SwissGear SA1908 ScanSmart Backpack (Black) Fits Most 17 Inch Laptops
2SwissGear SA1908 ScanSmart Backpack (Black) Fits Most 17 Inch Laptops
- At checkpoint, unfolds to flat position keeping above and below the laptop sections clear
- Adjustable padded laptop straps inside to fit different size laptops
- Open Viewing Compartment: Unique quick recognition window design accommodates most 17″ laptops
- Airflow Back System: Multi-panel airflow design provides extra padding for comfort and maximum back support
- Organizer Pocket: Interior organizer provides divider pockets for pens, pencils, cell phone and CD’s
- Open Viewing Comparent: Unique quick recognition window design accommodates most 17″ laptops
SwissGear SA1908 ScanSmart Backpack in Black
List Price: $ 120.00
Price: $ 69.99
F. G. Gates “tech nut”
Not for a road-warrior,
I bought this to replace a SwissGear ‘Melton’ backpack I’d been using for 3+ years. My old backpack suffered a rip when I accidentally snagged it on a sharp edge (my fault) but had otherwise been the best laptop backpack I had ever owned (of 5).
On the other hand, this SA1908 is the worst I have ever owned and I have returned it. Within hours of transferring my junk to it one of the zippers burst, just as other Amazon reviewers have reported (I now read). On my backpack it was the zipper for the small compartment at the foot of the bag and all I had in there was a couple of USB flash drives and an iPod cable. Hardly over-stressing the zip. The zippers are obviously lower quality than the ones on my previous backpack.
I had to use the backpack for a trip with 6 flights involved since I had no other backpack available. Over the course of that trip I realized:
– The TSA/Equiv do not recognize the backpack as ScanSmart and every time I was told to remove my laptop despite my opening the backpack per SwissGear instructions. (PHX, PHL, LGW (UK), MAN (UK), JFK, ATL).
– There are too few small pockets. Every pocket extends to the bottom of the laptop so you need to rummage wrist-deep or elbow-deep to find anything. I’d prefer many more small pockets to organize things.
– The top handle is set too far back to be able to place the backpack on a rolling 22″ cabin-baggage rollaboard case and hold both the backpack handle and the rollaboard handle in one hand. It is possible but very uncomfortable as your hand cannot grip properly.
– The top handle is only made of quilted fabric and does not have any interior steel strengthening as other SwissGear laptops have or had. I doubt this handle would stand the test of time.
– The side-pockets intended for water bottles are too baggy and any water bottle will fall out every few minutes.
– The zipper toggles are stylish but functionally wanting. Rather than a simple toggle you can just pull, these have polygonal loops which attach to the zipper closure and every time you need to open or close a zip the toggle has fallen to the wrong angle and jammed so that you have to spend seconds fiddling with the toggle.
– There is very little padding in the bottom of the laptop compartment. If you are not super careful setting down the backpack on a hard surface you can hear the crunch as the corner of your laptop hits the floor.
In the week I had to use it the stitching in one of the shoulder straps popped and the edging began to fray away. If I kept it longer the shoulder strap would have separated. (This with one light 4lb laptop, charger, a paperback book, a few light cables, and some Bose headphones).
Overall: I hope this laptop isn’t representative of all SwissGear’s present products because I do hope to buy another. I’ll be inspecting backpacks in person though before I purchase another.
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|JRS
Well designed but a little tight for some 17-inch laptops,
I chose this backpack to carry my new laptop and to replace a regular old backpack that I carry my things to work in every day. My decision was based primarily on it selling for 67% off and that it seemed like it would be big enough for my laptop. I’ve got a 17.3″ Asus gaming laptop so it’s really long and also pretty thick. This is a great bag, especially for the price and the only reason I gave only 4 stars is because it is a very tight fit for my laptop. Due to the side-access design, inserting/removing the computer is much harder than it might be if it just slid in from the top or opened up all the way. Once the computer is inside it is hard to zip up and I have to pull and stretch the edge as I bring the zipper around the corner of the laptop or the zipper pull will drag against it. Once zipped up the top corner of the laptop really pushes out hard against the zipper and I hope that after a lot of use it doesn’t bust through and ruin the zipper in that spot. If I’m lucky the bag itself may stretch a little and give a little more slack. Don’t get me wrong this is still a pretty large bag; if it was even just 1/2 inch taller it would be perfect.
Once the laptop is inside, the whole bag can open up like a clamshell and there is a “ScanSmart” plastic window that looks into the laptop compartment. This is supposed to be a feature that makes it easy for TSA screeners to screen your laptop at the airport. Since nothing else sits behind the laptop, by opening the bag like a clamshell it leaves the laptop side all alone without your other pockets full of stuff obscuring the x-ray image. However, as far as I knew the TSA requires all laptops to be completely removed anyway so your mileage may vary with this feature. There are several other pockets with a lot of good storage space for things like folders, pens, keys or other computer accessories. There is a dedicated MP3 player pocket inside with a little hole to push headphones through that I think will come in really handy. The TWO water bottle holders on the sides are stretchy elastic and my extra wide 32oz. bottle fits in easily. The back of the pack and the shoulder straps are both pretty cushy and there is a small elastic band on the back of the strap to hold your sunglasses if you want. The materials throughout all appear very sturdy and feel substantial. There’s also a sturdy handle on the top of the bag to pick it up by or carry that way if you choose.
TL;DR version:
Should easily fit mainstream 17-inch laptops but is pretty tight for larger gaming type laptops. If you have an 18-inch don’t even bother. This is probably the best laptop backpack on Amazon at this time especially for the low price. Tons of sweet storage options and well constructed; not cheaply made. Looks cool too.
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