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

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 ordered two of these backpacks. One was for me (as a law student) and another was for my mother to take to work. The backpack has so many outer pockets and inner compartments to store various sizes and types of materials. The backpack is very laptop friendly with its padded laptop pocket, but also retains plenty of space for textbooks, notebooks, and various other necessary materials (depending on what purpose you use the backpack for). Alternatively, the backpack is TSA-friendly, and is easy to travel with. I was skeptical ordering this backpack because I wanted something that could accommodate my many textbooks, notebooks, and laptop (and miscellaneous school supplies), and this backpack did the trick. I am super excited to use this backpack and would encourage anyone looking for a durable, functional backpack to consider this one.

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 received this bag as a gift to replace my old backpack. I went to look it up a little and I was at first kind of confused about the solidity of the materials. Even though SwissGear is a well-known brand, I wasnt sure about its ability to make bags. But it has been 6 months now, and even though I always pack my bag at its limits, it is still in a really good condition, so I was gladly surprised and figured that I would come here and rate it to share my comments about it. First of all, the main pocket is quite wide and will take all your books without any problems whatsoever. The front bottom pocket is really useful to put all your small items, I personally use it for my chargers. The back pockets are perfect for a laptop and/or a tablet. I used the side pockets to put some small bottles. The side pockets with zipper wont serve a lot if you put bottles though, but its not that big of an issue since its up to you to choose what you want those pockets to be used for. I would then gladly recommend this item and if its still going in that direction, I may certainly use the same as its future replacement.

Best backpack. I bought this backpack in 2015. Its 2021. I use it for travel on an almost weekly basis. It doesnt have a scratch on it. Your back will not sweat wearing it either thanks to the mesh back. Cant recommend it strongly enough. Only thing I wish it had is a sternum strap.

Ive had this backpack for 7+ years now. The best Ive ever had. No issues and everyone seems to want one, including my wife. I had a zipper issue that it went off the track, but easily fixed. I was so nervous Id not be able to fix it and checked out that they have a 3-5 year warranty, 10 if you buy right from their website (not amazon). If this was unrepairable, Id be getting another swissgear backpack - no doubt. Great product and lasted the test of time from travel, work, etc.

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 !

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.

My husband loves this backpack!

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!