SwissGear Unisex-Adult 5358 USB ScanSmart Laptop Backpack, Black Dot, Large

Bag is better than expected but straps are coming off. Just think that a SWISS bag should be more durable.

While there is a separate space for shoes, you cant fit a womens size 9.5 in the opening without smooshing the backs of the heel down...not ideal! Also, when you have shoes in that area you are very restricted on the interior space for other items. I would say this backpack is on the smaller to mid size...not something that works for middle school/high school needs!! We ultimately sent it back. If you need something small I can say the stitching/design looked solid/well made. If you are expecting to pack gym shoes and carry a laptop and notebooks this is not the backpack for you!!

Before I found SwissGear I only thought I liked my prior backpacks. They became my refernece. SwissGear seems to be standard issue for most IT people. My prior backpacks that have met my needs. Swiss Gear, Maxxum & Synergy (Older Version), and Kenneth Cole Reaction. I mention them as a reference. My purpose for a backpack is to carry my laptop, electronics, and accessories. This includes 16 Laptop, 13 Work Laptop, & Tablet. Im glad to see it still has the key holder. I use mine for a small flashlight, ear plugs, & a swiss army knife attached via small S-biners. This is handy but does get in the way of using the pocket for a larger tablet. The pockets in the front compartment are ok, but I wish they had a small zippered pocket. The arrangement is fairly standard. The TSA friendly feature is handy for better access to the laptop compartment. The TSA has me remove my laptop anyway. They didnt get the memo. My 16 laptop is on the larger side and it fits comfortably. A 13 laptop fits easily into the tablet spot. Thus far the padding has protected my laptop in spite of the backpacks propensity to roll over (and often onto the floor). When it comes to sitting up, its not as stable as my reference backpacks. The battery pocket works. I have a battery just under the maximum capacity the TSA allows, so fairly large. Having the battery in that spot creates a pressure point on your laptop. So far thats not caused any problems but it seems odd. A mesh pocket above the laptop and/or tablet pockets would be handy. The USB cable is USB A. Safe but not the future. The cable is longer than it needs to be though maybe thats so you can use a battery lower in the compartment. The extra length can sometimes get in the way. The cable doesnt appear to be replaceable. Thats too bad. Cables wear out. One of the shoulder straps has the external USB A connection. A mesh pocket sits below it. It will hold a larger phone (S21 is what I used) for charging though its an awkward arrangement but probably functional. The luggage strap is too low or to thin to hold it stable when loaded. It tends to lean and that will throw smaller luggage you may have it strapped on, off balance. I had to grab the hanging strap to keep it stable while walking. The handle is improved. They have the same metal cable but the padding is better. The hardcase glasses pocket is a mixed bag. My sunglasses are in a hard case so for me a soft one would work better. I carry my ear buds in this pocket as well. Its tight but fits. The glasses pocket is also in the way of getting anything in and out of the main compartment. More so as you fill the pack. You can see this in the photo. If they put it on the back, it would be in the way of the two pockets but less in the way of accessing the main compartment. Its an annoyance. The two pockets are nice. They should have put a mesh compartment above the pockets for misc items. The potential spot for the mesh pocket is in the photo. The main compartment is small relative to the backpacks I reference above. But for every day carry thats a fair trade off. The backpack has 3 outside pockets, not counting the sunglasses spot. It could have 7. It should have more than it does. The two side pockets are ok. One is mesh for a beverage but also has a zipper compartment with some insulation. Its gimmicky but...I used it for its purpose so thumbs up. No problems there. The other side pocket is a shoe pocket. It has a mesh zipper pocket inside which I use for some cash that Id rather store in the front compartment if it had actually had such a pocket. I also store a small pouch of accessories I use often. Yes a pouch inside a pocket because otherwise everything would get lost in the shoe sleeve. I might use the sleeve for a rain jacket in the summer. The last outside pocket is the front pocket. This is essentially using the front flap as some bonus storage. Its a bad design. I bought the smallest USB cable organizer I could find and found it wouldnt fit. The inside is large enough the zipper isnt. You can see this in the photo. I ended up using another pouch for inside the pocket. Where I would put other pockets. Two small ones would fit, on the top half of each side. The front flap could fit a small one where the Black cloth and logo is. You could have two more below that for relativly flat items.. Either vertical, horizontal or a larger one to fit misc items you tend to pick like boarding passes, luggage claims and paper. With these and the mesh pockets they could have added, or even half of them, this pack would be far better than it is. But it lacks some of the design niceties they used to include in their older backpacks. With that and a tweak to the design of the sunglasses holder location I would have the best daily carry backpack Ive ever had. But thats not the case. Ive had to improvise solutions to problems that older backpacks had already figured out. The quest continues for a good EDC backpack. This will do until I find it, but this isnt it. That said, my first choice for that next one would still be Swiss Gear.

The only complaint or issue is that the USB charging port is not on the section where there is actually storage for your battery pack. It should have been.

Good stuff.

Its a great backpack and holds up to a lot. I usually have 60lbs in it. I would give it 5 stars, but one of the small clips on the side broke and it wasnt under a load.

Got this for my husband. Hes a pilot and needs a lot of space and areas for different items. This hit the nail on the head. Even sits up when you put it down, so he never has to worry about his water bottle leaking.

The backpack is super nice and has a lot of functions.

Should have bought this months ago! I Travel for work and was us Not a laptop bag…. No more! This bag is awesome l. Well organized well made lots of space easy access. Especially love the re enforced sunglass holder on top ! Passing through TSA is a breeze and feels good on my back walking through terminal ! BUY IT!!!

The reason why I bought this is because I had one before that was recently stolen, I loved it so much I just had to get a new one. My only two complaints about this model (my first purchase) was the zipper on the quick access pocket broke, rendering it useless - you cant put a wallet or anything important in a broken pocket on the back of your backpack for risk of it falling out or someone stealing it. My other complaint was the USB phone pocket with way too small, it looked like it was designed for a flip phone from 2006 and theres no way a smartphone would fit believe me, I tried. When I was looking at pictures this one it looked the same, so I assumed they didnt update on the design. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they actually fixed it, it will now actually hold a smartphone. My only regret is the color / texture I chose. I wanted to try a different color, my old one was the black and red, the material seemed more durable this, this material almost feels like a polyester Jansport. they also updated the USB port which is also more secure and rubberized instead of plastic. Ill update my review and several months to tell you how the zipper is held up on this one. $100 price point seemed high considering it went to $85 the next day after I bought it, and it originally only cost me $69 at Target. Other than that, overall its a great backpack my orginal probably would lasted me 20 years if somebody didnt steal it. Hopefully I can keep this one safe!