Originally Posted by wesmills

I used to think "nah, who cares" but then I stumbled* over Tom Bihn bags and haven't looked back since. These are all opinion and subjective but, to me, they are simple, good looking, and durable bags. That I got to fiddle with them in the showroom for as long as I wanted and come back a couple of times to try packing things really helped, and made the cost worth it. I've even checked the "carry-on" backpack I bought a couple of times and it's come out the other end just fine. So, yeah, I'm in team "you get what you pay for," especially considering the bags were all made locally.

* This is a literal statement: I live in Seattle and was on one of my "it's a nice day out, let's wander around a neighborhood" excursions, this time just off the SODO light rail station, and I found their shop with the door propped open and bags inside. So I stopped in and my bank account is history.