I've gone through some searches here on the forum but I haven't found quite what I'm looking for. I'm hoping the forum can help with suggestions on what they like, or what to avoid.

I'm in need of a durable, hard use laptop backpack. I need the bag to be capable of carrying up to a 17" laptop, along with a few text books, a small compressed rain coat, along with the other EDC gear that most of us might carry. Knife, light, water, etc.

I need to find a bag capable of carrying the load for 6-10 miles per day with the occasional woodland-field excursions for course work. My ideal bag is something along Maxpedition durability, but I'm in need of balancing this with a college student budget as my return to school has coincided with a reduction in income.

Maxpedition durability is the goal, but I don't want to be the old guy on campus with the obvious stand-out "Tacticool" bag either as I would like to not draw attention to myself while there.

Any help you guys can offer is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Dan

The North Face Router The Fall'18 model has the better foam in the straps/back. The older models use crappy foam.

I'd recommend Timbuk2, but apparently they don't make anything for 17" laptops. 17" are just about the domain of gamers and coders. Most of those size bags will only be found at big-box chain stores from brands like Swiss Gear, Targus, etc... It's a very, very small market; I've been in the bag business for 20+ years, I have zero dealers in N.Ca that want to carry 17" laptop bags.

You may very likely need to invest in a solid laptop sleeve, and then find the backpack that suits your needs.

Some options.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com...best-laptop-backpack

Buddy of mine that travels a lot uses this bag or one very similar from Swissgear.

https://www.swissgear.com/back...sgear-5358-scansmart

I have a neoprene sleeve for my laptop. That's all I use these days but it sounds like you may something more protective. I've found my current MacBook with SSD drive can take some abuse. Not that I try and abuse it.

I recently posted up a similar request, but for a carry-on sized bag- tacticool wasn’t a deal breaker in my case.

One pack I considered that was just a bit too large, but might fit the bill is the Camelbak BFM. In black, and with the hip belt removed, it might fit your needs as not standing out on campus. For camping, etc, the belt is a quickly attached item, and it can hold a lot of stuff. They are a bit pricey, but lightly used ones do show up on eBay.

I've been in field service for 10 years now. Started with a Targus, and still have it.

I've been seriously impressed with it.

I still see the model I have every once in a while, but don't think it's a current model. They have many models to choose from.

They're reasonably priced for the quality. Almost all are less than $100 with many around $50.

Thanks for the response so far guys. Keep them coming please, I appreciate the input.

I have an older dedicated laptop bag from Targus and while the bag material is durable the handle is falling apart and the zipper pull all broke off at the zipper head. Because of this I had left them out of my search. I'll take another look there.

I've only been able to handle a few of the Swiss gear bags at local box stores but my first impressions of them were that they were constructed with light weight material. This could be different in their larger bags. I haven't seen one made to hold a larger laptop yet.

While following one of the links from an above post I got lost down the rabbit hole and came across a Carhartt bag. I didn't know they made bags but I'm very familiar with the quality of their jackets. Has anybody here ever seen or handled one of these?

Carhartt Legacy

I have been using a Swissgear backpack for my Red Cross local turnouts and national deployments. It has worked very well and held up to travel. I like the laptop pocket that usually lets me go through TSA checks without pulling everything apart. Seems to be well made from durable materials. I got mine at sam's Club for a very reasonable price.

I've used Brenthaven briefcases for years and they are well built and priced right. Never used the backpack style but the others are well built with a lifetime warranty.
https://brenthaven.com/laptop-backpacks/