Hey folks, Valkor here and welcome back to another addition of TechGear. This go around Golla is back after a brief stint in our CES 2008 coverage, and today we’re going full feature with a few of their accessories that will make your tech and you look their best. We’ve got the Sahara laptop bag, Mobile bags and Digi bags. How did they fare when put through Val-cave testing? Only one way to find out, read on.

First up is the Sahara messenger bag. It’s a lightweight canvas bag, beige in color and a great design on the outside. On the inside you have one compartment, cushioned for your laptop. Another parallel section for any additional items, books, documents. After that you have two additional compartments, the first has pockets for pens, business cards and additional items, while the second is a straight up pocket for anything. To complete the package, there’s an adjustable Velcro strap. My biggest issue was that the bags I saw on display were kind of girly, (you know lots of flowers and girlish designs) thankfully there are some, like the Sahara Bag, that’s fit for us manly men. Now the thing feels like paper, but I know it’s tougher than that. But I did put it to the stress test, which includes my laptop, two books, my PSP plus chargers (which includes the laptop charger), two PSP games in their cases and two Mangas. I was worried at first but everything held with ease. It feels light but it’s tough as hell. Kudos.

The Digi bags are the same type of bags that we covered in our CES report. These are very cool, meant for those slim digicams such as Casio Exilim, or Fuji’s F20. Not only can you hook em to your waist (via belt loop) but there’s also a belt strap loop, insuring you won’t ever lose your cam. Plus there’s an additional pouch inside that can hold extra SD cards, batteries, or other small items. I find it suitable to hold business cards that way when the cam comes out, I can follow up with a card. And you won’t have a problem with cam retrieval either. For slim cams, they pop in and out with ease. Design wise, the pouches I have are of solid colors: One of a dark olive green and the other brown; Very masculine to say the least.

Finally, and dare I say best of the bunch? I dare! The Mobile pouches are simply the best overall, in terms of functionality and design. It has the belt hook and the belt loop, a main Velcro flap, at the back you have a small zipper pocket that can hold small items and inside an additional pocket t that I use to hold my Bluetooth earpiece. (But you can also use it to hold small objects). The designs are off the chain. The three that I have are a military, camouflage design, the second is more of an elegant, yet masculine design, and the third is just freaky, insane. (No Man’s Land, pictured below! I love it). I had the chance to show the three bags around and people were most impressed with the designs, especially the No Man’s Land. Blackberries, IPhones, Treos and Razrs were all tested to see if they can fit and that’s a definite yes on all counts.

So how about a little good, bad and ugly eh?

The Good

For all three, designs are what stand out the most and if you visit the Golla website you will see tons more accessories that will fit your taste. Every item has the company name emblazoned on it somewhere, but it’s nothing to distracting. In fact, in most cases you won’t even see the name. All bags and pouches are cushioned just right, insuring your items i.e. laptop, Digi cam, and mobile phone, are well protected. It’s not extremely protected, like from sharp drop, but from bumps and small drops, your digital item will be ok.

The Bad

Only bad I have is on the Sahara Messenger. The adjustable Velcro strap, doesn’t suit the needs of the tall. What I mean is; I carry my bags with the strap going cross-wise rather than over one shoulder. And even when the strap is set at its loosest, the bag still sits too high on my waist. Hopefully the next set of bags will fix this issue.

The Ugly

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Golla, you can definitely color me impressed with your lineup of TechGear, most impressive are the Mobile bags, which blow away any mobile pouch I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve had my share. Out of TOV best of 5, I’m gonna give the Golla set 4.5 stars. ½ star less because of the strap. Other than that my friends, I highly suggest clicking the link above and headin on over to the Golla main site and stock up. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. (Especially with the Mobile bags, these I Highly recommend). We’ll keep you posted with more from Golla, but for know they’ve been Valkor tested and TOV approved.

Valkor out!

Email: valkor@the-other-view.com