Review: Tom Bihn Ristretto — messenger bag for iPad Pro

After purchasing an iPad Pro in November of 2015, I started looking for a messenger-style bag to use with it because the iPad Pro was too big to comfortably fit in the bag that I had been using for my iPad Air 2.  My research led me to two choices:  the Field Muzetto by WaterField, and the Ristretto by Tom Bihn.  I went back-and-forth between both of those bags during the month of December to test them, and I posted my review of the Field Muzetto in January.  I had planned to post a review of the Ristretto that same week, but Tom Bihn was out of stock at the time and it felt silly to post a review of a product that you couldn’t buy.  But they are back in stock again, which led me to finish this review.

I have used a version of the Ristretto bag for many years now.  I first reviewed the Ristretto for iPad in 2011, and then when the bag was updated in 2012 I reviewed the new version.  The version that I used from 2012 to 2015 was the 11″ inch version, which at the time Tom Bihn called the “Ristretto for iPad,” and which Tom Bihn no longer sells — which is a shame because it is a great bag for a traditional-size iPad such as the iPad Air 2.  Instead, the only Ristretto that Tom Bihn currently sells is a 13″ size.  Because I was a fan of the 11″ version and I needed something larger for the iPad Pro anyway, I decided to buy the current model of the Ristretto when I started to compare bags for the iPad Pro last December, so I have now been using this bag for almost two months.

 

The size

I’ll start with the feature most important for iPad Pro owners:  the size.  The Ristretto features a padded compartment for holding a device.  The 11″ version of the Ristretto that I reviewed years ago was perfect for a traditional iPad with a 9.7″ (diagonal) screen.  Even better, the 11″ bag was a great size for a messenger bag.  It was compact enough to be noticeably smaller than a typical briefcase, but large enough inside that it could store tons of items.  But when you put an iPad Pro in the padded compartment of the 11″ Ristretto, it stuck out and made the flap difficult to close.

The current model of the Ristretto, the 13″ model, is … you guessed it … larger.  Its padded compartment is 12.8″ x 9″ x 1″.  At first blush, that might seem to be the perfect size for the iPad Pro, which is about 12″ high and about 9″ wide (12.04″ x 8.69″ to be precise).  But the padded compartment is only 9″ wide when there is an object 1″ thick inside of it.  The iPad Pro is only about a quarter of an inch thick, so unless you are carrying four iPad Pros at once, the padded compartment expands somewhat.  As a result, it felt like the bag was about an inch too wide for an iPad Pro.  Similarly, the 12.8″ height seems almost an inch too high.

 

We’re only talking about an extra inch on each dimension.  That’s not a lot.  However, it does make the Ristretto seem just a little too big for the iPad Pro.  It’s like the difference between wearing a perfectly-sized shirt and an oversize T-shirt.  You can make an argument that it is nice to have extra space, much like the larger T-shirt is perfect for lounging in front of the TV while you binge on Netflix shows.  But I really liked that the size of that 11″ Ristretto, and while I am slowly getting used to the 13″ Ristretto after two months of use, I wish that Tom Bihn would come out with a 12″ model that was just a little smaller overall.  (Tom Bihn didn’t design the 13″ Ristretto for the iPad Pro; it was designed for a laptop computer such as a MacBook Pro.)  My hypothetical 12″ Ristretto would be as small as possible while still being big enough for an iPad Pro.

But because my hypothetical 12″ Ristretto doesn’t exist, this 13″ size is the one to get for an iPad Pro.

Design

The website says that the Ristretto is made with “U.S. made, 1050 denier high tenacity ballistic nylon.”  To me, the material seems similar to the knapsack that I used in college and law school.  It is very durable and very comfortable.  I used the 11″ Ristretto for many years, taking it on many trips.  It has been tossed under a seat in front of me on an airplane and kicked by my feet more times than I can count.  It has been opened and closed thousands of times.  And it still looks great and hasn’t been damaged at all.

There are currently three colors available:  black, steel and verde (green).  But Tom Bihn changes the color of its products from time to time, so perhaps there will be even more choices in the future.

Compartments

I already mentioned the padded compartment where you place an iPad (or laptop computer).  My former 11″ model provided great protection for many years, and so far it looks like the same can be said about the current model.  You place your iPad Pro into the compartment and then fold over and tuck into the back a padded flap.  This system provides protection, while also making it easier to put in or take out an iPad Pro. 

The main compartment is approximately 2″ thick and can store lots of items.  For example, I store an Apple Wireless Keyboard which is inside of a case (an Origami Workstation), plus external batteries and lots of other items in this compartment. 

