SwissGear Unisex-Adult 5358 USB ScanSmart Laptop Backpack, Black Dot, Large

Please look at the corresponding pictures in this review. This is not even the same backpack. There is no place to put a spare charging battery, even though it was specifically advertised, the accessory pockets are completely different, and the charging port is on the side of the bag and not on the strap even though the phone pocket is still there. I am assuming that they are just selling the defective ones on Amazon. Regardless, as this is Swiss Gears official store, I will not be buying from them again and would recommend you do the same.

I used this backpack for traveling to Europe for a month, and it worked great. I took my laptop, Kindle, Ipod, headphones, and all of the electronic accessories. The back section lays out flat, but TSA still wants you to take the laptop out of the pack. The center compartment was great for storing a few clothes items. The front compartment was good for organizing various things, but could have had a few more pockets/pouches (baggies help organize). The very front side zip compartment was used for things you dont access very often. I stored things in baggies to make it easier to find things. I spent a lot of time looking online and this met my needs the most. Its also not too bulky if you dont overstuff it and can slide under the seat on the airplane.

I strongly recommend this bookbag! It has enough pockets to keep oneself and a family organized.

This is my fourth attempt at finding a backpack with all the features needed to be the perfect travel companion for car trip and airplane travel, and this backpack is IT! I especially love the zip pocket for the water bottle so it does not continuously fall out (bonus, the pocket has a mini waterproof, cooler liner to keeping the drinks cold/warm). I use the zip pocket designed for shoes for my camera and I can easily take it in and out of the backpack without having to expose the rest of the contents. There are several perfectly sized pockets for other valuables and the icing on the cake is the plastic-lined zip pocket on top to protect my sunglasses. It is a bit too heavy to convert to use for long, vertical hikes, but is great for use in going to the beach or anywhere else where weight is to an issue. This back-pack is a real game-changer for the active traveler, simply, unimaginably perfect!

I received this backpack to replace my old messenger bag for work. It is very roomy and perfect for my laptop, tablet, and a few books. The straps have a pocket for a phone or small device to charge with the charge port being also located in the strap. The middle pocket has a USB cable that youd plug into a rechargeable power pack (not included). It feels comfortable to wear even on my big frame. I did knock a star off overall and on durability because the first time I received this, the side shoe pocket zipper was sheared off and there was considerable friction wear on the side as if the bag got shifted and scraped really hard on something. Amazon sent a replacement right away and that one was in perfect condition. Just be advised, this backpack might not be as durable as advertised. Ill use it and update this review if anything happens.

This is my 4th swissgear backpack in the last dozen years. This is the first one I feel lets me down straight out of the box. First off, what clueless marketing person photographs a pocket knife in a tsa backpack paragraph and shows a picture of it? Want to make sure you never fly again? Use the backpack the way swissgear depicts. They dont show it here like they do on their webpage but swissgear believes that people have small cell phones and dont have cases on them. Thats the photo they use on their website to demo the cell pouch. Reality= the last 5 phones Ive owned do not fit into this pouch at all. Negates the tech savvy usb cable to the internal pouch where your battery pack is supposed to be. They might market this to the tech crowd but its very poorly thought out. Try putting a pair of shoes into this bag from the side without taking out all of the contents of the pouch the side entry shoe pocket enters. I dare you.

My engineer, particularly picky husband loves this bag! This was purchased for business travel. It checked ALL the boxes. This bag has MANY different compartments, storage options. Multiple ways to carry/tote/move/store. Comfortable straps for zooming around the airport. Holds weight well. The only complaint was more pen holders would be better, and a special compartment for business cards. Visually sleek, clean, professional bag! GREAT value!!!

