which laptop backpack would you choose?

[drewdogg808]

i'm having trouble deciding which backpack case to pick:
mobile edge premium
or
jansport optimizer

both seem like good cases, but does anyone have experiences using one of these and opinions? i like the airlift straps and shockshield of the jansport, but the rest of the padding on the sides doesn't seem impressive.

the mobile edge has the safety cell computer padding, but i haven't seen any pictures of the sleeve so i don't know if the padding goes on all sides plus the bottom. the mobile edge does have the nice padded back panel.

they are both priced pretty similar so that isn't too much a factor, but i want to go with the better pack.

any suggestions or comments?
i have a compaq x1000 if anyone wants to know.

 

[ShellGuy]

Well here is one more to throw in to the mix. I picked up mine at Best Buy for like eighty bucks not bad and that was 2 yrs ago. Has great padding for ur sholders and to protect ur lappy. It also has great places to put everything you could want to carry for ur lappy. Let me know what u think. Good Hunting.

Will

 

[Corporate Thug]

i use this one
http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=TSB212

 

[drewdogg808]

i did check out a few targus backpacks, but the padding of the sleeve/compartment didn't seem that thick. i only looked at the gravity and the matrix bags.

am i being paranoid with wanting thick padding? this is my first laptop. do your laptops get pretty banged up in the targus backpacks or is the padding sufficient?

thanks.

 

[Almighty1]

If you want a quality backpack as a benchmark which is above all other backpacks, look at the ones from tombihn.com (Brain Bag) and Spireusa.com (meta).

 

[Kaylya]

I use a Targus pack too. I've had it for two years and it's held up pretty darn well; in fact, I just noticed the first real damage to it today - one of the clips on it is missing a bit of plastic. Now that I think of it, I think I stepped on it. It's by no means an important clip.

The only thing I've done to damage my laptop was the time I tripped over wires and it fell on it's side, where my USB mouse was plugged in, snapping out the little piece of plastic that keeps the pins in place, and kinda popping open the side of the screen a little (no damage to the screen, the bezel just snapped back into place). I saved the little piece of plastic from the USB port and glued it back in; it worked in a finicky kinda way for a while, but now it doesn't want to work any more. I might try working on it with the glue again; the piece of plastic seems like I could get it out again.

Anyways, my experience is that laptops aren't particularily fragile when they are closed and off and don't have anything plugged into them. I wouldn't worry too much about the amount of foam in the pack unless it's going to get a lot of abuse while in the pack. But I mean, unless you are planning on dropping it down a flight of stairs into a puddle, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[MuffD]

I bought this one off of Ebay.
I almost bought this same one at CompUSA for about 70 bucks or so and thought I would check Ebay first. I found this one and thought it was a good deal. I went and bought it since they were in San Diego, allowed local pickup, and was a few minutes from where I work.
It's pretty good so far. Nice and sturdy with alot of compartments for all the stuff I need to carry around with me.

 

[crzylgs]

I have a Nike Epic 1 and its sooo awesome.
Heres the link, mine is black

 

[bigshooter]

I've had the Targus backpack mentioned above for a year now. I've beat the heck out of it, and other than some fraying its great. How big is the laptop you want to put in it?

 

[drewdogg808]

my laptop is 14.06 x 10 x 1.3".

thanks for all the suggestions, but i think i'm gonna go with the jansport. the "shockshield" seems pretty cool.

i'll let you guys know how it turns out.

 

[virtuamike]

Linky

Bidding on that one on ebay, hope I win.

 

[MuffD]

Originally posted by: crzylgs
I have a Nike Epic 1 and its sooo awesome.
Heres the link, mine is black

That bag looks really nice but I just find it hard for myself to pay that much for a bag when I only paid 750 for my thinkpad.

 

[paranoidandroid]

consider maybe getting a laptop sleeve. that way you can use it with your current backpack. i got a sony vaio neoprene sleeve that fits basically any 14-15inch laptop. actually fits like a glove of condom. a little loose on a t40, but pretty snug on a dell. also comes with a separate neoprene case for your ac adapter

 

[drewdogg808]

Originally posted by: virtuamike
Linky

Bidding on that one on ebay, hope I win.

congrats on winning the bag...looks like a nice one. only thing that seems a little shady is the quote "Note: This bag is of the most outstanding quality and durability, but it's original source cannot be verified. "

i wonder why the source cannot be verified?

 

[stingygrrl]

I'm getting a brain cell from here

edit
edit... typical girl!! I decided to get the trager transporter from my thread here for 1/2 the price.

 

[virtuamike]

congrats on winning the bag...looks like a nice one. only thing that seems a little shady is the quote "Note: This bag is of the most outstanding quality and durability, but it's original source cannot be verified. "

i wonder why the source cannot be verified?

Dunno

Then again he has plenty of other ones for auction so I'm not worried. Worst comes to worst, I'll ship it back and have it replaced.

 

[drewdogg808]

well, got the jansport a couple days ago.....
first impressions: very good construction, plenty of pockets, airlift straps are very comfortable, and shockshield padding on bottom very nice.

bad news.....my laptop doesn't fit very well.
the side zipper opening supposedly fits up to 14" length laptops, and is supposed to accomodate up to 16" across if you insert the laptop at an angle. my laptop is 14.06" length, so i figured it would be fine. wrong.

i can angle the laptop to get it in, but man it's a pain because it doesn't slide in very easily. takes a few minutes of fumbling to squeeze it in at an angle and then position it vertically.

looks like i'll be trying the mobile edge and returning the jansport. only bad thing is the place i was gonna buy the mobile edge is now out of stock...

i would've really liked to keep the jansport because it looks great and has alot of nice features, but i wish that side opening had another .06 inches.....

 

[virtuamike]

Hrm, my North Face bag came in a couple days ago. It has plenty of room, almost too much honestly.