The front of the Ristretto has a zippered pouch.  Inside of the pouch there are organizational pockets — two small pen-sized ones on the left (a perfect size to store an Apple Pencil) and two larger ones.  I use the larger once to hold pens and styluses, but you could also put something like a passport, a wallet or an iPhone in those pockets.  And then in front of the pockets is a large storage area that can store whatever you want.  I love this zippered pouch because the zipper is in a semi-circle, so when it is completely unzipped you can see the entire top half of the pouch.  This makes it incredibly easy to find items, even if the pouch is stuffed with lots of, um, stuff.  One of my complaints about other messenger bags (such as the Field Muzetto by WaterField) is that you can only access items in the compartments from the top, which makes it harder to find something small that is at the bottom.

Finally, the very back of the Ristretto has a slanted, open-top pocket that you can use to store papers, a magazine, or a newspaper.  It is big enough to hold letter-sized documents, although the top of the document will be somewhat visible because of the slant.  (In the following picture, I put a standard 8 1/2 x 11″ piece of paper in it so that you can see how much sticks out.)  It is a convenient place to store documents or a magazine that you want to be able to access quickly without opening up the Ristretto.

The o-rings

One of the very best features of the Ristretto (and other Tom Bihn products) is the inclusion of o-rings: small plastic rings attached to the inside of the Ristretto by a tiny strap.  There is one o-ring in the front zippered compartment of the bag.  The main compartment has three o-rings:  one on the far left, one on the far right, and one on the left side of the front of that compartment. 

Tom Bihn sells organizer pouches in lots of different sizes, colors and varieties that you can attach to the o-rings.  Some are clear or netted on one side making it easy to see what is in the pouch.  Some are padded to give extra protection to the items in the pouch.  There is an RFID-blocking passport pouch.  There is also a clear-sided organizer cube that meets the TSA 3-1-1 liquids requirements, and a light-on-a-strap that you can use it you want to have a light inside of your bag to make it easier to find items.  The Ristretto also comes with a keystrap that you can attach to an o-ring, although I don’t use that so I just removed it.  Click here to see all of the different accessories sold by Tom Bihn, many of which are for the o-ring system.  If you are the sort of person who likes organization, looking at the large variety of o-ring accessories will make you downright giddy.  I’m currently using these five pouches in my Ristretto:

I love using pouches in the Ristretto because it makes it easy to find items, even small items that usually get lost in a bag or briefcase.  I know which items are in each of my pouches, so I know which pouch to reach for.  And because the pouches are attached to specific o-rings, I always know where to find a pouch, such as on the left or the right side of the main compartment.  And you can even attach more than one pouch to a single o-ring if you need to do so.  You can also quickly disconnect a pouch to remove it from the Ristretto, and then quickly snap it back on the o-ring when you are done.

The Ristretto would be a nice messenger bag without the o-ring system, but with this system the bag becomes really amazing.

The strap

The Ristretto comes with a Standard Strap, but for an additional $20 you can upgrade to the Absolute Shoulder Strap.   I encourage you to do so.  This is the best strap that I have ever used for any bag.  First, the part of the strap that sits on your shoulder has a rubbery feel which provides amazing friction.  Unlike most other shoulder straps that slip off of you shoulder, this one really stays in place. 

Second, there is something about the engineering of this strap that distributes the weight to make the bag seem much lighter than it really is. Tom Bihn says that it “combines a nonslip, ergonomically curved pad — made of soft, durable neoprene — with comfortable stretch backing to make bags feel 50% lighter and 100% more comfortable.”  It works really well.

By the way, the Ristretto also comes with a waist strap on the back that you can use if you are riding a bike or otherwise need to keep it very close to your body.  I didn’t need this, and it is easily removed.

There is also a small, padded strap on the top of the Ristretto, great for when you just want to grab the bag quickly without dealing with the longer strap.

Conclusion

If you like the idea of a messenger-style bag, the Ristretto is really wonderful.  It has tons of compartments and can hold lots of items, and the o-ring system makes it easy to store and locate those items.  I wish that it were just a little bit smaller so that it held an iPad Pro without any additional space while keeping the bag as small as possible.  Nevertheless, based on my research I think that this is one of the very best messenger-style bags on the market for the iPad Pro, and I’m happy to have it as the bag that I use every day.

Click here to get Ristretto from Tim Bihn ($140, or $160 for version with Absolute Shoulder Strap).