Reviews related to : Backpacks and Bags
While your laptop can look after your data, you can look after your laptop with an appropriate carry case.
News has just reached me regarding the launch of certain laptop accessories from Trust Electronics Ltd. These new additions to the company's product line-up of sustainable solutions consist of a selection of backpacks, a carry bag and sleeves that form part of the Trust Avana and Lisboa brand ranges. All these new products will arrive bearing the company support for green credentials by being constructed from fabric produced using recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.
This is the smaller of two ‘Cooler Bags’ designed to keep things like beers cool over a long period of time for those into outdoor pastimes when far away from any electrical power. However I can see another use to keep things hot for a long period of time especially in these current times when some may not know when their next hot meal may come.
A bag within a bag this backpack is very lightweight and indeed folds up to a small size to fit into its own bag for easy transportation when not in use. It’s made of a lightweight material and when folded in its bag it could even fit into a larger handbag and quickly be unfurled to carry a good amount of stuff before fitting onto your back. They even provide a waterproof drawstring bag to put it in for those times when it has been used and got wet.
When folded up in its outer bag it has a size of 20x13cm and its weight is 270 grams. When unfolded it becomes 39x28x13cm the last figure is at the top and bottom, the central area is slightly more at 15cm. The straps are well padded so it does sit comfortably on your shoulders, as a well-built man I needed the extension to easily fit onto my shoulders but a thin smaller person could easily take these in via the fitting strap and give several centimeters less in overall size.
Providing camera storage is a product from HEX.
Although great strides have been made in the performance and capability of the photographic aspect of today's smartphones, the more serious photographer, whether of the professional or amateur variety, will prefer to use a Digital Single-Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera when capturing their images. However, rather than the easy convenience of slipping a smartphone into a pocket or the like, a DSLR camera will need a more substantial storage facility when not required.
This is a foldable chair that fits into the back section of a backpack, it can be used separately from the backpack or still attached to it, so ideal for those journeys on a packed train where you can find a corner but cannot find a seat.
The backpack is 35x27x40cm and the chair once assembled is 30x27x29cm. I am told the weight capacity of the chair is 100 kilos just as well as I am very close to that figure. Let’s deal with the chair first when assembled it is two 20cm wide 19cm side pieces going into an 8cm wide hinge the wide top sides click together by a two piece 2cm wide and 11cm long clip. The top half is two more 20cm wide side pieces that form an overall ‘X’ shape. The sides are two each of 3.
The Ultimate Carryall, Elite Backpack, and now it’s actual name Solo New York and as we all know everything in New York is big and this backpack is no exception, perhaps so good they named it three times is slight overkill but your laptop and much more will all fit inside.
It is 52cm from base to the carry handle on the top. It is 30cm wide all the way from bottom to top and 16cm deep at the base and up to 14cm deep at the top. The back has a pair of 7cm wide shoulder straps which have subsidiary straps for width and depth towards the base so whatever your size it can fit snugly to your back. The outside closest to your back is padded and pimpled for breathability.
When the company in question is STM then you should realise for certain that the subject matter will concern a laptop bag.
With dimensions of 15 x 29 x 45 cm (D x W x H), this backpack is available in a choice of dark navy, granite grey and the black of my review sample. The rather subdued and dark choice of available colours does give an indication that STM feels that this product could be expected to be used within environments where it could meld into its surroundings without standing out too much.
Adding to its range of carry cases, STM has released its Saga model.
As our reliance on portable electronic devices grows, so does the need for a means of storing such items when on our travels. Offering to provide carrying option for various items is the Saga 15-inch laptop backpack from the STM family. This nag has been designed to be carried on the back or in the fashion of an attaché case.
While never small this Backpack can quickly become cavernous so not only most Notebooks and all the extra bits that come it as well as a spare shirt pants and socks to facilitate an overnight stay can all be accommodated in this Backpack from Riut.
How good are you at packing your luggage before a trip? This product might help.
Described as the ultimate carry-on backpack, the GOBAG 2 offers to provide the regular traveller with the means to fit as much content as possible into the available storage space. As the figure “2” part of its title might indicate, the GOBAG 2 is the follow up offering to the original GOBAG which was launched back in 2015 on the crowd-funding Kickstarter platform. GOBAG 2 is following a similar route with a Kickstarter launch in November 2017.
Taking your equipment on the road requires a suitable receptacle to provide protection and easy access.
Designed by STM, the King is a rucksack type bag or, as the Australian designers prefer, a Backpack. Available in a choice of botanical green, china blue, tornado grey or, as in the case of my review sample, desert brown, the King has dimensions of 47.
In hot weather a cool bag is very useful either to keep your lunch, shopping or even picnic cool or maybe allow frozen food to stay frozen. Most are insulated bags with a cool brick or two inserted but those bricks take up valuable space.
