As someone who travels a lot with their laptop, I am serious about laptop backpacks. I have had more than a few over the years, but have a couple of favourites I would like to review for LearnTechGuy.com. Please note, the newest bag I am going to talk about today is about a year old. None are new and all have been field-tested extensively.
An Oldie, But A Discontinued Goodie...BBP Hauler Hybrid
I am going to start with my oldest laptop bag. It is the BBP (BumBakPak) Hauler Hybrid. I am including this bag, even though you can't buy it anymore, because it has been a durable, workhorse for over a decade. For those of you not familiar with BBP, they designed messenger style laptop bags that sit low on you back. They called it the "Bak2Pak" system. When worn, they remind me of a World War II-era paratrooper waist pack. The premise was that by lowering the weight of the bag it would put less stress on your back. It was a comfortable bag to wear.
Materials
The Hauler Hybrid was a smaller version of the larger Hampton Hybrid bag, (which is another bag I owned at one point). It was large enough to fit a 15" laptop in a padded interior pocket. The exterior of the pack was made of water-resistant nylon backed vinyl. The exterior of these bags wears well. The interior of the bag is nylon with a polyurethane coating to help with water resistance. The interior of these bags was always orange, with the idea being it would be easier to find what you were looking for with that contrasting colour. The bag featured some high-quality, metal rings to clip things (like keys or water bottles) to. The zippers were durable and the plastic buckles stood up to the test of time. The stitching was also well done. I had to have a couple of buckles re-sewn on, but that was after 7 or 8 years of use.
Laptop Protection
As I mentioned the Hauler Hybrid would fit a 15" laptop. The laptop pocket had a 4mm, high-density foam, divider on the interior and a high impact plastic insert on the backside of the bag for extra protection. The Hauler Hybrid, at the time, was considered to provide "light" protection for your laptop. Besides, the high-impact plastic insert, the Hauler Hybrid featured lumber pads. These were foam pads that were encased in mesh and featured an "air-flow" channel between the left and right pad. They were located on the back of the bag where the back of your laptop would be and right where it met your lumber.
Layout
The BBP Hauler Hybrid bag features the following compartments:
- Main Compartment features:
- A laptop compartment divided by a padded divider. This will fit up to a 15" laptop.
- A front section that fits, books, note pads, etc. and has two interior side pockets for cables.
- Front Compartment features:
- Business Cardholder.
- Tether for keys.
- Pen holders.
- Some additional interior small pockets for additional pens, cables, etc.
- Small front zippered pocket for anything small you don't want to lose.
The Bottom Line
The BBP Hauler Hybrid was a great bag. Unfortunately, it may have been too durable. I see that BBP is no longer in business. The BBP Hauler Hybrid was a great size, was extremely durable, and was roomy. I could carry my 15" Macbook Pro, a tablet (in the same sleeve as the MBP), charging cords and dongles, headphones, business cards, pens, notepads, etc. and still have room left over. The biggest con of the bag, other than you can no longer buy it, is that due to its messenger bag design and the fact only two clips held the flap closed I would occasionally lose things out of the bag if I dumped it down haphazardly. This happened to me rarely, but a couple of times over the years, which prompted me to look for other bags. The other feature that was lacking was a dedicated external water bottle pocket. These bags were priced at about $75 (USD) (2010 prices).
Pros
|
Cons
|
The Samsonite Viz Air
As a result of the fear of losing things out of my time tested BBP Hauler Hybrid backpack I started to look for a replacement. Due to my extensive yearly travel schedule, I was looking for something that was more airplane friendly. I settled on the Samsonite Viz Air. At the time (2016), it was priced at about $130 CDN. It seems that Samsonite has replaced the Viz Air with the Viz Air 2 if you are interested in purchasing one.
Materials
The Viz Air is made of 1680D polyester material and features a "honeycomb" style plastic insert at the bottom of the padded laptop compartment to protect your laptop when you set the bag down. This honeycomb insert is dubbed "Viz Air Protection", presumably because the honeycombs are air pockets to cushion your laptop from impacts. The top grab handle has the same type of honeycomb material in it. The zippers are all high quality and have stood the test of time. My Viz Air is black with nice blue zippers and accents. it is a nice looking bag. the inside materials for laptop and tablet compartments are blue to contrast the black outside and are made of a "fleece" like material that is ultra-soft. The central compartment is made of a grey nylon material.
Laptop Protection
The Viz Air has some awesome Laptop protection. Your laptop sits in a separate padded, compartment. The compartment is the last compartment closest to your back if you are wearing the pack. Inside the material, again, is a fleece-like material that is soft to the touch. There is also a dedicated, padded, tablet sleeve inside the front compartment.
Layout
The Samsonite Viz air features:
- Front compartment
- Grey nylon interior.
- Padded fleece tablet pocket.
- Pen holder pockets.
- Business card pocket.
- Larger, mesh, interior, zippered pocket for cables.
- Top zippered pocket
- Located near the top handle of the bag.
- Fleece interior.
- I believe the intention was for you to put your glasses or camera in, but I use it for anything I need to grab easily without having to open up the other larger compartments.
- Side pockets
- One on each side of the bag.
