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

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.

For a while I had a messenger bag to cart around my laptop, but as I traveled around the country, I found my back and shoulders getting increasingly sore. Asymmetrical loading, as it turns out, is bad for your body on long trips through an airport. With that in mind, I knew I needed to find a more traditional carrier, like a backpack, but it needed to be well padded if it was going to haul around my Mac Book Pro. When it comes to fixing that checklist, the SwissGear SA1923 ScanSmart Backpack has exceeded by expectations in almost every way. Pros: + Really good capacity. With a laptop pocket more than big enough for 15 inches (it fits up to 17), a main compartment, two sides, and two small fronts pouches, theres plenty of space. Plus, you can also squeeze a tablet in the little pocket in the Scan Smart section. All that means you can keep a laptop, some electronics, and a couple days of clothes in there. + If you travel, the Scan Smart system is incredible. You can just unzip, lay it flat, and run it through the metal detector. No TSA trouble at all, and no extra bins + The padding is really thick and cushy. I dont worry about putting it down, or it riding through turbulence. + The price is really good for the main features of the bag. + Its comfortable and adjustable. The fiber in the back will let your back breathe. + It looks good too. Clearly less kid like than grabbing an ordinary backpack out of the local retailer. Cons - The only thing that I can really say is that it doesnt take two years of almost nonstop air travel well. The mesh is worn out and tearing. Most bags arent designed for that kind of abuse though. So its more of a nitpick, as its still fully functional. - The water bottle holders on the sides have a tendency to not hold onto liquids that well. A few times strangers have handed me things that fell out on my trip through the airport. Overall though, I love this bag. Its been very comfortable, protected my stuff, and fits almost anywhere on a plane. Id recommend it to anyone.

This bag is great, really liked it and I had always wanted one. It had fit all my laptop gear and then some. BUT, it didnt fit the laptop itself. I have an MSI Titan gaming laptop (17.3in) and the corner of the laptop sticks out of the bag and I cant zip it up. Forget fitting it into the laptop sleeve slot. Maybe if it was thinner it would have fit, but my MSI too thicc with its nice cooling system. Boyfriend is happy to take it off my hands tho!

I use 2-3 backpacks for work and out of the last few I purchased, this one is my favorite so far, The compartments are well placed and hold what I need. This is well made, the zippers have held up for 6months without issues so far and the bottom is not sowing too much wear from beaing dragged across concrete and gravel while working. The best thing is that I can carry 2 14 laptops in the back compartments easily and well protected. The shoulder straps are comfotable even with the weight of 2 computers, cords and misc crap in the other compartments. I also have a small camera case and some tool bage clipped to the various attachment points on the pack. There are 2 elastic net type side pouches that fit a bottle of water in each. Fully laden for work, I probably have about 4lbs of stuff in this and have no problem going up stairs, ladders etc. Really just cant say how much I enjoy using this & on occasion, I have emptied all my work stuff out and used it as a week-end bag too. I would definitely buy another one when it is time for a replacement, but I dont see that happening soon. Maybe Ill buy a spare, just in case they stop making this exact model of backpack....

Lots of reviews so I won’t bore you with mine. This is well made and exceeds/meets my expectations coming from a idk what model Swiss gear backpack that gave me 6 years at my company and it was a hand me down. So why not buy another Swiss gear? Tbh I crammed the last bag with tools and the top of the middle compartment zipper ripped. I’ll stitch it up and still use it as a camera bag or something.

This backpack case is simply fantastic for its primary goal of getting you through airport (or other) security checkpoints quickly, and its great for regular day-to-day use, as well. My backpack usually carries a Macbook, iPad, an old iPhone converted into basically an iTouch, and all of the accessories and power cables and headphones that would accompany those three. I also carry a few notepads, pens, and other assorted productivity and notetaking supplies. On trips it may sometimes also carry snacks, a hoodie or one of my daughters blankets, stuffed animals, etc ... all while still carrying and protecting my electronics. Going through airport security with this has been a breeze. I simply unzip the large main pocket and lay it flat. Im through the line and quickly on to my gate while others are repacking their laptop cases and getting flaps flipped back over and tethered or zipped down or whatever. Its really quick and handy. I do recommend that you prep for the security check by not having snacks, hoodies, blankets, stuffed animals, or whatever else in that large pocket. Think about the fact that youll be laying that wide open for the scan and keep it empty. You can always re-organize whats in the bag after the scan. For regular use, its just as handy. I like the extra side pockets to hold a water bottle or an umbrella, or whatever else. I cant recommend this highly enough. Ive used many laptop and iPad cases over the past few years while getting from point A to point B, and this one is probably my favorite. The one extremely tiny complaint that I could have with this is that its a bit TOO roomy in the storage areas. If there were a slightly (very slightly) smaller version of this bag, I would probably go for that. Even having some sort of adjustable padding to really hold a smaller laptop or Macbook a bit tighter would be great. Also, bear in mind that this is not a hard case and does not provide that level of protection. There is adequate padding around the computer areas for normal protection, but if you toss this around and drop it on the concrete, you will likely have a damaged laptop. Thats pretty much common sense, I would think, but its worth mentioning.

Nice quality and functional as well. Could use more padding in the laptop compartment - so you have to carefully drop it when you put it down. Also: front department kind of unstable when open and things can fall out when the zipper is not closed. Same for the other zippers: if they are not closed properly , things can fall out. Once you know the shortcomings you can adjust your behavior and it is just fine - for the money. Update December 3rd One the back straps is starting to separate..I am carrying the equivalent of 2 laptops..probably not made for the weight..downgraded to 3 starts... Update Feb 2013 Need to replace it soon...doesnt last.. June 2013 - UPDATE !! Free Replacement with Redesigned Version by SwissGear They just send a replacement. I am pretty sure that they redesigned the area around the straps and got rid of the elastic material. That should hold much more weight than before. I previously replaced it with a different brand for 100 USD..still like this one better. Thanks SwissGear ! Greast deal for the money !

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!

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!

Wow, this backpack is the best! I had ordered 2 different packs from LL Bean to replace a 13-year old JanSport laptop backpack thats finally coming apart. Neither of the LL Bean ones were big enough for me, despite sounding as-big or bigger than this one. And this pack offers SO much more padding for my laptop. I LOVE the separate laptop compartment and the HUGE main compartment. In the LL Bean packs, the laptop sleeve was inside the main compartment, so it took up a lot of main compartment space. To compare them more specifically, this packs main compartment is the same depth as LL Beans largest capacity laptop backpacks entire depth. For example, the main compartment of the SA1923 holds my SLR camera case -- with my laptop in its separate compartment with room to spare. Not possible in the LL Bean models. To provide more of a description than what is above, this packs bottom front pocket has all the pen holders and other organizing pockets. The top front pocket is one large thin pocket. The two side pockets are deep and very cool. The water bottle holders are very well-made -- I think theyre double-lined or perhaps just use a really nice, thick mesh material. There is a small pocket hanging from the top back of the main compartment for your iPod/phone, etc. and a headphone cord hole just above that. On the outside, the hole comes out under and slightly behind the large, sturdy handle. The straps and back material are very nicely padded. And the pack is the perfect height for petite (51) me -- other packs hit the back of my neck when I looked up, but not this one. Finally, the quality of materials is REALLY nice all around. I cant tell you how excited I am to have finally found my new backpack after over a month of searching and trying out different models. Dont hesitate, this is a great find!