15.6", PURPLE
i JUST received this, so this is based on first impressions:
TLDR:
If i need to replace due to anything other than catastrophic failure, i would get this again.
Paid: $29.99 USD. Free Shipping (Amazon Prime). Received in two days.
Easily holds MBP 15" with a protective sleeve, plus several notebooks (paper or digital) and/or binders, charger(s), a light-weight jacket or sweater, miscellaneous small personal stuff, or
the computer/notebook, charger(s), overnight change of clothes, a small makeup bag,
Good for day-to-day commuter use, or as personal item or carry-on for air travel.
Worth the price (so far).
OVERALL:
i wouldnʻt ask this to protect a laptop from a 5-6ʻ fall off your shoulder onto a hard surface, like just dropping the backpack onto a hard floor - if the computer survived more than a couple of times, iʻd consider the aluminum-silicon gods being extra generous. However, if you fell off your bike while wearing it, and you absorbed part of the fall, i think your laptop and backpack might come out ok. (yeah, iʻve gone through that before, donʻt want to test this back pack with that, though.) Good capacity and access. Construction should stand up to light-moderate use (up to 8-10 lb).
DETAILS:
Outer shell:
medium duty polyester knit fabric: the manufacturer/vendor answering a question says it is 900 denier; not outback trekking material, but good enough for around-town commuter use. reported as water resistant, feels like it, but i donʻt plan to deliberately test it just yet. The front, bottom, and back outer shell is lined with a thin padding that feels like maybe 1/8" poly-something, the kind of material used for wrapping light-weight things for packing, The back of the pack has an additional foam padding, not super thick, adds a bit of protection for contents, but possibly more for providing wearer comfort. Construction feels adequate for carrying a computer and a few light things (notebooks, jacket, etc.) up to about 8-10 lbs to me.
Interior lining:
medium-light weight polyester. The entire backpack is lined and divided with this material. Feels as though it too might be water resistant, although, again, iʻm not testing it.
zippers: medium duty(?) nylon. one very light-duty combination padlock included.
shoulder straps: 2 1/4" wide seam-to-seam, padding 2" wide.
hand strap (top): 7 1ʻ2" long, 1" wide, 3/8" thick (thick medium dense material core, like urethane foam?)
luggage cart strap: on the back surface of the backpack, allows it to be plunked onto the top of rolling luggage by the rolling luggage handle, and prevented from falling off.
reflector tabs: 1/2" x 3/4" (4x), 1" x 3/4" (1x)
Side Pockets: 6" deep, 4 3/4" wide, 3/8" wide elastic cuff expands from 5" to ~7". Synthetic (Poly or Nylon?) mesh, 3/8" elastic opening cuff. Holds a 3 1/4" wide water bottle
Main cargo section:
interior dimensions:
5 3/4" deep at base, tapering to 3 1/12" at top.
12" wide at base, a mild taper to 11 3/4" at the top of the laptop pocket, and the last 1 1/4" of height tapers from 10 1/2" to 7" width.
17 3/4ʻ tall.
Lots of room for laptop, and a two inch 3-ring binder, or one or two textbooks, notebooks, etc. Someone in the questions section of the reviews said this can hold a 5" binder: it probably could hold a laptop and that,, but i suspect not much else. Maybe the 17" or the 18.4" models have deeper capacity.
laptop pocket is a 1" deep bellows- or safari style pocket, so it isnʻt stretched to accomodate even my MacBook Pro 15ʻ Unibody in padded sleeve. The pocket is 12" tall, so the entire laptop fits in the pocket. The inner-facing side of the pocket is lightly padded, so it will last longer, and protect the computer somewhat from scratching or denting by any hard objects you might have in the main cargo section of the backpack.
Pass through for USB and headphone cables. Pass-through is NOT watertight! rubber strain relief around the holes in the fabric, but no rain deflector like on the larger model of backpack. moisture can get in, depending on how heavy the rain or spill is.
Secondary section:
interior dimensions
1 7/8" deep at base, tapering to 1 1/4" at top
11" wide at base, tapering to 9" near the top
15" tall at the zipper
patch pockets, main one is 5" deep, 9" height to zipper, sewn onto divider wall between secondary compartment and main cargo compartment.
Organizer compartment
11" at base, tapering to 9" at top
15" tall
zipper opening reaches to 10" height.
flat profile
Essentially, a patch pocket with a zipper opening, the front surface is the padded/lined shell, the inner side the same interior lining as everything else.
three patch-style credit card-sized RFID pockets. not tested for effectiveness yet.
Should be able to tuck a notebook in this space, but probably not anything wider than a 3/4" 3-ring binder, unless you donʻt mind swiping volume from the other compartments.
WHAT I LIKE:
PROTECTION:
MOST of the the outer shell is padded (albeit lightly). It should protect from casual bumps agains desks, shelves, etc.
CAPACITY:
The shell feels like it will stand up to day-to-day light-to medium duty use. Construction is adequate for carrying about 10-12 pounds. More than that would probably start to strain seams, handles, and zippers.
LOTS of capacity for a 15" laptop (even the MacBook Pro Unibody) in a foam sleeve, plus charger, note pads (paper or digital), one or two medium to large books, a light jacket.
For air travel, I can probably squeeze my purse inside and use the back pack as my "personal item". Even stuffed to capacity, this probably will fit under most airline seats.
ACCESSIBILITY:
The Main and Secondary compartments have wide openings: the Main compartment opens 12" from the top on both sides (double zipper), the Secondary opens 8" from the top, also double zipper. The front organizer pocket easily holds my iPad 2021 in its sleeve, so pulling it out at airport security is no problem. Depending on how much stuff i have packed, the laptop should easily come out and go back into its pocket as well.
ORGANIZATION:
Each of the compartments (Main, Secondary, Organizer) is large enough to accommodate a notebook/notepad. Organizing paper documents is much easier with this rather than a single compartment or with small compartments.
oh yeah, the PURPLE is awesome.
WHAT I WISH:
MORE PADDING:
The sides and top of the backpack are not padded - just the outer shell and inner lining. I wish these were padded, to help cushion falls/drops/bumps. iʻm kind of klutzy at times, and so every bit of protection helps.
The separations between compartments are made of the interior lining fabric only; i wish these were also padded, as they would add protection and also give more body to the Secondary and Organizer compartments.
The shoulder straps have thin padding (1/8"?): because they are 2" wide, it should mitigate the cutting into my shoulders, but i tend to overload my backpack, so extra padding is always welcome.
STRONGER ZIPPERS: the bane of my existence. i hope these zippers last the two years i want to get out of this backpack. not super confident, but if i donʻt overload it, i might make it.
BIGGER/DEEPER SIDE POCKET with drawstring closure: i carry 3 1/4" dia. 1 liter bottles with insulation; the side pockets just fit them, without insulating pouch, while they do fit, the 6" depth and elastic cuff seem a bit limited for larger water bottles. I guess itʻs a trade-off, since the pockets are just deep enough so that they donʻt interfere with the main compartment zippers.
Cord Passthrough unnecessary: for me, putting holes in a backpack doesnʻt make sense - itʻs just somewhere for moisture to get in. Headsets are going Bluetooth, and if you need to charge your handheld device, itʻs probably at the point where you shouldnʻt be using it anyway, and can just put it in the backpack to charge with whatever portable recharger you carry with you.
Jesus Caban
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