A SMALLER APPROACH
TO THE LAPTOP BAG
Nomadic WR-08 Wise-Walker A-4, $73, www.jetpens.com
After years of carrying bags big enough to hold a bull mastiff, you might be ready to slim down a bit. That's why the Nomadic WR-08 Wise-Walker A4 Shoulder Bag is so refreshing. This bag's Star Wars-esque name reflects the dimensions (but not the thickness) of an A4 sheet of paper and is a uniquely Japanese take on the traditional laptop bag.
The Wise-Walker can hold a small and light 13-inch laptop as well as any number of folders, documents or envelopes. Mini pockets hold either business cards or Japanese-style transit cards and a charming illustrated hang-tag shows that you can place everything from CD players to circa-1999 Palm Pilots into the smaller pockets.
The bag is 15 inches long, 12 inches tall and about 5 inches thick when full. Side pockets hold water bottles and snacks; hidden pockets keep your gear safe. Bags like the Wise-Walker are popular on the jammed Tokyo subway. This model is made of rip-stop black nylon with a blaze orange lining, a look reminiscent of bomber jackets.
The bag is available from a Japanese office supply fetishist's site, Jetpens, and costs $73. At first glance it seems a bit small because, put simply, it is. However, unlike the huge commuter bags and satchels many have been carrying, this ultralight and no-nonsense sack is quite compelling and has a certain cyberpunk flair.
It may not pass muster with a road warrior carrying an IT-issue, 20-pound laptop, but for a commuter carrying an iPad and a few pertinent documents, the Wise-Walker is just about perfect.
THE PASSAGE OF TIME,
IN WORDS AND LIGHT
Qlocktwo Touch, $599-$650, www.qlocktwo.com
Look Ma, no hands!
Seeking to rid timepieces of those cumbersome hands and pesky numbers, the German design company Biegert & Funk has conceived an analog table clock that makes bold pronouncements about the passage of time.
This elegant, square clock, the Qlocktwo Touch, declares the time of day typographically, using a matrix of letters instead of numbers. At 7:30, for instance, the clock's face glows with the words, IT IS HALF PAST SEVEN.
