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

I purchased this bag once I started traveling for work. I have a HP ZBook - Bang & Olufsen computer (massive piece of equipment) and it fits snug. Ive used it for carrying files to and from our different locations in the US and it has several compartments that are accessible and convenient to have. Ive even used this for personal travels and was impressed by the durability, comfortability and capacity. Ive used it daily for over a year and I see no signs of wear. The zippers are all in the same condition as when I bought it. Its swiss-made! I would recommend this over other back packs. Note: Ive never actually tried to use the TSA friendly ScanSmart feature I always just take it out and put it into a separate bin but I might try it next time if I have some time!

I read many of the reviews and decided to buy it in the end when there was a great deal on it for over half off. ($59) I have actually seen the price on this fluctuate before so I just waited and hoped it would go back down... And to my luck it did after a few months. As many other owners of this bag have said, I agree that it is probably the nicest backpack that I have ever owned. The material that it is made out of is thick and seems very durable, it has metal pull tabs, and is well sewn for a sturdy product. It is also sturdy enough to stand upright on its own when I set it down, which is nice in my opinion. The handle at the top seems to be made of quality, hard rubber and is extra reinforced to ensure it can stand up to heavy loads. The material seems to be very water resistant. I tested this by making puddles of water on the fabric to see if it would absorb it. After a several minutes, the puddle remained and the inside was dry. I did this with the padded parts too which do absorb water, but even so, after minutes of letting the pool of water sit in the drenched fabric, the water still was unable to penetrate through to the inside. I went further and tested the inside lining and it seems even more water resistant than the outside material. I dont say that any of this is water proof because after wiping up the puddles, the fabric remains slightly damp (the inside lining was nearly dry) but the fact it is able of hold a puddle of water for a long period of time without getting through the other side proves it is difficult for water to penetrate all the way through. Therefore, I trust that it would hold up in rain just fine. I cant accurately test if water will easily seep through other parts of the bag (zippers, seams, etc... Just dont go swimming with it) but I know water wont be getting through the material itself. The only part of the bag Id be concerned of water getting through to the inside is the side pockets as there are ventilation holes, but other than that Id say this bag is weather resistant. Wearing this backpack is very comfortable, with ample padding for the back and well fitting straps, I can imagine I will rarely feel too uncomfortable wearing it for long periods of time. I can feel the gap that they leave open along my spine which allows me to assume it does actually let air flow through keeping my back cool, which I look forward to as my back tends to sweat a lot while wearing backpacks. The adjustment straps are also easy to pull because of the plastic loops they added to the end of them, making it easy to tighten and loosen while wearing it. The shoulder straps have a few extra loops for accessories as well. The one loop on the left shows that it is for sunglasses. There are two towards the top of each shoulder strap with an image of arrows pointing up and down... I dont know what these are made for. There seems to be a lot of discrepancy in the size of laptop this bag can hold so I would like to try and clear this up. The bag actually comes with a tag saying it is made for a 17 laptop. Laptops, televisions, and most other things with digital screens are typically measured diagonally. That being said, it holds my 17 (14.75 x 9.5 x 1.125) laptop just fine with quite a bit of room to spare (about 2 of extra space on both top and side). The padding is nice around the sides and top of the laptop, but just like some other reviews, I feel there isnt much padding on the bottom (most backpacks dont from my experience) but there is a little as the material the bag is made of in general is fairly thick. Because of the extra space though, I solved this minor issue by rolling up an old medium sized T-shirt and stuffing it on the bottom of this compartment. It makes my 17 laptop fit snugly and now I have no worries of damaging anything when I set the backpack down. This compartment also has fuzz along the sides for a padded velcro strap to securely strap the laptop in place as well. With everything Ive said so far about the laptop compartment, in theory, a 19 laptop might make a tight fit (youd be cutting it close if you tried). I cant guarantee that claim though because laptops can vary in style and size. The zippers next to the laptop compartment unzips all the way down so the back of the bag, where the laptop resides, can flap apart from the rest of the bag which is how the smart scan feature functions. There is a thin divider for a few papers here as well. There is ample space in the main compartment to hold plenty of things. There is a small pocket to hold your phone or music device and a well covered slit above it for headphones to be slipped through so you can listen to music from the device. There are built in file dividers to separate documents. There is also an interesting piece of padding sewn along the bottom, back end of the bag underneath the separators which allows it to flap up and down... I just push it down so it lines the entire bottom of the bag which also allows the bag to hold its shape and may protect anything in this compartment from impact (they shouldve had similar padding in the laptop compartment...). I guess if I had important papers along with clothes or books in the bag, I could also lift the flap up against the dividers and it would prevent the clothes, books, or anything I put in the main compartment from wrinkling my documents in the dividers. Other than that, I dont know why the bottom padding is allowed to flap around. There are two smaller compartments in the front of the bag. The one on the top is narrow and can fit a graphing calculator or a DVD box... or perhaps a sandwich (though it might flatten the sandwich out). The bottom is nice and spacious with multiple small dividers and pockets to hold various things like pens, pencils, post it notes, an ID card, and a bigger pocket in the back for a planner/organizer. There is also a detachable key ring as well. The side compartments are very spacious reaching up to almost 3/4 the length of the bag. A small umbrella, liter water bottle or a large rockstar energy drink could fit in either pocket. You might want to avoid putting water sensitive items in here because they are vented by two holes, but honestly, the holes are small enough that I wouldnt worry too much about water getting in unless its pouring (I put my laptops charging cable in here). Along these side pockets is an elastic pocket for a liter sized water bottle or canister. There is a clip strap to hold it in place. Note, if you do decide to put large water containers in these pockets, it makes it difficult to fit thicker items in the zipped compartments (and vice versa). This is a great backpack and I am very excited to use this for the years to come.

I dont remember where (or when) I bought this, but the sister to this pack was with me for almost 10 years, maybe longer. I just know, it was always there. It has been my book bag, travel bag, overnight bag and general all-around companion. I carried it with me over the pond as my carry on more time than I can count. Its been to 12 countries and on more flights than most people. Ive tossed it, drug it through airports, taken it camping and generally abused it through countless excursions. And it always held up fantastically... until it didnt. When I realized the should strap was beginning to separate and fray I almost cried. When I found a growing hole in the bottom corner, I did cry. But... it was time to retire the old girl and I came on Amazon to find a replacement. I thought about other bags, but this one is just perfect for every occasion. The back pocket is the right size for my laptop, and the front compartment, my overnight clothes (a change and a bit extra). The front pocket is perfect for cosmetics and toiletries. The side pockets are excellent for a bottle of body wash and a brush. The other inner pocket will hold my sketch pad and pencils and the small front pocket my chargers and headphones. For classes, it fits books exactly as it should. For flights, its amazing and fits perfectly under the seat and is just the right size as a carry-on. You wont do better than this amazing bag. Nothing lasts forever, but as long as Swiss keeps selling this bag, Ill be there. See you in another 10 years!

I needed to update my backpack. I can definitively say that this is hands down the best laptop backpack you can buy! Pros: 1. Tons of space and usable compartments: - 1 padded laptop compartment - 1 thin compartment that can be used for papers and folders - 1 main compartment that contains vertical dividers to keep things organized, a smaller interior mesh pocket, and an ipod/cell phone pouch that leads to a slit in the top of the backpack for a headphone cord - 1 decent sized pocket on each side (I use 1 for my laptop charger and accessories) - 2 stretchy water bottle pockets big enough for the big 1 liter bottles (good for umbrella too) - 1 small pocket on the top front - 1 pocket on the bottom front that contains a bunch of small organizer pockets found in every backpack that nobody ever uses 2. Comfort: padded, shock absorbing arm pads, padded back, and a comfortable handle on top. 3. Appearance: In my opinion, this is one of the best looking backpacks out there, but I cant argue with taste so if you have one of those ugly backpacks, thats fine with me. Cons: 1. I have concerns on how zipper will hold up 2.The opening for the laptop is on the side (not the top) which makes it a little awkward to get in and out.

At first, I liked the pack a lot. It seemed well-built, has pockets everywhere, plenty of room and is TSA-friendly. (No more removing the laptop through the scanner). Theres plenty of room for my 15 MacbookPro which is stored securely and is well-padded. After daily use for about 7 months the pack is showing its age. Im constantly forgetting to close all the zippers (its hard to tell when theyre open with the black-on-black color). It no longer wants to sit upright, but is always falling over. A couple of the zippers dont glide smoothly any more, but get hung up. Finally, some of the interior pockets are getting loose and floppy. Even so, its a better pack then I had before and Ill probably keep using it until it falls apart, but I cant say if this is one of the better SwissGear backpacks. SwissGear packs seem everywhere and I expected a little better quality. The pack is reasonably lightweight and I got it at a decent price. I would call it a good, but not great backpack.

I have been using this backpack for about an year now and personally, its an amazing backpack for me. I was in school when I bought this and now I am working, so it has seen all kinds loads from just a tablet in it to a overload of camping items. The bag kind of has only one useful big area to keep your books and stuff. The laptop zip can fit a 15.6 inch laptop (Mine is a 15.6 Lenovo Ideapad). But anything bigger than that will not fit. It has a very convenient welcrove supported holder for the laptop. I have used this bag to overload it with items while I was relocating, so having a smartscan zip was very convenient in the airport. Whatever is grey in front, glows in the dark, so it works as a reflector if you use a bike to commute. Overall, I am very happy with the bag and the load it can take.

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 !

Bought this for a quick work trip via plane. It preformed perfectly and I now use it daily. I have an old giant chunky Dell that fits perfectly. Along with an iPad, a small portfolio and 1” binder with room to spare in the main compartment. Loads of room in this thing. I use all the zippers daily and not a single issue. Going on two months now. My only complaint is this bag is still “off gassing” but mostly from the rubber handle. It took about two weeks for the initial stank to wear off. I am notoriously hard on pretty much everything I own and this thing is keeping pace. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or buy again.

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.

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!