Swiss Gear SA1923 Black TSA Friendly ScanSmart Laptop Backpack - Fits Most 15 Inch Laptops and Tablets

Used laptop backpacks since 1999, and I have gone through several brands. When I found SwissGear, I stopped changing brands. Pros: 1. Toms of pockets, slots and a HUGE main compartment. Place for mp3 player, batteries, Kindle and all the related electronic stuff you cant live without while on the road. 2. This backpack is significantly lighter than the previous two SwissGears packs Ive owned. 3. Airport security friendly. Leave the laptop in the bag, unzip the back, fold it flat and send it through the x-ray. 4. Comfortable on the back, and easy to hand carry when needed. Cons: 1. The light weight seems to translate into lower quality in a few places. One of the side grommets caught on a seat belt and was pulled out with no effort. 2. Zipper does not go down all the way on the bottom front pocket. 3. There is no divider in the huge center compartment, and small items tossed in there fall to the bottom and get lost. 4. The zipper sections in the main compartment are small. Given the room available, they could have been much bigger. The final comment is not really a Con, but the bag holds so much that you can actually make it too bulky to fit under the seat in front of you on the plane, and make it too heavy to comfortably carry on your back. Now you really can carry all the junk you want to carry with you!

OK, so that may be a bit dramatic. I looked for quite awhile for a bag reasonability priced with pockets, bottle pockets, key pockets, kleenix pockets, eyeglass case pockets, book pockets, laptop phone and cord pockets and so on. I commute many mornings via Park and ride into work and need a bag that is easy to carry, pockets for bus pass, phone, Kindle, paper files, pens, keys, glasses, lunch bag, rain coat, and wow. This bag has it all. I am quite satisfied. Sturdy construction. Zippers tough and hold up to my every day use. I have been using for a couple months (or thereabouts) and have nothing about which to complain. Side pockets, one on each side, easily handle my 22oz thermos and coffee cup. The front pocket has slots for pens, markers. There is a attached key clip thingy that easily releases and re-clips. I dont use the padded laptop pocket much - it is large enough for a 15 - 17 screen. My wife things it larger than necessary, however, she isnt the one on the bus in rain and or snow wanting an easy one hand or over the shoulder bag. I do recommend it! Did I mention it has pockets? 22Oct2013 update - I continue to really enjoy this bag. This week (no kidding) I have seen this same bag over the shoulder of a fellow bus commuter, and a gentlemen who belongs to the same wellness center. I have take work out clothes with me to work using this bag so that I could stop and workout on my way home. This is ideal in my book.

How do you carry the absolute maximum on an airline that allows one carry on and one personal item?? You use this bag and a 22 rollerboard (if you can still find one). Rollerboards are getting harder to find as spinners are taking over, but in my experience they just dont hold as much. This fits under the seat in front of you and the rollerboard in the bin. This bag and other Swiss Gear backpacks like it are becoming the de facto bag you see see business travelers using - at least those that use backpacks. If you are considering it, go ahead and buy it. Its a good investment that will last a long time.

I have used this bag for a couple of trips in the last week and am very happy with it. The bag is very well put together and it is really convenient for the airport as it is as simple as unzipping the back half of bag and opening it out flat for the security scanner. If I were to suggest anything that would make the bag better I would ask for more sections inside the main compartment to store things. There is really only one small pouch inside and then some dividers but I didn;t have a great place to store my paperwork when traveling. The front and side pouches are very roomy and I had plenty of room to store the various gadgets and accessories that I feel the need to travel with nowadays! All in all, this is a nice handy bag and is great value for the cost.

This is an amazing book bag! Bought this for my boyfriend bc he went back to college to further his education ! First day he used it, he told me he was definitely glad that I bought it bc it has everything he needed far as space and pockets!

Love love love this pack! It took me 15 years to replace my old backpack. This backpack is amazing! It’s roomy, it fits all my gear (I’m a USPS carrier) very functional and efficient -highly recommend!! Especially like how you can operate the zipper with one hand. I can fit my lunch and all extra supplies and gear in here and still have extra room. But it doesn’t feel like it’s too big. Perfect!!

