Rickshaw Waterproof X-Pac small commuter bag (red)

When does a feature become a hassle? When referring to laptop safety versus portability, that's a very good and vexing question. Rickshaw Bagworks, a San Francisco-based company focusing on a high-end line of laptop-carrying messenger bags that use a fair amount of recycled materials, made us wonder about that when testing several of its products. Its Waterproof X-Pac commuter bag ($160) is a case that will withstand downpours or puddles, but it's not exactly the most svelte of computer bags.

A top flap made of waterproof technical sailcloth is, as Rickshaw itself proclaims, lightweight. The rest of the bag, however, feels heavy. Inner waterproof linings on all bag walls make the X-Pac feel very safe, but it also feels as if you're carrying a foldable raincoat over your shoulder. Two zippable outer pockets have a pleasant rubberized padding that's also lined, and inside all of this is an additional, thickly padded (and removable by Velcro) laptop sleeve. Yes, that's a lot of waterproof layering, but perhaps with valuable devices, it's better to be safe than sorry.

The rubber bottom is also waterproof--this bag almost feels like the perfect messenger bag for life on a boat--and an easily adjustable shoulder strap with a long and grippy pad will keep the whole thing on your side relatively comfortably. It's a shame that the design, as much as we wanted to like it more, was just slightly more brash than we'd ideally like. From the outside, it doesn't exactly look like a $160 bag.