Air Ristretto . This afternoon, I switched to the Tom Bihn Co-Pilot and this article talks about that decision. My Gear
An 11″ MacBook Air, with charger An Apple Bluetooth keyboard, in an Origami Workstation keurig vue case An iPad mini, in an ACME MADE neoprene sleeve A Moleskin planner A Sony RX100 camera in an ACME MADE case A Waterfield small cable pouch An energy bar and some Advil (just in case) An iPhone 5 My wallet The case for my glasses A pen and a stylus A chess book (that I wish I read more). The Ristretto
The vertically-oriented Ristretto has two compartments: The main compartment in the back, containing a built-in padded sleeve specifically sized for the 11″ MacBook Air. A U-zippered front pocket.
Although I loved the Ristretto and like all Tom Bihn bags it’s very well designed and constructed the bag presented two problems for me: First, its vertical orientation. When all my gear is packed in the bag, it’s quite tight in depth (from front to back). However, since it’s tall, there’s still a lot of unused (and unusable) volume in the top of the bag. Second, keurig vue offering only a single additional compartment, getting to my varios bits and bobs wasn’t efficient, requiring quite some “digging around”. The Co-Pilot
Although the Tom Bihn Co-Pilot is labled as a “carry on” bag, you’ll find it listed in the “laptop bags” section of their website, and that’s where I discovered it in my search for a Ristretto replacement.
The horizontally-oriented Co-Pilot has four compartments: A large, open compartment in the back, suitable for laptops keurig vue and tablet devices. In addition, this compartment has two, largish inner-pockets, suitable for cable pouches or headphones. (The compartment is not padded, and so I’ll keurig vue need to start transporting my MacBook Air in its own protective sleeve.) One medium-sized front compartment, located on the right side of the bag. In this compartment you’ll find a storage slip for four pens, along with a keystrap attached to an O-ring. One medium-sized front compartment, located on the left side of the bag. In this compartment, you’ll find a soft-lined pocket suitable for an iPhone, along with another O-ring. Finally, there’s an interesting center-located pocked, with a vertical zipper, sized for a water bottle.
In the main compartment , I pack the 11″ MacBook Air in its own ACME MADE sleeve, the iPad mini, the bluetooth keyboard (in its Origami Workstation cover), and the Moleskin planner. In the front-left compartment , I pack my iPhone, wallet and have a small Tom Bihn clear-cover pouch connected to the O-ring, containing some Apple ear buds, a pocket knife and a couple of USB thumb drives. In the front-right compartment , I pack my pens and stylus, my keys, my energy bar, Advil and a micro-sized Tom Bihn clear-cover pouch (connected to the O-Ring), containing keurig vue loose change. In the center-front compartment , rather than a water bottle, I keep the Sony RX100 camera and the case for my glasses. Finally, my chess book slides into a slip (which I didn’t mention keurig vue earlier) located on the very back of the bag. Ristretto vs Co-Pilot considerations
I’ve only had the Co-Pilot for a little more than a day, but here are some considerations I’ve already noted regarding the switch from the Ristretto. Volume . Even with nearly keurig vue 10% less volume, I can actually pack more stuff into the Co-Pilot than the Ristretto. This is due to its horizontal orientation. And with all my gear packed, there’s still room for more; it’s not a tight fit at all! Material . The Ristretto is made of 1050 denier high tenacity ballistic nylon, which is the default material option for the Co-Pilot. However, with the Co-Pilot, you also have the option of choosing 400d Dyneema ripstop nylon instead. I chose Dyneema due to its light weight about 30% lighter than the 1050 Co-Pilot option, keurig vue and still 30% lighter than the Ristretto. I was initially concerned about Dyneema’s durability, but now that the bag has arrived and I had a chance to touch and feel it, I have no concerns whatsover. Perhaps if I planned to drag the bag behind the jeep on dirt roads, durability might be a consideration; but for my usage, keurig vue the Dyneema should last forever. Efficiency . With four compartments, my gear is accessible with far greater efficiency. And that’s even further improved with the use of the clear-cover pouches. Now, I only carry cables in my Waterfield cable pouch, and then keep my pocket keurig vue knife, earbuds, and other frequently accessed items in two O-ring clipped Tom Bihn pouches. Flexibility . Whereas the Ristretto was pretty much only useful for supporting my home/office commute, the less-specific keurig vue and more-open keurig vue design of the Co-Pilot will allow me to use it in a b