Before I found SwissGear I only thought I liked my prior backpacks. They became my refernece. SwissGear seems to be standard issue for most IT people. My prior backpacks that have met my needs. Swiss Gear, Maxxum & Synergy (Older Version), and Kenneth Cole Reaction. I mention them as a reference. My purpose for a backpack is to carry my laptop, electronics, and accessories. This includes 16 Laptop, 13 Work Laptop, & Tablet. Im glad to see it still has the key holder. I use mine for a small flashlight, ear plugs, & a swiss army knife attached via small S-biners. This is handy but does get in the way of using the pocket for a larger tablet. The pockets in the front compartment are ok, but I wish they had a small zippered pocket. The arrangement is fairly standard. The TSA friendly feature is handy for better access to the laptop compartment. The TSA has me remove my laptop anyway. They didnt get the memo. My 16 laptop is on the larger side and it fits comfortably. A 13 laptop fits easily into the tablet spot. Thus far the padding has protected my laptop in spite of the backpacks propensity to roll over (and often onto the floor). When it comes to sitting up, its not as stable as my reference backpacks. The battery pocket works. I have a battery just under the maximum capacity the TSA allows, so fairly large. Having the battery in that spot creates a pressure point on your laptop. So far thats not caused any problems but it seems odd. A mesh pocket above the laptop and/or tablet pockets would be handy. The USB cable is USB A. Safe but not the future. The cable is longer than it needs to be though maybe thats so you can use a battery lower in the compartment. The extra length can sometimes get in the way. The cable doesnt appear to be replaceable. Thats too bad. Cables wear out. One of the shoulder straps has the external USB A connection. A mesh pocket sits below it. It will hold a larger phone (S21 is what I used) for charging though its an awkward arrangement but probably functional. The luggage strap is too low or to thin to hold it stable when loaded. It tends to lean and that will throw smaller luggage you may have it strapped on, off balance. I had to grab the hanging strap to keep it stable while walking. The handle is improved. They have the same metal cable but the padding is better. The hardcase glasses pocket is a mixed bag. My sunglasses are in a hard case so for me a soft one would work better. I carry my ear buds in this pocket as well. Its tight but fits. The glasses pocket is also in the way of getting anything in and out of the main compartment. More so as you fill the pack. You can see this in the photo. If they put it on the back, it would be in the way of the two pockets but less in the way of accessing the main compartment. Its an annoyance. The two pockets are nice. They should have put a mesh compartment above the pockets for misc items. The potential spot for the mesh pocket is in the photo. The main compartment is small relative to the backpacks I reference above. But for every day carry thats a fair trade off. The backpack has 3 outside pockets, not counting the sunglasses spot. It could have 7. It should have more than it does. The two side pockets are ok. One is mesh for a beverage but also has a zipper compartment with some insulation. Its gimmicky but...I used it for its purpose so thumbs up. No problems there. The other side pocket is a shoe pocket. It has a mesh zipper pocket inside which I use for some cash that Id rather store in the front compartment if it had actually had such a pocket. I also store a small pouch of accessories I use often. Yes a pouch inside a pocket because otherwise everything would get lost in the shoe sleeve. I might use the sleeve for a rain jacket in the summer. The last outside pocket is the front pocket. This is essentially using the front flap as some bonus storage. Its a bad design. I bought the smallest USB cable organizer I could find and found it wouldnt fit. The inside is large enough the zipper isnt. You can see this in the photo. I ended up using another pouch for inside the pocket. Where I would put other pockets. Two small ones would fit, on the top half of each side. The front flap could fit a small one where the Black cloth and logo is. You could have two more below that for relativly flat items.. Either vertical, horizontal or a larger one to fit misc items you tend to pick like boarding passes, luggage claims and paper. With these and the mesh pockets they could have added, or even half of them, this pack would be far better than it is. But it lacks some of the design niceties they used to include in their older backpacks. With that and a tweak to the design of the sunglasses holder location I would have the best daily carry backpack Ive ever had. But thats not the case. Ive had to improvise solutions to problems that older backpacks had already figured out. The quest continues for a good EDC backpack. This will do until I find it, but this isnt it. That said, my first choice for that next one would still be Swiss Gear.

I love this bag. I love the color, I love the zippers and the room I have in each compartment. The only negative I have with it, is that I wish it had more cushion in the back part of the book bag. Sometimes when I carry my computer I can feel it digging in my back. It just needs more cushion. Straps are comfortable. I give this bag an 8 out of 10

So i bought this backpack.. it cost the same on Amazon as it does on the site, and since I have prime, I didnt need to spend money on shipping. I had a Swiss gear Backpack for over 20 years (YEAH.. my mother bought me one in 1995, when i was a freshman in Highschool), the zip finally broke on me November 2019. I work full time, I study, and I travel a lot.. so for me.. I needed a reliable backpack. And I can only think of Swiss Gear.. This backpack is the same material as my old backpack and has a few extra features.. Its light on the back, and its extremely professional and great for traveling as well. It has an insulated compartment for a waterbottle! Hopefully this will last me another 20+ years!