The perfect gadget backpack for the father of the family

    Welcome to the iCover Blog . Two years ago, I wrote a big topic “the right bag for the right geek ”, which received a good response and became the “topic of good” because of the large number of excellent comments. Since then I have not left the topic of bags and backpacks, regularly trying something new.



    My current Booq Squezze backpack is a great one with one small exception - it's small. In other words, it’s great to walk around the city with him, if you need to put a laptop there, a few EDC things such as a multitool and a flashlight, a spare power bank, plus throw a book and a magazine. And that’s all. Something more gets into it with difficulty.

    And since I am the father of two small children (yes, I’m also the author of the topic “a child in a geek’s family») And we regularly go out somewhere with the whole family, recently the question arose of buying something more spacious. And I began to dig.

    First, we formalize the requirements. Some of them are very specific or boring, but most fathers will understand me. So:

    1. The backpack should be roomy. So that all things fit in for a flight and a long walk, including 2-3 beach towels.
    2. All father's gadgets should be placed in a backpack, moreover, they should be protected as much as possible. Usually I take on a trip: a laptop, a charger for it, a smartphone, a bank, a Kindle, a son’s tablet, a notebook, pens, a bunch of wires.
    3. The pocket for the laptop should be separate, providing quick access to it. As a rule, this is necessary at airports, as you need to get a laptop on screen. If the pocket is inside the main compartment, then it is very difficult to stuff equipment into it.
    4. The backpack should have an external pocket for a bottle of water. Two is desirable (if there are two children, it happens that it is undesirable for both to drink from the same bottle. For example, suddenly one is a little sick). External - because the bottle is often needed, and removing, opening, closing, putting on the backpack can be very uncomfortable. Plus, this does not take up space in the main department.
    5. He should have a carrying handle - standing in line for inspection or boarding a train / bus, it is much more convenient to hold it in your hand just by the handle.
    6. It should have a pocket on top where it’s convenient to put a power bank and a cord for charging. Why on top? Because sitting on a chair it’s convenient to put a backpack between your legs and connect your phone or tablet with a relatively short wire. Typically, manufacturers position such a pocket as a place for glasses. Why not from below? At the bottom, a bank is much easier to hit, and batteries are fragile and sometimes fire hazardous.
    7. It should have a convenient external pocket, with a bunch of pockets where it is easy to put passports, Airbnb reservations and boarding passes for the whole family. However, it must be safe.
    8. And the last: it should be beautiful, but made of practical, waterproof material.


    These are the requirements. It turned out to be the simplest with the material - there is a great thing called "ballistic nylon." This is a very practical material, one of the varieties of ripstop , which was developed specifically for the military by DuPont. And more precisely - for body armor. A distinctive feature is durability, the fabric will not creep after damage, plus it is resistant to dirt. Did you see the Deadpool movie? The costume of the protagonist is made exactly of ballistic nylon. Do you remember why.

    But with the rest of the items had to tinker. The search process revealed three things:

    1. A well-designed backpack cannot cost less than $ 100. If it costs less, then it was most likely imported at the old rate. There are some nice models for Dakine with a lower price, but normal functionality and the right fabric immediately brings the price closer to the one voiced above. Alas.
    2. Most of my favorite manufacturers produce many good models, but very few people meet all the stated requirements. The most difficult thing was with a bottle for water - in most cases this is such a formal pocket, from which the bottle stupidly falls out. For example, in the same Booq, I did not find a single model suitable for me.
    3. China will not help us. A search on Aliexpress concluded that the Chinese are busy copying Swissgear backpacks. The most famous Chinese brand in this business is Swisswin.


    What I (I repeat, I personally) do not like about Swissgear. Yes, it is large and comfortable, all pockets are well thought out, especially the side ones: we stick in the water, hide it under the belt. Wherever you look, this backpack has very high ratings.



    But! This very belt prevents the normal opening of the main compartment. This is the first. The second - he has a huge compartment for a laptop, which opens like a sandwich. I don’t need so much. In those moments when I do not carry a laptop, this whole place is useless. So for a laptop you need exactly as much as you need. Plus, this design of circular opening leads to an additional load on the zipper, which does not have a very good effect on durability.



    Chinese copies add to the above the worst quality of fabric, worse quality of locks and an inexplicable fetish in the form of a pocket the size of a CD player and a mandatory headphone access on the strap of a backpack - a very strange thing in 2016.

    I will say right away that I found an almost perfect backpack called the TLS Professional Slim Laptop Backpack.



