I’m very particular about my backpacks (not to mention luggage in general). The perfect pack must strike a balance between form and function. It must be black (or mostly black), waterproof, have three compartments for laptop, small gadgets and large gadgets, be compact enough to fit under an airplane seat and expand to hold at least three days worth of work clothes.
My first backpack was not a backpack. It was a messenger back; or the circa 1989 equivalent. Hung one shoulder or slung across the body, it had a single main compartment with a flap cover and a set of outer pockets for knickknacks. That was middle school. By the time I’d gotten to high school I realized that two shoulders carried the weight of a a half dozen books better than one and promptly upgraded to my first real backpack. A rucksack style with a drawstring top, button flap and a front zip pocket it served me well through to college and beyond. When I started carrying a laptop (plus other “stuff”) I quickly realized the benefit of having a built-in pouch just large enough to pad the laptop from everything else that was thrown in there.
In 2003 after much googling I final found the perfect backpack. A Samsonite Black Canyon for a fire sale price that lasted me the following five years and endured three continents and a dozen some odd countries worth of travel. This pack was love at first sight. There was a large main compartment with a padded laptop sleeve that was just the right size, a flap top with an extra outer zip and a front zipped pouch with a few pockets for various trinkets. As a bonus the bag had two size Velcro pockets for easy access to keys, phones and small devices.
Sadly after five years I finally broke it’s will to live. The bag that had endured rain, sun, sea water and coffee and eight different laptops was showing signs of strain. A few patches here, replacement cords there and some well placed tape could only do so much. It was time to find a replacement. Thinking back I probably should have bought two (or ten) when it was still available. Alas the naivety of youth - I thought the pack could last forever.
Today I inaugurated backpack version 4.0. After many more months of searching for flat top backpacks and rucksacks coming up empty I focused in on variations of camera bags, designed to protect a diverse set of sensitive equipment under the most grueling conditions. I finally settled on LowePro, a well reputed manufacturer of top quality camera bags that expanded their line to include bags tailored for the digital camera buff (who carries a laptop). Thus the LowePro CompuRover AW became backpack 4.0 and I bid farewell to my trusted 3.0.
A few modifications here and there, some padding and unnecessary plastic parts removed and I’m starting to think it might just do the trick. The back has a very nice drop down pouch at the bottom with a clip (and a finicky zipper - let’s hope it loosens up over time). This holds my book sized gadgets (see my previous post on the RedFly) as my power pack (iGo everywhere130). Above it is an expansive pouch with three fixed pockets and one removable one as well as room for all my small cases and devices. On the left and right are zip pockets for keys, phones and small devices. And in front is a nice deep pouch for…well…I’m not quite sure what yet, but I expect to find a use. It’s black and waterproof and includes a built in rain cover. The laptop pouch is a side loading one. Overall it has a few too many zippers but the structure is growing on me.
Update 7/13/2008 (Friday no less) with pics:
