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

Ill start by saying that I take my 13 MacBook Pro with me everywhere I go. I use it and my iPhone to run my business when Im not in the office. So, having a good bag to carry everything I need is a must. Ive been using a

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.

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!

I had L.L. Bean backpacks for years, so when I was leaving for college three years ago I ordered their newest model with laptop sleeve built in. After only a few years of use, it was fraying at the edges and the zipper began to tear off on the main compartment. I returned it for this one, not knowing if Id like it. I really like the seperate laptop compartment on the back. It makes getting to my computer -- what I reach for most of the time -- quick and easy. The front compartment door could be a little larger but other than that I love this bag! Looks new to this day. UPDATE: after about a year with the bag, the left shoulder strap began to tear at the top where it attaches to the backpack. it looks like its a problem with the stretchy shock-absorbing component of the strap. Ive sent the bag into Swiss Gear for warranty repair, so well see if/when I get a replacement what happens. even with this Im still pretty happy with the bag, as its very functional and good looking. just wishing the straps were a little more heavy duty...

Ive had this backpack for around 4 years now. The material of the product is amazing very durable. I am not pretty sure if this can handle big portions of water. But for sure it can handle a light rain. For traveling is amazing, you can pack at least 4 days of clothes inside this+ your laptop and any other gadgets you can fit in all those pockets. The best backpack ive ever had. 100% recommended

I bought this to replace my laptop bag for to/from work and business trips. Because my laptop and other gear was so heavy the bag put a strain on my shoulder and back. I wanted something to distribute the load evenly and wouldnt wear on me during long jaunts through airports.After a two day search on the internet I came across this backpack and after reading reviews decided to buy it. I wasnt disappointed! The pack is well made and has plenty of storage space and compartments. A must because i take a lot of gadgets with me. The side entry for the laptop is easy and fast. The Scansmart is nice but if your using the compartment for storage everything will fall out when opening. That being said the side entry for the laptop is just as fast in my opinion. It would be nice to have some extra padding between my back and the laptop. With a laptop in it, it feels like a board is strapped to your back. Thats the only reason I gave it a 4. All in all I am very pleased with the purchase and would buy it again if I had to do it all over.

I purchased this backpack for travel. After coming back from five weeks overseas, I really put the backpack through its paces. I used it for packing through the airport, to-and-fro the office, as well as a few side hikes without electronics. So far, no signs of stress on the seams or other stitched parts. First, the SmartScan feature is amazing. This is definitely a time saver in the security line where a few extra seconds can alleviate some serious headache in the masses. Even through international security lines, no one ever said anything and the pack went straight through the scanner. The side-load of the laptop is definitely something I am not used to or have seen before, but it actually worked great. This is one of those dont knock it til you try it type things. The backpack has plenty of storage and organization, overall. The mesh pocket inside is great for passports/documents and the mp3 player pocket is great for packing along an external hard drive. The lower front pocket has plenty of space for pens, documents, phone(s), business cards, and includes a nifty keychain that you can snap your keys to. The tall, zippered side pockets are perfect for a glasses case or something like that. I also slipped my mouse in there too. Heres the problem - the mesh pockets are fairly tight and not prone to stretching as far as other SwissGear packs of the past. So, if you load up the zippered pocket, you may not have room for a water bottle; maybe some gum or throat lozenges. If that zippered pocket is empty, dont even consider a Nalgene. You can hold a 20oz water/coke bottle at best. Lastly, on the storage parts, the main compartment is very well thought out. There are some complaints about how access is a little tight, but I had no issues. The good part about this is that the sides of that main compartment create a good shroud around everything you have in there. Heres that bad news - two parts. If you have read other reviews about padding on the bottom and the zippers, those are totally accurate. SwissGear could have added something ever-so-slightly to pad the bottom of the laptop better. There is plenty of room in there to add that in, even with a 17 laptop I had stowed. Then there are the zippers - ooooh the zippers! This design is clearly a product of the economic downturn design budget there at the head office! They look somewhat rugged. The zipper tags feel rugged. However, the zippers are prone to skipping teeth and you have to be somewhat gentle with them. Basically, you have to watch it when zipping to make sure its okay. You cannot just zip it quick and run out the door. What is needed are some of those trusty YKK zippers we all love. Dont get me wrong, though. Once they are sealed, youre good to go. All that being said, I would definitely purchase this again. Overall, it worked perfect for what I needed and everything has held up well. Dont go for the $80 price this bag has sometimes. Add it to your Amazon Wish List and wait for a price drop in the $50-$60 range. An easy 4 Stars (5 if they fix the zippers).

I dont normally write reviews but I read them often. I bought this based on the great reviews, the SwissGear name, and the nearly 50% discounted price at the time. One thing I did not see in the reviews but I think is very important to anyones satisfaction with a backpack is the ease of access, specifically how easily can the user open the various compartments to access their stuff. For the most part this pack does a great job of this with quality hardware and well designed placement of the compartments/pockets. However, there was one oversight in the design that draws my attention almost every time I open the pack. The main compartment has a dual zipper that has to pass the ends of another zipper of a smaller pocket on the front of the pack. The stiff ends of the smaller zipper are too close to the main compartment zipper and therefore impede the operation of the main compartment zipper without manually readjusting the zippers with 2 hands. A slightly wider gap at these 2 locations would have made the zippers function flawlessly without compromising the overall look of the pack. Modifying this myself to correct the problem would result in possible damage to the pack. As an engineer I have a hard time overlooking such a design oversight when the rest of the pack is of such high quality. Maybe my pack has a manufacturing defect causing this and that is why it did not come to my attention when browsing the other reviews. Its just something to be aware of. Hopefully SwissGear reads this review and can make sure the problem does not persist.

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 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!