Unfortunately, my time at CES wasn’t my own and I had only a limited opportunity to kick around to check some things out.  I did get one opportunity to get out there, and spent from 9AM to 3PM checking things out in the Venetian and the main convention center.  I saw lots of cool stuff, learned a few things and met some interesting folks.  I think the easiest way is to break it up into each place I visited to cover my CES adventure.

First, a word about traveling with the Timbuk2 Laptop Messenger with the Snoop insert.  I stuffed that thing to the gills (body, 4 lenses, ThinkPad, tablet, charger, accessories and much more), and it ate it all up and carried very reasonably.  Having the ability to pull the Snoop was a savior though – it would never have fit under the seat otherwise.  I’m pretty sure the medium bag would be a stretch, too, the small would probably be fine without removing the Snoop.

The Snoop all tidy in overhead - the bag then fit fine under the seat

The shoulder pad is a great thing – it made carrying all that weight bearable.  It also has a knack for staying on your shoulder where it belongs when you swing the bag around or readjust.  I’ll say it again – it should be standard.  I actually got a chance to talk to Timbuk2’s lead designer, and passed along a few comments (before I knew who he was).  But we’ll get there in a bit.  Based on this first trip, it should serve the purpose I bought it for perfectly: it holds a lot, travels flexibly and didn’t attract any attention at all from the airport staff.  The huge variety of pockets came in handy, too.  Net:  I’m happy with the way the bag travels.

CES is pretty amazing.  I’d love to have maybe a full couple days to kick around to check out all of the photography stuff.  I didn’t get to Fuji, skipped Sony and didn’t see the Lytro Light Field Camera I was hoping to (though based on Ed Baig’s article, it wasn’t on the floor anyway).  A recommendation:  If you ever come to CES, wear really comfortable shoes… 😉