This backpack is just OK. I bought a backpack from Walmart I think(actually my wife bought it....;)with skulls on it. It was for kids going back to school. Well I like skulls, even though Im older now, and it was just a great backpack! Everything was in the correct spot! The 1 and only thing that was lacking that this backpack has, is the side drink holder pockets! Those are great! Everything else is more of a pain then anything else. The quality seems good after having it for 2 months. Still looks good and all that, which is to be expected for a $60 backpack! Its just that the pickets, and everything is just a little off, and that little off makes them not convenient and you misplace and lose stuff easily because of it. Stuff that used to take me a minute to grab in my old backpack, doesnt stay in place with this one, and I have to dig for it! I HATE THAT! The pockets also are not meant to get into on the go. And Im always on the go, so thats very inconvenient!

I have only been using this backpack for a few months but already I can tell it is the best backpack I have owned. Cavernous on the inside. Fits my work laptop Dell M4800 (a large laptop for a 15) with plenty of extra room. Not too bulky. Comfortable to carry even with heavy laptop and charger. Lots of thoughtful gizmos like sunglasses holder, adjustable bottle pockets, carabiner hook for keys etc. Looking forward to many years of service. I noticed that lots of people commented on the ScanSmart feature. Its my experience that the TSA agents are not familiar with or dont care about the rule that you can fold your bag open and put the computer through the scanner. I have tried this with a TSA-friendly briefcase and been told Nope. many times until I gave up. So my $.02 is dont worry about the ScanSmart feature but do get this backpack for its capacity, comfort, creature features, and build quality.

I have held of putting in this review for almost a year so I was sure what I was talking about. I have used this as a every day bag and for hiking, mountain bike riding, off road motoro bike riding, camping and work trips away with laptops etc. I purchased this bag based on several key features, 1. side mesh pockets for keys (Im lucky I live in a town with little crime so not worried about security), 2. large side zip pockets for water bottles or laptop chargers etc, 3. front lower pocket with organiser for pens, eye drops, wallet, meds and the like. Not quit as good as previous bags with the actual pockets, but still pretty good, have found it is more a free for all type pocket 4. top front pocket is good for sun glasses (wrapped in own soft protection bag) 5. Main compartment good for most things. down side is it has two sleeves for keeping books organised, but I find it gets in the way when storing pretty much anything in the compartment, Im tempted to cut them out 6. Two laptop / document storage compartments against the back of the pack, good for 15 HP laptop and also useful for any books etc General comments 1. The top handle flops down meaning it seriously gets in the way when putting anything in the main compartment, I fixed this by zip tieing it to one of the straps at the top of the shoulder straps in a upright position, works well. 2. The shoulder straps sit well on my shoulder and do not clash with my arms when walking 3. It is not the lightest bag but this means it stands up pretty much by itself when it put in on the floor as opposed to falling over like a lighter bag (personal hate of mine) 4. I have used it for some long off road motor bike rides with out problem, nothing even looks like it will fail 5. its not the biggest bag, but that stops me from carring to much, I can get enought in it for a over night work trip away with a bit of carful packing 6. I like the styling, not your average bag 7. Zips are great and take a lot of abuse Summary It took me a long time to find this bag as shopping on line is not the same as in store, I live in town with no bag stores. My research was worth it as I would buy this bag again if it still made and if there was nothing else newer that was better. However I suspect that will be five or more years away as it is very well made.

From back to front: Supportive yet comfortable straps that displace the weight very nicely, yet keep my back relatively cool in the Florida heat. (56 female) My 15 Macbook Pro fits easily yet securely in the laptop pocket (though I am still getting used to the side-zip entrance for the laptop sleeve). The bottom of the pack has a bit of padding which looks/feels like it will absorb any shocks when setting the pack down. The center pouch has a thin partition for organizing folders/notebooks with a phone pocket hanging from the top that snugly fits my iphone 6 plus (in a Lifeproof Case) with a protected hole to thread your headphones out of. The front has two zipped pockets. The top is shallow but about 6 inches long, the bottom pocket has an organizational partition for pens/planners/wallet etc with a little detachable ring for your keys. On either side there are two zipped pockets with vents that run the length of the bag, and two mesh pockets with additional straps; I was pleased to find that my 1 Liter Nalgene bottle fits securely in the side mesh pockets! The handle on top is, like the rest of the bag, is well made and secure! I use the carabiner on the back for my bike helmet, and love the reflective strips for my commutes as well. There are so many pockets, I have yet to find a use for all of them! Overall, its a great bag and appears to be very well-made. Its not necessarily the cutest of backpacks, but its very functional and I am glad I chose it over some of its more attractive (yet not as comfortable, protective, or durable) counterparts!