Fire—August 2, 2006
I waited for a whole semester before reviewing this product simply because I wanted to truly put it through its paces. Did it survive? Yes. Did it satisfy? Very much so. Build: The backpack is quite sturdy. I used it extensively every day for about four months, though I only carried my laptop in it about half the time. No rips or tears yet. The zippers are still holding up, even under the considerable strain of heavy textbooks. One thing that concerns me is the meshed compartment right in front of the laptop area, which almost always interferes with the placement of books with sharp edges, or spiral bound notebooks. I've walking in some severe downpours with this backpack on, and I haven't found any of its contents to be wet. This is not a guarantee of water-proofing, but I'm saying your stuff will be reasonably protected with some due care (read: don't go swimming with it). Storage: Be advised that there's not going to be much room for books once you put in a laptop (I own a Dell Inspiron 600m). Especially hardcovers. Even without a laptop, you can't fit more than one 300+ page textbook and a couple of thin notebooks without having much difficulty in closing the main compartment. Then again, this isn't being sold as a trekking bag, so this shouldn't be much of a concern. Before I forget: pockets! Lots of compartments and pockets in this backpack. I use the main area for the laptop and my notebooks. The two pockets inside the main compartment hold my mouse and power adapter, along with my graphing calculator and a Moleskine. The smaller compartment holds headphones, and a daily planner. The smallest front pocket holds writing instruments, spare batteries, a USB thumbdrive, and a (Maglite) flashlight. The side pockets are great for bottles of water. So far, I haven't found any use for the meshed area, though I suspect loose sheets will fit nicely there. Comfort: The padding on the straps is quite a relief, because the sheer weight of a laptop in addition to some books and a bottle of water can cause significant strain on the shoulders. The handle on top also seems quite strong, which is usefully for short-range transportation, a.k.a lifting. There is a port for headphones through the front pocket, for those people who like their MP3/CD player out of their reach while listening (I don't). Overall: It's a great backpack, surprisingly sturdy for a laptop backpack. The material is actually more resistant to wear than my last (academic) backpack. Definitely a good value for money, purchased at Amazon for $30 with free shipping back in January 2006. While the capacity for books is reduced when placing a laptop in there, the other features and the comfort levels provided by the backpack more than make up for it. If you're not taking many courses with fat textbooks and are looking to carry a laptop to school frequently, this is the backpack for you. Update (April 2010): It's been more than four years of constant use, and this backpack is still in fantastic shape with only minor fraying of some of the exterior stitching and straps. This backpack exhibits seriously impressive build quality, folks! From time to time, when I notice a new ecosystem developing at the bottom of the main compartment, I toss it into the washer. More frequent washes might result in increased fraying. Note that this fraying does not impact the backpack's usefulness in any way. If you're looking for a backpack that will last you half a decade (or more!), this is the backpack for you. Read more
Kelvin Nguyen—August 19, 2012
Date of purchase: August 29, 2010 Price: $25.14 History with Targus: Second Targus backpack Pros: - Since price is already listed ... CHEAP - Durable; lasted me through the last two years of high school with some signs of wear. (See below for more info) - Large main component with two sleeves inside; able to hold (with some organization) two large binders, folder, laptop, a thick book, glasses case, notebook and two calculators (I even stuffed in a rather thick manila envelope in the laptop sleeve). - Great secondary component; held my obnoxiously large laptop charger, various other wires and a folder for filler paper and various documents. Also has a sleeve, but the material is more like the pouch on the outside - not sure what that's called. - Laptop sleeve (has decent padding on the front, sides and back) - Lots of pockets and zippers - - Right side pocket (when wearing the backpack) has a zipper as well as a sleeve on the inside. I was able to hold a stack of index cards here along with batteries in the sleeve. - - Left side pouch held a water bottle well - - Front compartment has a padded pouch with a velcro strap (great for holding your flash drive) as well as three loops for pens. No complaints whatsoever. Glue sticks, highlighters, pencils, pens, mechanical pencils - all fitted well in the front compartment. Con: - Lack of padding at the top and inadequate padding on the bottom of the laptop sleeve (You'll definitely don't want to drop your backpack ... not even an inch off the ground if you value your laptop; which is good practice anyway and something I got used to doing, but with a heavy load and weak arms that's easier said than done). But yeah if you're looking for something that will protect your laptop like an impact case for the iPhone ... this is not it. My backpack, with my old laptop, actually fell from a stand-up position on top of my desk to the concrete floor ... laptop was still fully functional, but the corner of the frame broke off. That's the only con I can think of though, granted a big one for a 'laptop backpack' it's one that can be overcome with better care and handling. Fit of Laptop: Okay when I first got this backpack I had a different laptop and, while I don't know the exact measurement, it was a monster in size (I believe it was a HP dv6000 whose's measurements are supposedly 15.6; but anyone who had this laptop will probably agree that it's definitely not like today's "15.6 laptops" - much more large square screens with a thick body). It fit VERY tightly into the backpack when I packed it with the rest of my school work. So much so that when the corner of my laptop broke it, and I started putting it in with that broken side up, it started scraping at the inner, upper park of the backpack and tearing away at the material there. However when I got my new laptop, a 15.6 HP dv6t, the backpack kind of swallowed it ... Quite strange; I'd take pictures and show you the difference, but I no longer have the old laptop. Signs of wear I can see are: - The side of the top of the shoulder straps are a bit frayed - The top corner where my laptop was chipped and scratched at the backpack had a cm slit - And the very corners of the PVC bottom was torn/missing (seems like I might have hooked it or scrapped it against something ...) Comments on Use/Durability: So as you saw I've had this backpack for two years and those are the 'only' signs of wear that have shown. Everything is still working and intact; zippers, shoulder straps, pockets and all. Like I said I used this backpack for my last two years of high school; this meant always over-stuffing it with schoolwork and computer equipment and included going on several school trips both years with it. In fact I carried around my backpack so often, along with the laptop, that my friends began poking fun at me for it ... until they started doing so themselves :p Overall I've been satisfied with the backpack, especially for the price! Just that one con will be a big problem if you aren't careful. Now, however, I am about to start college and thought I'd try upgrading to either the SwissGear Computer Backpack or Targus Drifter II to hopefully last all four years and provide more protection for my newer laptop. :p Read more
