REVIEW: STM Nomad Laptop Bag

It's in the bag

As you all are devoted readers of this humble site, we are positive that after flicking through our eloquent reviews you go straight out and buy whatever it was we were going on about.

But how to carry all that amazing tech around? Sure, you could sling it all in a plastic carrier bag and just trust it to Stinky Steve, the local homeless fellow, and hope he meets you whenever you need your laptop or Kobo. Or you could wake up to yourself and buy a proper gadget bag. This one is pretty neat.



STM are a laptop and gadget storing bag manufacturer that produce a massive range of top quality things to drape over your shoulders. We were extremely happy to receive one of the Daddies of their range; The Nomad. Yes, it sounds like the bag has a bad attitude, has been roaming around the Mid-West of America for several years and has a drinking problem. In actuality the Nomad is one of the best ways we've ever found to carry about your precious laptop.

STM inform us that the idea for Nomad came when they realised many people have several different bags for different areas of their life; the commute bag for their laptop, the day bag for around town and a weekend bag for going away. They wondered if just one carry-all could serve these multiple purposes and so created the Nomad.

Resplendent in waterproof santori, the bag's versatility comes via the removable padded laptop sleeve which, while safely stowing your little computer, slides snugly into the rear inner pocket. Designed to keep safe most 15 inch laptops (although we had an 11 inch netbook in there and it never slid around thanks to the cushioning lining) the Nomad still has plenty of other room for your day-to-day needs. There is another large pocket in front of the laptop compartment, two zipped pockets on the outer front side (with other pockets within) and a very handy nylex padded tablet pocket, fitting most slates up to 10 inches.

Even space for pens. Yes, pens!

The outer flap, also reassuringly made from santori and complete with another zipped pocket, is held sturdily in place by two metal hooks on adjustable straps. We found these hooks took a little getting used to and were quite fiddly at first to attach. They look great, and the metal really adds to the Nomad's high quality appearance, but after repeatedly messing about trying to hook the straps in we sort of wished STM had opted for magnets or velcro instead. Maybe its just our large and chubby fingers...

The removable laptop sleeve. Removed.

Over the shoulder the Nomad is comfortable with the thick strap distributing the weight of your cargo evenly. The strap comes with a shoulder pad which fortunately is both adjustable and removable (we've always hated those). Walking around the Nomad isn't a cumbersome thing despite it's decent size, and thanks to the smooth back it won't be a literal pain in the arse.

Also in Bondi Blue...

...and Mustard

The Nomad comes in three different sizes, catering for differently sized laptops, and in a choice of three colours. We found that STM's intentions had come to some fruition as we were using the bag in all aspects of our lives. It came with us to work (in our top secret jobs as government agents), to the shops to load up on crisps and also away with us on trips, with the laptop sleeve removed and rolled up pairs of pants stuffed haphazardly in it's place. The Nomad genuinely served all these purposes and did so with aplomb.

So if you are looking for a cool way to keep all that tech safe, the Nomad could be your new best friend.

£99.95 (but be sure to shop around)
Visit www.stmbags.com.au