I'm not a super high end gear snob. Was looking at some $50 backpacks on amazon that looked like they'd get the job done. But: Wanted to ask for any recommendations to consider.

I normally run around with just a office given laptop bag. But I've recently got some wireless headphones that have a hard case. I've got some wired IEM that have a small hard case. Something larger would make more sense for me. I'd just like for it to have a slight amount of padding for the laptop. If it matters it's a 15" laptop.

Don't really care if it's tacti-cool or not. Doesn't matter for me to be discrete. Everyone here already knows i'm the "gun nut" in the building.

My wife and I each have one that we bought from Land's End, many years ago. They are still going strong.

Looking at their website, I do not see the exact product, but this one appears to be pretty close:

https://www.landsend.com/produ...s-backpack/id_331946

I've got a SwissGear Travel ScanSmart backpack and would repurchase the exact same one if needed. Got it on Amazon.

Swiss Gear is good. I would also recommend North Face. You see their backpacks all over the place, and with good reason. Most of them have a laptop pocket.

I posed a similar question last year.

Hard use laptop backpack suggestions?

There were several great suggestions. I chose to go with the Carhartt Legacy 17inch because I had found one on sale for under $60 to my door at the time. So far the bag is holding up well. The material is standard Carhartt quality. I chose to Aqua-seal the bag before I put it into use, knowing I would be doing field research and putting in a lot of footwork while I'm at school. My only complaints about the bag is that the rear pocket zippers don't go down the sides far enough and therefore don't open the pocket for good access. The laptop pocket has some neoprene but I purchased a separate removable sleeve from Amazon for extra protection. The Laptop pocket also has some velcro on the sides that helps hold it closed tighter when carrying smaller laptops.

$50 for a backpack w/laptop sleeve will get you to entry-level. For something basic, checkout Jansport, I've become pretty selective when it comes to gear, however they're a good start and they market is school packs. $80-150 is really where the better/quality models start, considering you're lugging around a massive 17" ship anchor, load-carrying will be just as important as capacity and design. The North Face Router is popular with many, lots of colors and not cutesy ridiculous, Timbuk2 has a range of nicer designs also.

quote:

Originally posted by jaaron11:
Swiss Gear is good. I would also recommend North Face. You see their backpacks all over the place, and with good reason. Most of them have a laptop pocket.

I absolutely love my North Face Surge...plenty of room w/o being to bulky

As someone who traveled professionally full time for a number of years I have used a ton of different packs - my North Face Surge which was my go to for a number of years was replaced a couple years ago with an eBags Professional Slim Laptop

I wish I had found this while travelling, and of course gone with the larger TSA easy version of the bag - but since I travel rarely now the slim is more than enough

Great deals can be found for the bag, especially with promos and ebates together

Was eyeballing something maybe like this:
14er Tactical Backpack on Amazon

Seems to hit most the check boxes. Plus only $60. The bag i'll go from the trunk to my desk everyday. With a whole 40 feet of walking & 1 flight of stairs. It'll see the opposite of "hard use".

quote:

Originally posted by tiwimon:
As someone who traveled professionally full time for a number of years I have used a ton of different packs - my North Face Surge which was my go to for a number of years was replaced a couple years ago with an eBags Professional Slim Laptop

I wish I had found this while travelling, and of course gone with the larger TSA easy version of the bag - but since I travel rarely now the slim is more than enough

Great deals can be found for the bag, especially with promos and ebates together

This is a very nice bag, my wife has one that I was going to take over but it does not hold enough so I went back to an old Ogio bag. It holds a ton of stuff.

I also have an Osprey one that is very nice but it rides a bit too high on my back.
https://www.amazon.com/Osprey-...garden%2C191&sr=8-21

Another vote for SwissGear bags. I'm on my 2nd & it's been great, tons of storage without being a huge bag.

Can't find a tag on mine & didn't see it on their website, but IIRC, it was sub-100 on Amazon.

May not be what you're looking for but just throwing it out there.

I'm a minimalist for my computer bag. Large bags not really attractive when walking into a mtg. And no sense in getting a larger bag when buying a sleek computer. And need certain aspects especially when travelling. Like backpacks are not really advocated on crowded trains in Japan. So, I look for sling packs and/or handle bags. Also, I usually have a travel backpack so, I need my laptop bag to allow for shoulder carry (ie - sling) or hand carry.

Anyway, I've been considering this and waiting for a sale. I currently use a Prime Basics bag but I need to buy a new bag (got a larger laptop) and I hate the shoulder strap (keeps getting twisted).

https://www.rei.com/product/14...al-sling-travel-pack