Back in the days of the unibody MacBook Pros, you know, the thick ones with optical drives, I was at an Apple Store. To protect my then-modern MacBook Pro, I got a LEVEL8 13" laptop bag, and it was the best fucking bag in the world. The padding inside the bag was just the right amount of protective to keep the laptop in one piece, without being so in-the-way that it made the bag annoying to use. There was also a nice secondary spot for chargers, adapters, and anything else you needed to carry with you. The zippers were enjoyable, sealing shut without a gap.
I used that thing at home in elementary school, and when I graduated to middle school, where we were no longer given a school-issued laptop, I brought that bag with me. It lasted all the way until my 12th-grade high school Calculus class, when the zipper finally gave out. I was sad, but hey, what can you expect after all these years? Looking at the Apple Store website showed no results. Amazon? Unavailable.
The LEVEL8 website showed that they had rebranded as premium luggage company. Ugh.
So, where do I get another one of these bags? You never realize just how much you appreciate something until it's gone, and that applies to laptop bags just as much as it does to people. Off to eBay! Well nobody was selling that specific bag, but someone was selling a messenger bag by LEVEL8 that looked like an even better version of my handheld bag. One available.
One $33.86 purchase later, I had the bag in my hands. The previous owner kept very good care of it, and it was in excellent condition. Why would anyone even want to sell it in the first place?
Well whatever, I love it even more than I loved the handheld bag, and I use it as my only bag in college. I fear the day that it breaks. If you own one of these bags in good condition, I will buy it off you, just to have as backup for when this bag eventually breaks. Email me at blogcontact@9021007.xyz. I am serious. I cannot even find images of this shoulder bag online, and I am incredibly lucky to have randomly found it on eBay. I can only spot it on the Wayback Machine.
I was looking at the LEVEL8 website, and it looks like they still sell one product in the style of the bag I use. It's a backpack. I was considering buying it just in case they discontinue that too, but $130 for a backpack is more than I am willing to spend on a "just in case my current bag breaks", especially when I enjoy a shoulder bag much more than I do a backpack. I guess it could be nice to have, but it's really not something I'm willing shell out for unless I know for a fact that it's going out of stock.
If it is discontinued, make sure to let me know so that I can pick up any remaining stock! I know that "they don't make 'em like they used to" is something only grandfathers utter, but it's true! No other bag I have tried or felt has even come close. If anyone reading this (somehow) works at LEVEL8, please let me know if you happen to have one of those shoulder bags back there, they're the most incredible bag I have used, ever.
UPDATE 2024/09/30:
Spotted the carry-bag brand new online for not-that-much, decided to grab it as a backup.
Hopefully they pack it well.
Update 2024/10/11:
They packed it... well enough
And it certainly was new...
I missed these tags:
Ghost doesn't let me add alt text to those 2 images, but they're little black tags that came attached to the product. The first one showcases the features, and the second one has a sample of the internal padding.
It even had the foam packaging inside
And it fits my 14" laptop very well!
Nice lifetime warranty against defects, though not wear-and-tear :/. I would probably buy such a warranty if it existed.
That card came in a fancy little embossed envelope, which is a nice touch.
I am going to use the bag not for my 14" 2021 MacBook Pro, but instead my 13" 2016 MacBook Pro, which I am dual-booting with Mojave and Monterey. I'll use it as a "grab bag" for when I need to go fix something. The Intel processor, 32-bit app support from Mojave, and modern supported (fuck you) OS through Monterey means that I can use apps from almost any era of macOS, save for PPC apps. I can also run Windows or Linux in a VM, which I have realized is probably more efficient than a dedicated partition. I had tried to get all 4 to share natively, but Bootcamp doesn't like it and Linux doesn't like it. I can barely get 2 macOS versions and 1 third party, let alone 2. Plus, both of those permanently eat disk space that I just don't want to give up. Windows and Linux will overwrite each other's GRUB settings, and the whole thing is as fragile as glass. VMs make everything easier.
In the pocket, I'm putting a USB-A Ventoy stick, 2 misc USB-A sticks, 2 USB-C to USC-A adapters, an Ethernet cable, an Ethernet to USB-A adapter, an HDMI cable, a USB-A HDMI capture dongle (which ignores HDCP 🙂), a USB-A voltage and current sensor, and my favorite USB-A to microUSB cable.
I have a charger on the way. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything. I feel like I may want to include a USB-A to Lightning cable. (not USB-C)
Update 2025/1/29:
I did not intend to become a collector of this one random-ass company's laptop bags, but here I am I guess.
I found a FOUR YEAR OLD LISTING for a laptop bag described as "level 8 brand" on OfferUp. Reportedly "immaculate condition", even though every single photo had been dipped into Kari Lake's pool of Vaseline.
One weather-related shipping delay later, it was in my hands.
And it was in immaculate condition! The rubber on the zippers had deteriorated a bit, but that also happened on my normal bag. But there was something interesting. It wasn't the same as my bag. This one was somewhere in between the laptop bag that I got in the previous edit and the bag I have now. It was meant for 13" laptops (fits my 14" MBP fine), and only has one pocket. But on the other hand, it folds flat for airport checkpoints, and has a shoulder strap. A bit less cargo capacity, but I would certainly switch to it if my current bag failed irreparably. I don't even need the cargo space that much. I used to need my iPad with me for notes in mathematics classes, but I have fulfilled all of my math requirements for college!
This laptop bag was seriously in immaculate condition, too. It even had the warranty card stashed in an internal pocket.
Nothing says "Where Protection is Precision" quite like having your warranty card printed/cut off-center
While I am now confident that I have enough LEVEL8 laptop bags to last me decades, I'll probably still buy any I come across, simply because they're no longer made, and I have another ~70 years of life ahead of me.
I am a bit confused as to why the seller held on to this, ready to sell, for 4 years, but so be it. He even has a bunch of other listings of various ages.
I guess I'll continue holding on to this bag as insurance for when my current bag goes out, but other than a small zipper tear that I repaired with some sewing, it's still going strong.
Update 2025/02/16:
Spotted a new listing for a 13" laptop bag (no shoulder strap). I really have no use for any more bags like this, but it's certainly a high quality bag for whoever wants it. It fits 14" MacBooks perfectly fine. $15 + Tax + Shipping on eBay.