I just got this bag and when I ordered I was torn between this one and the bigger version of it. It took a while for delivery but, I finally got it today. It is very nice. The material looks and feels very sturdy and there's a lot more room then I thought there was: FYI the laptop area fits my 15.4" laptop (the capability of the screen size to fit this bag was not specified anywhere; and believe me I looked everywhere online). Anyway, there is still room to add a book in the laptop compartment which is the last one (has a lot of padding here). There is another compartment, the middle one, which can fit about 3 folder sized items, and yet another deep compartment in the front with nice zipper/pocket areas. the padding is really comfortable on the straps and the back with "air" circulation noted which I assume is a good thing. Also, note the adjustable straps you see in the picture on each side of the bag; they are extremely useful because when you don't have this bag stuffed with things just tighten it up and it appears to be a smaller bag (which is good for me, since I frequently just carry my laptop). Worth the $35 I paid despite the delayed but free shipping. I think if I would have gotten the bigger version of this bag it would have been too big for my needs. (btw I am replacing a Targus laptop backpack which lasted only about 6 months and now it has a hole that is tearing on a daily basis at the bottom- so if anything I don't recommend targus backpack which I paid $30 for and the material was poor compared to this one and also it is much smaller then this one). This construction feels much stronger and durable then the Targus and I only paid $5 dollars more. Also seems more practical and convenient with the compartments and pockets. SwissGear Computer Backpack (Black)
I was going to buy a rolling laptop bag, but found this on sale and got it instead. Made my trip so easy! Plenty of room for my laptop and accessories. Plus tons of padding and pockets. I was able to carry extra books, electronics, etc. Sitting in an airplane seat it fit nicely under the seat in front of me and I was able to get to all my toys during the flight. I have used about 6 other laptop bags during travel, but this was definitely the most comfortable, roomy, and easiest to use.
I would've never thought that such a quality product can come out of Swiss Gear for such a good price. The seams are all reinforced, the handles are extremely durable and the back and straps are thoroughly padded. The material, zipper quality and overall durability far exceeds anything that I have ever seen in a Jansport.
It also makes a perfect school bag. It is not meant to be able to hold a professional studio-sized camera or a watermelon or a pony, or any other crazy thing that people unfairly criticize this bag for. It does however comfortably fit my laptop (13.3", though room for a 15.4"), a filled 400 page ring binder, 900 page text book, 100 page spiral notebook, the laptop charger, my lunch, pencils, highlighters and flashcards.
It has 3 main zippered pockets all as deep as the bag is and 2 side elastic unzippered pockets large enough to fit a water bottle in each. The main pocket is just anterior to the straps and includes the dedicated padded computer pocket and additional space where I keep my spiral notebook.
The next zippered pocket which is just anterior to the top strap contains a media pocket where I keep a sandwich, and a bigger pocket where I keep a text book and notebook.
The next pocket which zippers just above the Swiss Gear logo, has a segmented portion which holds pens, pencils, flashcards etc. and then goes deeper. This is where I keep my laptop charger.
The only gripe that I had was that for some reason, the free super-savers shipping took much longer than usual to get it to me. It was worth the wait.
I think this is a really good bag, as expected from SwissGear. But here are the reason I can't give it a 5 Star:
1) The front compartment is hard to get to because the front zipper has an upward curve, and the compartment are pretty low. Also the material is strong and sturdy.
2) The main compartment is on the small side.
3) This is probably my main complain: it doesn't have a strap that connects the two shoulder pads by your chest, or a waist strap that goes around your waist. Either of these straps would make a bag a lot easier on your back, and more stable to carry. My $15 Old Navy bag pack has this, and it helps a lot! Anyone who goes hiking will tell you that those straps help in carrying heavy bag packs. A work around here is that the straps on this bag has a loop at the end. So you can tie it around it's side of the shoulder strap and bring it to the front and connect the two loops with a carabiner.
Just returned from a trip overseas for 6 weeks, though the front pouch would be awesome for the passport, keys, and money. But the front pocket was completely useless. The interior is black so it's difficult to see, and if something falls out of the little pouches in the front it's difficult to find. The zipper doesn't go down far enough to access the little pockets so you find yourself having to pull it open with one hand and open zippers and access pockets with the other. Excellent padding for a laptop, Awesome protection for the Mac, lots of room in the other two compartments. just cant use the front pouch for much. - Backpacking - Notebook Computer Bags - 17 Inch Laptop Backpack - Laptop Backpack'
Detail Products
Detail Reviews
Click here for more information