Here I am looking at a small version called a Lunch Bag and one more than twice the capacity called a Picnic Tote. These bags are different in that the coolant is between the outer and inner layers and you actually fold the bag up and place it in your freezer overnight and then in the morning pack your lunch/picnic or take the bag with you when you shop the next day.
No doubt you will have noticed, and perhaps come to regard as a fact of life, that many devices, classified as portable, tend to arrive without any form of covering for protection during transit. Laptops, tablets and smartphones are devices that immediately spring to mind in this respect. Naturally manufacturers will only be too happy to produce accessories that retailers can sell you to protect your new expensive purchase when you embark on your travels.
Recently I have had the opportunity to check out a bag that has been designed to protect a laptop and some other devices. This is the Radial 15-inch Laptop Messenger bag from the Australian STM company. Offering the user a choice of attaché style handle or adjustable, padded shoulder strap carrying solution, the Radial bag is available in black, steel or, in the case of my review sample, Moroccan blue.
If you travel ‘light’ then the last thing you want is to wait ages at the baggage collection carousel for your one bag. The solution is a bag that is just within the legal size for carry-on luggage and that is the RiutBag R25 a substantial backpack.
It is 50x37x15cm (maximum unfilled size) and weighs 1290 grams empty. The stated size is 55x40x20cm which I assume is when packed. The material of the backpack feels solid and a close examination of the stitching and zips shows a well-constructed item and perhaps most important it is well padded at the points where it matters on your shoulders and back. In fact when I opened the rear compartment – the one nearest your back - there is a label saying ‘hand made by 18 people’.
This is a 17inch pull along case, it has four different zips that all join at one padlock point so unless someone steals the case the contents should be safe as unlike other such cases it is sold with the ‘stab proof’ banner so just add a tracker inside the case and unless it is totally destroyed you can locate it once stolen.
This Kensington Stab Proof Case measures 32x27x50cm and weighs 3.714kilos, remember that last figure it is without anything in and there will be times when you need to carry it up those stairs so when you pack it with alacrity remember those occasions. Of course for the majority of the time this will be pulled along behind you and when you about to stop or suddenly change directions remember those other people who are behind or beside you, they have feet.
Admittedly the box it came in was for two of them but even the plastic bag that this single backpack was packed was large, my first job was to put it on my kitchen scales, empty it weighs 2.81kilos. Next let’s see what items it can hold.
First it’s dimensions, 30cm across, 25cm deep and 50cm tall. Part of the reason for the weight is that it is so solid. The top for instance is solid enough to write letters on, the sides have little give and the front could probably support a child sitting on it. The only part that has giver is the back that fits snugly into your back but still gives to contours they call it a ‘Balanced Comfort System’.
I do not get to see many quality backpacks and here is the second this year. This one is perhaps a little more normal than the recently reviewed item that for me would be the sort of item that might be used by the James Bond character.
The Streetline BP250 backpack from Lowepro measures 51cm tall, 33cm wide and 12cm deep it weighs 1.2kilos when empty. It is charcoal grey with black zips and straps. To be honest it is not a name I have heard of but the agency that handles another brand asked me to look at it and the Lowepro site seems to be popular with quality photographers requirements where what they are carrying needs careful handling and support.
Certainly not what you would use for hiking or hill climbing this is a smart part leather unit that you might use to go for your office meeting or round and about in a city environment and not when crossing a muddy field scenario.
First let’s say it now it’s not cheap in fact it’s a well-made offering with bells and whistles so the word I am searching for is quality and that -as most will know - you have to pay for. It is 2.1kilos in weight when empty and the overall dimensions are 50x32x13cm the last figure is without any expansion to the sides, when fully expanded you can add up to another 10cm. I counted ten zips in pairs so that pockets can open the way you want them to.
This item would be for those who go out and about a lot. As soon as a say high quality it also means high price but the two can go together to produce an excellent well-made product so if you walk a lot then you are made for this item.
This back pack is manufactured to take a notebook first and everything else second. It’s weight when empty is 1565grams. It is 46x30x13cm but the last figure the width does stretch. There is a filled 13cm long handle on the top for comfortable carrying when it’s not in residence on your back. The outside back is packed with an airmesh material that lets your back breathe and so lessens sweat. The top collar is 6cm wide leading down to the straps that are 7.
Although some power walking might be helpful, it is not really necessary with this next product which can still work when just strolling.
The Packr™ belongs to the EnerPlex family of battery charging products. In the case of the Packr, this product is a rucksack that features a 285 x 135mm solar panel embedded into the back of the rucksack where it is ideally placed where to soak up and convert sunlight into power that can be used by a variety of today’s electronic devices that we would find difficult managing without during our daily lives. The rucksack itself has dimensions of 496.
Main Menu