- Designed to carry water bottles.
- Middle compartment
- This is the largest compartment.
- Nylon sleeve for notepads and books.
- Mesh sleeve for cables.
- Two addition mesh pockets.
- Back Laptop Compartment
- Fleece-lined, padded interior.
- Will fit up to a 17" laptop. Fits a 15" laptop with room to spare.
- Awesome, interior fleece pocket at the top of the compartment I use to store my laptop charger.
- The bottom features the "Viz Air Protection" soft plastic, air-filled bottom insert for extra protection.
- Miscellaneous Features
- Padded straps.
- A strap that keeps shoulder strap tucked in when stowing under an airplane seat and/or can be used to hold your backpack on the handle of a roller suitcase.
The Bottom Line
This is a great bag. It has lots of room, has been durable and built to fit on airplanes. I could fit everything I need in this bag and Samsonite makes a quality product. I thought I had it hit it out of the park when I choose this bag to replace my BBP Hauler Hybrid. I used this bag as a daily use bag for both business and personal travel. On a trip to New York City with my wife, I was wearing the backpack around the city and went into the washroom when I came out someone had unzipped two of the compartments. The backpack was on my back and two compartments were unzipped without me noticing. Luckily, I must have turned around in time before anything was taken. That incident made me continue my search for a new "travel" laptop backpack. I relegated the Samsonite Viz Air to my daily use backpack.
Pros
|
Cons
|
Another Contender...The Timbuk2 Authority Pack, One Size
So in 2018, ahead of the fall conference season, I made another Laptop backpack purchase. My main priorities for this purchase was an airplane friendly, laptop travel backpack that was proactive, durable, but more secure than my Samsonite Viz Air. I settled on the Timbuck2 Authority Pack, One Size. At the time of purchase (Sept 2018), it was $170 CDN.
Materials
The Authority Pack is made of coated nylon and the side pocket is made of neoprene. The back on the pack features two vented foam pads to make it comfortable to wear and adds extra protection for the back of the laptop compartment. The zippers and buckles are all high quality and have been durable for the past year of use.
Layout
The Timbuk2 Authority Pack, One Size features:
- Front zippered pocket
- A small zippered pocket that I use to put a soft cloth for my glasses, and has a key tether built-in.
- Nylon interior material.
- Front compartment
- Nylon interior material.
- Several small pockets that can be used for cables, etc.
- Pen holders.
- Business cardholder.
- Middle compartment
- Nylon interior material.
- Large pocket for notepads or books.
- Large interior space for any miscellaneous items like headphones or cameras.
- Rear laptop compartment
- Nylon, padded, material.
- Nice rib-stitched padded finish.
- Will accommodate a 15" laptop.
- Miscellaneous Features
- Padded straps.
- Sternum strap.
- Quality made zippers and buckles.
- Two buckles and straps at the bottom of the bag. I believe they are intended to carry an umbrella.
The Bottom Line
I love this backpack and have travelled with it several times over the past year. The rear laptop compartment zipper only opens the top "mouth" of the compartment. The laptop compartment is the very rear compartment against your back. This makes it virtually impossible for a would-be thief to unzip and remove a laptop while the backpack in on your back. The other compartments have 3/4 zippers that open compartments wide, but I tend to zip them closed down to the bottom of one of the sides, making it harder for someone to try and unzip one of the compartments. I know you can buy "anti-theft" backpacks, but I also considered the durability and protection of my devices. Of the anti-theft backpacks I have looked at online I didn't trust the manufacturer enough to make a purchase. This pack fits under an airline seat and allows me to carry everything I need when I travel.
Pros
|
Cons
|
What I Bring With Me
As a freelancer and quasi vlogger, I bring a lot of stuff in my backpack when I travel. Here are the items I bring with me:
- The first thing in my bag is my 2018 13'' Macbook Air (Retina). It is my workhorse and main laptop.
- Charger for my laptop + the longer tail for the power brick just in case I need the reach.
- iPad Mini with power cube and lightning cable.
- Apple Watch charger.
- iPhone lightning cable charge and power cube.
- Various dongles (HDMI, VGA, USB, etc) and cables for presenting at conferences.
- Presentation remote + extra batteries & HDMI cable.
- Beats Solo3 headphones + Apple earbuds.
- Notepad + pens.
- Business Cards.
- Some times (if I travelling by air), I bring my Canon Rebel EOS SL2 with charger, small Manfrotto mini tripod, Comica shotgun mic, 18mm-55mm kit lens and 50mm lens.
- Passport, if needed.
I also take some additional precautions with my devices. The iPad travels in its portfolio sleeve. My Macbook Air travels in an InCase Slim Sleeve. I have also bought cable cases that hold all my cables, dongles, etc. This keeps everything together and makes cables easy to find. I have duplicated my cables and dongles over the years so I carry one complete cable case in each of my backpacks. This way I always have what I need in each bag when I travel without having to move cables from one bag to another.
Have a suggestion for a topic you would like to see covered on LearnTechGuy.com? Visit our make a suggestion page and we will do our best to honour your request!
Disclaimer: All the opinions are my own and are not the views of any suppliers or manufacturers.