May 2012 - Praval Singh

For many of us, a disconnected holiday is a blessing in disguise. Our lives were never the same, a decade ago. It’s interesting to visualize our lives under the prism of personal technology.

It’s a fact that the internet plays a major role in allowing us to work and play remotely or from different places. I keep meeting a lot of bloggers in the country and it’s fascinating to listen to their stories of travel, work and the perfect blend of both. Often, I am overwhelmed to see the stuff they carry with them all day or during their trips.

My current role doesn’t allow me to experiment too much with my lifestyle, but I do love to carry a lot of stuff with me when I am on the move. And when I say that, I mean a LOT OF STUFF!

Having said that, I have always wanted a bag that’s made with not just a good material but a good thought process – good design & aesthetics. It’s so disheartening to own a bag which has no zippers above the flap to hold your earphones, so that you can take them out within seconds when you need them. There can be more ways in which a bag can disappoint you to an extent where you would want to switch to a new bag.

I carry a Targus BackPack which I love for the way it is designed. However, I was looking for a Messenger bag to alternate between days. Some amount of research I did left me with mixed reviews on messenger bags from Timbuk2, Belkin, Victorinox, etc. I trolled in forums having threads with as high as 100 posts discussing messenger bags. It was fun! I thank my friend @ShayonPal who helped me with pictures of the Victorinox messenger bag he owns. I almost bought it!

However, I was confused between a couple of options I had. That’s when I stumbled on STM Velo and it’s review on Cult of Mac. I looked at some more reviews and videos and it was not too long before it impressed me! The Australian brand, STM was not known to me but the product looked impressive. The fact that almost no one was talking negative about it on the inter-webs was a convincing enough reason for me to decide on it.

I approached the company and today, I got my STM Velo Small (Burgundy). The bag is designed to perfection and the quality of stuff, the stitches, the zippers – all fall in the right sweet spot. You’ll be surprised to know that it’s the ‘small’ size that I got and it could accommodate EVERYTHING you saw above!

STM Velo - front

The key highlights of this bag include;

Good protection to the laptop with great cushioning.
Great design. Very thoughtful!
Separate section for the laptop to take it out at the security check without opening the flap
Space to hold a Kindle & an iPad.
Enough zippers and pouches to contain stuff for survival on almost any day!
Comfortable strap to carry the bag, plus a soft handle to hold it.
Side pouches with zippers to carry a water bottle & an umbrella.
Available in Small and Medium sizes for 13″ and 15″ laptops, respectively.

It’s truly a great everyday messenger bag and I would recommend it to folks who carry a lot of stuff with them, people who travel to work or those work to travel. 😉

Some pictures of the bag: