Gig bag Computer Backpack?

Tsani

Tsani

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Hey guys (and gals), here I go again, looking for something that might not exist. Or maybe it almost exists.

I often commute with my ukulele(s). I have practice time in the evening at work after the place gets empty and quiet.

But transporting my precious ukes, and carrying them in and out of the building/car is a hassle.

What I want is a very protective gig bag/backpack that will hold both my ukulele and my laptop computer.

I think that Fusion has almost made what I want.

They have ukulele gig bags with shoulder straps that can be carried like a backpack. Actually a lot of people make those. But Fusion also makes a laptop bag that can be buckled to the gig bag so that they are carried as one unit.

Here is my problem. I am uncomfortable with having my ukulele sandwiched between my laptop and my back. I want the bags to go the other way around.

I want a bag where the ukulele gig bag (reinforced) rides on the outside, and a big square pocket that holds my laptop goes on the backside of the uke bag and nestles against my back. You could have some pockets on the outside for papers, laptop cords and accessories.

I would also like this to be one piece - not two. I would have nightmares of either my uke or my computer coming unbuckled and falling off if I had a two piece bag.

Does this exist, or did I just invent it? :confused:
 
I'd buy one. i travel a lot, i'd love to take my ukulele but cant take it on as hand luggage when i already have a bag.

you have me thinking now.
 
While maybe not a perfect solution, Kala makes a very nice double tenor gig bag.
You could easily use a laptop sleeve or small bag in one compartment and the uke in the other.
 
Yeah, I looked at that one. It has some potential, but those two stacked cases are mighty thick, and my laptop would rattle around in all that space. There would have to be dividers or something. I am beginning to think that if this configuration does not exist, it might be marketable...:confused:
 
Another approach would be to find a nice daypack that has a built-in laptop section -- that sleeve has been against the body in packs I've owned.
Then cut some foam of a size to cushion around the body of your ukulele in the outer section -- leaving the neck up in the air, proudly proclaiming: "I Rock"
 
Tsani said:
What I want is a very protective gig bag/backpack that will hold both my ukulele and my laptop computer.

I think that Fusion has almost made what I want.

They have ukulele gig bags with shoulder straps that can be carried like a backpack. Actually a lot of people make those. But Fusion also makes a laptop bag that can be buckled to the gig bag so that they are carried as one unit.

Here is my problem. I am uncomfortable with having my ukulele sandwiched between my laptop and my back. I want the bags to go the other way around.

I want a bag where the ukulele gig bag (reinforced) rides on the outside, and a big square pocket that holds my laptop goes on the backside of the uke bag and nestles against my back. You could have some pockets on the outside for papers, laptop cords and accessories.

I would also like this to be one piece - not two. I would have nightmares of either my uke or my computer coming unbuckled and falling off if I had a two piece bag.

Does this exist, or did I just invent it? :confused:
Click to expand...

Okay, the Fusion Limited Edition gigbag has backpack straps that "hide" in a pocket so you don't have them dragging around if you just want to hand carry your bag. Depending upon the size of your laptop, you *may* be able to fit it into the pocket where the straps go when you have the straps out to wear. This would position it between you and your `ukulele, and be only one piece instead of two.
 
Yeah, thanks guys - but everything I have seen so far confirms to me that the idea I am thinking of does not exist yet. There are modifications you can do to existing products that might make it kind of work - but a bag that is made so that the laptop is against your back and the gig bag rides on top as a one piece unit does not exist.

Come on - somebody surprise me. Everytime I think of a new idea, I find somebody has already done it ... so... show me.
 
I have the Fusion Limited soprano/concert bag. I currently have a concert ukulele in it. I just walked over and put my 13" MacBook into the back pocket where you can put the backpack straps when you aren't using them and it worked. I put it on my back and was able to walk around with my laptop firmly against my back in the pocket and then the ukulele in the large padded pocket it is supposed to be in. I don't have a larger laptop to test it with but if you have a 13" laptop then the Fusion limited bag will definitely work for you. I would guess that the tenor bag is even larger and would fit maybe a 15" laptop in its backpack strap pocket. This is without any sort of add on, just the regular bag itself.

Nix
 
My only objection, Nix, is that while it does work - (and I might end up getting a Fusion for that reason), the pocket was not made to hold a laptop and is not zippered and secured for laptop storage. I am carrying a company owned computer and I would be required to carry it in a bag that is made for the purpose. If it fell out or got damaged the company could come after me for negligence.

What I am interested in is a gig bag/laptop bag that is made to give full protection to both in a single unit that is compact and easy to carry.

The Fusion is almost it - but not quite. The concept of the Fusion is to take two bags and buckle them together. I want it in one compact bag.
 
the fusion bag is very rigid. I carried my laptop in the attached bag and had no issues. it will not hurt your instrument at all.
I think I walked about 10 miles in total with it on my back fully loaded at NAMM, and in airports.
 
Thanks, Ukeeku, but even if the uke is sufficiently protected by the rigidity of the case, you still have the issue of how bulky the total package is with the 2 bag configuration. If you incorporate the laptop pocket into the back of the uke case so that it is against your back instead of hanging off the outside of the gig bag, the whole thing would be a lot more streamlined and compact - and easy to carry.

Regardless of the merits of the Fusion bag - and I believe it is probably the nicest bag of this type that is currently on the market - the idea that I have is significantly different, and if there is not a bag with the configuration that I have described that is currently available, I will investigate developing it.

Thanks everybody, but I am still waiting for somebody to tell me that this product already exists.
 
I didn't realize it was an employer owned laptop with all the lovely bureaucracy that goes with it. I don't think what you are looking for exists in a fully realized form. Since you can't change the laptop, I would probably get a large laptop backpack and stick a small uke like the one of the Kala travel line in the large area of the backpack. I know this isn't the solution you are looking for and I completely understand. I've been searching for the "perfect" gig bag that will hold my uke, binder and folding music stand in one compact package and haven't found it yet.

Nix
 
nix said:
I didn't realize it was an employer owned laptop with all the lovely bureaucracy that goes with it. I don't think what you are looking for exists in a fully realized form. Since you can't change the laptop, I would probably get a large laptop backpack and stick a small uke like the one of the Kala travel line in the large area of the backpack. I know this isn't the solution you are looking for and I completely understand. I've been searching for the "perfect" gig bag that will hold my uke, binder and folding music stand in one compact package and haven't found it yet.

Nix
Click to expand...

I've been searching for the perfect gig bag as well, that will carry James & Jake to play my ukulele.
 
I think the Fusion system is the closest thing, but I believe my idea is better. Now all I need is a Chinese factory to make it and export it internationally...:rolleyes:
 
It's funny, but I just watched Aldrine's interview with Amanda Wheatley of Fusion from NAMM 2011 and she mentions putting a laptop into the back pocket of the Limited Edition `Ukulele gigbag.

[video]http://ukuleleunderground.com/namm/2011/01/16/interview-with-amanda-wheatley-of-fusion-products-co/[/video]
 
A Three in One YOUR WAY

For 39 years I have been making what people want from fabric and/or leather. "Almost what I want doesn't make it" anymore than saying I want a koa concert and settle for a koa long neck soprano. Designing what you want includes the type and colour of the material;method of closures and their placement; methods to carry and hang it; how it is to be all-in-one or as combineable separate units; what kind of lining material;how thick of what kind of padding; what kind of zippers-snaps-buckles and a few other things you might have in mind. I no more try to compete with the Asian market than Dave Means or Kerry Char try to compete with Makala or Mahalo.

www.thecraftedcow.weebly.com
 
Last edited:
Tsani said:
ukeeku said:
the fusion bag is very rigid. I carried my laptop in the attached bag and had no issues. it will not hurt your instrument at all.
I think I walked about 10 miles in total with it on my back fully loaded at NAMM, and in airports.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Ukeeku, but even if the uke is sufficiently protected by the rigidity of the case, you still have the issue of how bulky the total package is with the 2 bag configuration.
Click to expand...

Ukeeku, by "attached" do you mean it was in one of the integrated zippered pockets of the gig bag? Or are you referring to the removable daypack in a gig bag + medium bag set-up?

(I assume the latter, but, just in case you meant the former, it might give Tsani cause to consider again the Fusion LE.)
 
TheCraftedCow said:
For 39 years I have been making what people want from fabric and/or leather. "Almost what I want doesn't make it" anymore than saying I want a koa concert and settle for a koa long neck soprano. Designing what you want includes the type and colour of the material;method of closures and their placement; methods to carry and hang it; how it is to be all-in-one or as combineable separate units; what kind of lining material;how thick of what kind of padding; what kind of zippers-snaps-buckles and a few other things you might have in mind. I no more try to compete with the Asian market than Dave Means or Kerry Char try to compete with Makala or Mahalo.

www.thecraftedcow.weebly.com
Click to expand...

Thanks, TCC. I agree,:agree: and I think that the product I envision should have a market. Similar items exist for guitar - but still, not exactly as I have it designed, and not available for uke. I am continuing to investigate, but I think somebody should make this thing. And if nobody else makes it, maybe that someone should be me. :rolleyes:
 
As it relates to air travel (your idea may not have been for air travel) I found that the fusion system works quite well. I don't have a fuse on bag, but i have the F1 fusion bag and i attached a backpack to it to carry my laptop. As I went through security and boarding the plane, it was very convenient (for going through security) and essential (for boarding the plane) to be able to break down the bags into their individual components. Your idea would be fine for going through security since laptops need to be removed from whatever they're in and placed in their own plastic bin for scanning, but it may cause some difficulty on the airplane if you want your laptop to be accessible. With my set up (and the fuse-on system if you shell out for a fuse-on bag) you can detach the bags once you get on the plane so that your laptop in its bag can go underneath the seat in front of you and your uke can go in the overhead bin. Since tenor sized ukes in cases wouldn't fit underneath the seat, in order for the laptop to be conveniently accessible, the bags need to separate. Having to get up and get into your uke case in the overhead bin would be a hassle.

But if you're not traveling by air a lot or if you don't see yourself needing to access your laptop while on the plane, or if you don't mind the inconvenience it would cause, your idea does have merit.
 
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