<p>We were going to “build” our own for my daughter (and she would pay the difference) because she wants the grab handle, not standard on the e-bags one, but the slate blue is just so different on timbuk2’s own site and if you build your own, it’s not returnable.</p>
<p>I feel silly posting this on this site, but if anyone has seen this in person, can you tell me which slate color is the one that we’ll get??</p>
<p>My son just got a Timbuk2 “design your own” bag. I’d never heard of the site before. I don’t think the customized one was much more expensive… so I let him go with it. He ended up with one slightly larger than he would have liked, but decided it would be ok. We kept measuring, to make sure that it would accommodate the laptop. But this one, while a little large for the laptop, will at least hold a book or 2, a water bottle… along with the laptop. I was impressed with the site. Seemed very easy to use.</p>
<p>Don’t rely on your monitor color, because it will almost never be the same as the actual color.</p>
<p>The slate blue is sort of a medium blue, not really navy. It’s a gray-blue color.</p>
<p>I have the navy-silver-navy commute and the slate blue is definitely lighter than the navy and has more gray in it (probably why you’re seeing it as “silverish”) You’ll get the brighter blue.</p>
<p>Lauren,
So, which one of the two sites is more accurately representing the slate blue color? I understand that slate blue is lighter then navy but I’m suprised that both sites show two very different colors… Is it a mannish slate blue or a girlier slate blue??</p>
<p>This may not help, but if I were you, I’d call the customer service number and explain that color named slate blue shows up as more of a teal blue on the website. See if someone can actually put their hands on a bag with that color and describe it. I have called online stores to probe them about discrepancies between a catalog color and a website color. Sometimes they can be helpful. It is worth a toll free phone call.</p>
<p>What an excellent idea! I called them up and the customer service rep said it is indeed a “smoky” blue, with no teal tints. Good for my son, back to “building” for my daughter. Thanks all.</p>
<p>It’s a pretty masculine blue. I have a peacock and silver bag from timbuk2 (peacock is a very bright teal) and I think it looks excellent. </p>
<p>One bag I almost bought from them that I really loved the colors of was a dark red/pink/white combo. See if your daughter likes it, mine ended up looking really good (I just decided to buy the commute instead for the laptop case). Also, the mocha/baby blue looks really good in person.</p>
<p>Generally, the colors on the timbuk2 website seem to be more accurate than any other websites I’ve seen.</p>
<p>I had a snow white one…I just found it the other day, actually, along with a mickey mouse bib that must be from when I was about two.</p>
<p>I had my 101 dalmatians sheets intact until I was thirteen and finally used them to make the backing for a set of wraps for my horse (as guarantee they wouldn’t walk away in the barn- I think anyone would have been embarassed to wrap their horse with them!)</p>
<p>anyway, total digression, but parents, your kids remember those days too!!</p>
<p>Sue,
Yes, this is much like picking out the new lunchbox for the year. We used to do backpacks every year until we switched to jansport and ll bean. Those bags last for years though so there was no reason to toss. My son used a spiderman pillowcase to hold his bugle for boy scouts - and that was through eleventh grade! Like Lauren with her 101 dalmations sheets - it was something that no one would want to walk away with.</p>
<p>The medium is pretty big in person…it was too big for me, but I’m 5’ tall and maybe 110 pounds soaking wet, so most things are too big for me. Still, it would certainly hold more than enough stuff.</p>
<p>If anyone lives near Freeport, Maine (excellent outlet shopping if you’re in New England, by the way…super good deals on North Face outerwear), Camp Toad had all timbuk2 bags 25% off the other week. I ended up buying a second classic small messenger to tote around on days I don’t have my computer. Bought the mocha/baby blue/mocha for that one.</p>
<p>I love my navy/silver/navy commute bag. Someone’s going to have to pry it from my cold dead hands, until the day comes when you can custom design them, since the color choices are pretty thin.</p>
<p>I did look on e-bay for a timbuk2 before I ordered son’s bag. If you look at what the asking price is, it looks like they are much cheaper. However, if you do a search for completed items only, the prices jump substantially and then many are less then $10. cheaper then a brand new bag that has a guarantee. I’m a big e-bay fan, but these bags have a cache or reputation to them that make the prices stay high. Hey, next year, I’ll come back and tell if you how they held up or if I put them up for sale on e-bay!</p>
<p>Wow, “messenger bags.” That’s a new one for me! You mean the kids don’t just take their backpacks to college? (with their initials on the back… I guess that’s LLBean)</p>
<p>They were originally created for messenger boys in the big cities. The advantage is that you can sling them forward and get stuff out quickly instead of taking your backpack all the way off and then putting it back on. To me, they mostly look like canvas briefcases, but somehow cooler! My daughter also wants a daypack with a waistbelt for daytrips backpacking. I told her we could probably get the pack but it wasn’t quite the thing for a teacher to use in the classroom. She’s an ed major and will be student teaching this fall.</p>
<p>Kathiep, I don’t know about Pennsylvania, but over half the teachers I know–and all of them under 40–use backpacks, not briefcases. The ones over 40 use rolling suitcases.</p>
<p>Just asked my son yesterday if wanted messenger bag. He said some students use them at school, but he was fine with his backpack (still using LL Bean one from middle school :))!</p>
<p>I’m all about the messenger bag. It’s more comfortable for me, easier for me to organize, and makes me feel a lot less like I’m 12 years old and on my way to seventh grade. Most of my friends have messenger bags if they’re guys and tote bags, sling bags (the triangular ones), or messenger bags if they’re girls.</p>