<a href="http://www.pacdesigns.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.pacdesigns.com/</a><p>The site is ugly and unusable, but the bags are absolutely stellar. I have the Pro Ultimate and I use it with my 17" unibody Macbook Pro in a Booq Viper ballistic nylon sleeve. I used to use top of the line Booq bags and ditched them entirely for the Ultimate Pac Bag. It's 3-4 layers with truck tarpoline liner in the middle. The fabric is Dupont Cordura Plus, which is the best you can get. The bag is very very waterproof. I've been caught outside biking home in thunderstorms with torrential downpours and I got home with the contents of my bag completely dry.<p>If you get one of the two biggest models, opt for the secret compartment. It's so well hidden that I had to contact the company to find out where it was on the bag.<p>If you anticipate weight, definitely get the x-strap option. You can carry a small child or medium-sized dog comfortable in one of these bags. See this image: <a href="http://www.pacdesigns.com/images/offtoworkpac.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://www.pacdesigns.com/images/offtoworkpac.jpg</a><p>It's not a cheap bag, but I have no doubt that I'll have this thing 10-20+ years from now. It is rock solid.
Bullfrog Carrier Bag from Brooklyn Industries: <a href="http://www.brooklynindustries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/_/Carrier-Bullfrog-Bag/productID/1d65fbb4-a282-46ff-8780-1bf06a0c903f/categoryID/eb161d31-fcfb-4d00-bdb6-8addacd9e584?productOptionIDs=9fc8413d-035b-42b9-8c05-202af4ba70dd" rel="nofollow">http://www.brooklynindustries.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/produ...</a><p>Every day for the last 4 years, I've carried a Thinkpad around NYC in this thing.<p>It quickly converts between two different configurations: (a) comfortable and back-friendly double backpack strap and (b) a more professional-looking single shoulder strap.<p>Has a padded laptop compartment, a main compartment, and two big external pockets.<p>Only complaint is the latches are plastic and have finally started to break. I love this backpack enough though that I'll probably take it to the tailors.
I use a Crumpler Skivvy[1] for my MacBook Pro 15". Great bag and durable as hell, but this model is made to carry little of anything else—and opening the flap on mine can get loud with the amount of velcro it has, which they seemed to have doubled in size since? If you need to lug around alot of stuff you might want to size-up to their Considerable Embarrassment[2] bag.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.crumpler.com/CA/Laptop-Bags/Laptop-Messenger-Bags/Skivvy-M.html?LanguageCode=EN&SKU=SKY000-B00150" rel="nofollow">http://www.crumpler.com/CA/Laptop-Bags/Laptop-Messenger-Bags...</a>
[2] <a href="http://www.crumpler.com/CA/Laptop-Bags/Laptop-Messenger-Bags/Considerable-Embarrassment.html?LanguageCode=EN&SKU=CET001-Y00150" rel="nofollow">http://www.crumpler.com/CA/Laptop-Bags/Laptop-Messenger-Bags...</a>
Targus 17” CityGear Miami Messenger Laptop Case (TCG200)
<a href="http://bit.ly/gsbveL" rel="nofollow">http://bit.ly/gsbveL</a> Goes for about $40 @ Amazon.<p>I've got a 17" Dell so big, you could hit someone over the head with it and kill them. This was the only "slim" case I could find that it would fit in easily. I'm hoping to move on to a 17" MacBook Pro later this year and this case should work for it as well.
I have the very popular Jack Spade Nylon Canvas Computer Field Bag (Olive). Can not complain, a great all around laptop and messenger bag.<p><a href="http://www.jackspade.com/shop/product.php?productid=20355&cat=331&page=1#" rel="nofollow">http://www.jackspade.com/shop/product.php?productid=20355...</a>
I usually get inspiration from either thefancy.com or etsy.com for these things. It's fascinating how much beautiful self made vs. industrial made stuff you can find. Here's one rather fashionable MB15" bag <a href="http://www.travelteq.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.travelteq.com/</a>
I got a $30 Swiss Army bag from Target several years ago. It fits a 15" laptop just fine and has room for two textbooks in another pocket. I feel like I've gotten my money's worth out of it and would recommend it in a heartbeat.
Outdoor Products Power Pack. BIG backpack (2500 in^3). Fits a 17" MBP with no trouble at all (in fact I've stuffed two 17" laptops into it at the same time). Has a great organizer and many cool features.
I use my wife's old laptop bag. It's yellow with a blue and white floral pattern. Looks kind of like a diaper bag. Nobody is going to steal that baby.<p>I would like to get a skull iron-on patch for it.