    Watch a short video (alas, in English), where it is described:



    From the pros:
    • The cleaned pocket for the bottle (I have not sickened you with this bottle yet?)
    • Pocket for wires and a bank. Unfortunately, it is below, but it is hidden in a hard case and it can be “popped out”, freeing up space inside.
    • The laptop compartment has a spacer to make the backpack thicker / thinner depending on the current purpose
    • He has a presentable appearance that allows you to use it, including as a business backpack with formal clothes.


    Disadvantages (where without them):
    • Not for sale in Russia. This means that the cost plus shipping costs. What with the current course becomes sensitive.
    • The outer pocket contains too many pockets with zippers, which hardly anyone will use to the fullest. Well, the extra lightning somewhat complicates the design. I understand the flaw is so-so - but nonetheless.


    Alas, I needed a backpack faster than a month later, so I continued to dig. The second and third options were Ogio backpacks.

    The first model is Ogio Bandit . What is it good for: a secure compartment for a 15 ”laptop (they write for 17”, but in reality most 17-inch laptops do not go there). But 15 ”- just right.



    Plus, a large number of external and internal pockets, a convenient pocket for the bottle (yes, the bottle again), which is quilted like the TSL, and the neck of the bottle is attached with a special rubber band. The external pocket, potentially used for documents, has two zippered locks, which allows you to hang a combination lock. Plus, there is a convenient organizer for things.

    By the way, another of the chips - on most Ogio backpacks, each pocket is equipped with a patch showing what the manufacturer came up with for this pocket. At first it’s very convenient - no need to rack your brains. But then it gets a bit annoying - to stumble upon this prompt all the time with a glance, especially if you redistributed the functionality of pockets.



    Disadvantages: a little scary - it affects the motorcycle direction of the company Ogio. When you put it on, you become a little like a ninja turtle. A not-so-comfortable pocket on top and a completely useless zipped pocket below. The manufacturer positions it as a pocket for the camera, but I wouldn’t put it there - soprut or you can easily break it yourself.

    In general, I would take this backpack if Ogio Squadron did not exist. In the end, I bought it.



    In addition to the same functionality that Bandit has, it looks better subjectively, plus it has two important features:

    • He has two belts. The manufacturer naively assumes that a skateboard will be attached here. But guys, I walked for many years with a similar Salomon snowboard backpack and believe me, these things are much more useful than they seem. The simplest application - here you can pull a jacket, sweater or some kind of baby clothes. Even if the main office is busy. Still here you can cling to all sorts of things like a children's life jacket, arm ruffles, and so on and so forth.




    • See this hole near the belt above and below? You can hang a carabiner here and increase functionality even more. For example, I hung a bucket with which a child played on a beach on such a thing (you remember that I’m also a dad, right?). The bucket is healthy, it doesn’t climb into the backpack (and what for, you need this sand there), but on the outside it’s a nice thing. Also on the carabiner you can hang many other useful things.


    Disadvantages: it doesn’t have an office design at all (hello, motorbikes) and it doesn’t have a lock for my favorite bottle, despite the fact that the side pockets are not very deep. But I decided that I could do the pulling gum myself. I really liked the idea.

    By the way, if the current post is of interest, I can file a separate review of this backpack. Write in the comments if necessary.

    Step towards appearance

    In the search process, I considered two more options that I dismissed due to the prevalence of appearance over functionality. However, this does not make these backpacks much worse, so I would like to talk about them. Still, Ogio products are an amateur. Both backpacks are manufactured by Thule, which is highly regarded in our brand-oriented country. Plus, their appearance combines well with office clothes.

    The first one is called THULE SUBTERRA and he's pretty darn beautiful.


    That rare case when a thing is slightly worse in the photo than in the original.

    Because of the beauty, the pocket for glasses (read, pocket for a bank) has shifted to its side, but all the basic functionality is present. Alas, it doesn’t open very conveniently, so I dismissed it as not the most successful option. Although, I repeat, he is very beautiful. If you need a backpack, first of all noticeable, but at the same time very functional, this is a good option.

    Well, the second option is Thule Strävan.



    In addition to convenient and deep pockets, the backpack has two more straps on the bottom, which are also convenient to pull on some thing that does not fit in the main compartment.

    There was another option with Ogio Renegade, but it is really very large and the functionality, IMHO, is too much. With comparable money, I liked Thule Strävan more .

    I thank the company iCover , for the old friendship that provided a place for publication on the corporate blog. Subscribe and you will surely learn a lot of interesting things.

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