4.5 stars... This is a very good backpack. It's not perfect, but it's as close as I've found in years of searching. I have given up on brief cases and shoulder bags due to their harsh effects on my back. I wanted something relatively professional, so when I walk into a board meeting I don't look like a hippie or college student with a multicolored Jansport. Most other backpacks seem aimed at students and athletes; I wanted one that's more oriented to the business person. This one definitely does the trick. It has a classy black design with minimal logos or flashy eyesores.
::: 6-Month UPDATE :::
After 3-4 months of use the shoulder strap started to separate. The seam between the front and back patch of material came open and the fabric is now fraying, leaving the internal padding exposed. As indicated later in this review, the material this pack is made of is lighter duty than I would suggest for a pack with this amount of cargo space. It has not proven to be as durable as I would hope, especially for a bag in this price range.
::: 1-year UPDATE :::
As with other reviewers, the deterioration of this pack has continued to progress. Although, keep in mind that I use this every day and take it pretty much everywhere I go, so a year of that kind of use is pretty hard core. Anyway, one of the side pockets has now frayed open on the bottom so it no longer holds items. The strap is still unraveling, and other seams are starting to look questionable. It is still usable, but it's definitely not been as durable as I'd have liked. I will probably buy another, but still wish I'd found a more durable equivalent (or they'd decided to improve the construction of this one). I agree with the other reviewer, with a price more appropriate to its material quality, it would be more palatable to buy several so you're set for a while.
::: FEATURES & BENEFITS :::
It's a fantastic tool for organizing a huge variety of items. There are enough pockets for each item or category of items to have its own pocket. I have made mine into a mobile office. There are ten zippered pockets accessible externally, three of which contain additional organizer pockets within. Compulsive/tidy organizer-types will LOVE this pack. Double-zippers on most compartments/pockets also add to the flexibility of this pack. And there's a hefty easy-grab carry handle on the top, in a good position so you can lift and carry the bag balanced with one hand. The two main large compartments and the two larger accessory pockets have double-zippers.
Worth mentioning for business users... this pack is wider than most. In fact, the main compartments are nearly square, only slightly taller than they are wide. This means it's wide enough to take a file folder the wide way, with the fold at the bottom so the contents don't spill out! That's the mark of a true business-oriented backpack IMO. However, with the side pockets filled you might find that overall the pack is a bit wider than your torso, which can be a hassle sometimes.
The main (back) cargo compartment has a padded laptop sleeve in the back in addition to more space in the middle, plus a file sleeve in front. The next cargo compartment is nearly the same size and adds more organization, including two pockets meant for computer accessories, one about the size of a CD (it would hold a stack of 3-4 CDs in cases--not that anyone carries those anymore--I use it for the power supply instead). The other is a bit smaller but it fits my travel mug (if I dare to carry it there). I am a little curious why these pockets weren't placed in the compartment with the laptop sleeve since they seem aimed at computer accessories (and they snag other items entering the cargo area so they can be sort of a hassle when inserting larger items like a file folder, legal pad, etc).
The outer layer has a smaller accessory compartment on the top half that I use for kleenex, travel supplies and other items. It would probably fit a small travel umbrella. This compartment has a flat zipper pocket on the front wall as well. Below it is a larger zipper accessory compartment which contains the pen/pencil/phone organizer pockets. I use these to organize my mobile office accessories, and it's up to the task with three layers of flat pockets and three pen/pencil slots (which are big enough for a sharpie marker or fountain pen, or two standard pens/pencils each). I use the several medium and small flat dividers for things like a calendar, calculator, passport, etc. One internal pocket has a key clip dangling inside it, but as with most other packs, the strap is so long that keys end up just resting at the bottom of the pocket (might as well not bother with the strap in that case. I'd prefer the clip to be higher inside the compartment in the corner so keys dangle inside). This compartment also has a flat zipper slot in the outside wall which I use for extra business cards, pencil leads, and other small/thin items.
On each side of the pack there's a square zipper pocket. They're each big enough to fit three decks of cards and a little more to spare. I use these for medication bottles, keys, etc. Each of these pockets also has a flat zipper slot in the outer wall as well, great for handy-wipe packets, shout wipes, etc.
One of the brilliant features of this pack is that the accessory pockets are placed at various elevations inside and around the pack, so everything doesn't just fall to the bottom in all the pockets where they bang into each other. Too many other packs put the bottom of every pocket at the same level so you might as well just be carrying a gunny sack. This pack tiers the pocket bottoms so items in various pockets nestle above and below each other rather than colliding at the bottom.
::: FLAWS :::
The three flaws I've noticed so far are that the back wall of the pack, the one that rests against your back, is not internally stiff enough to hold itself flat against your back. Heavy items inside make the pack curve away from your back so that it tugs backward on the shoulders (instead of downward), making it a bit less comfortable than it could be. Perhaps contributing to this issue is another shortcoming... the exterior fabric is very flexible, so the bag is not stiff enough to hold its shape very well. This makes it a bit more difficult than some other packs to close zippers with one hand, and makes the bag a bit more floppy, especially on the bottom which isn't reinforced or padded at all (with the exception of the laptop pocket which is padded on all sides except the top). I would prefer a bit more structure to the external walls so it held its shape better. One final complaint... the interior pockets inside the larger compartments have a tendency to snag items being inserted into the main space. This is to some degree a natural downside to having internal pockets, but if they had stiffer (or elastic-topped) walls they'd be less problematic. I would probably advocate for one of the full-size compartments to have no internal pockets at all so files, books, magazines, etc would slide in without catching. If I were motivated enough, I could sew them shut inside to reduce the problem, but I'm going to wait a while to see how troublesome it is long term.
And one final wish... some elastic-topped or mesh stretch pockets on the exterior would have been a great way to carry a thermos, water bottle, or umbrella. Above the small side pockets would be perfect spots. (There's plenty of space inside the main compartments for these items, but I'm a bit squeamish about putting liquids inside; experience has taught me not to risk that.) There is a hefty D-ring on the outer front wall, but it's not conveniently placed for anything I'd attach (plus my thermos doesn't have a hanger). Maybe I'll get inspired and add a couple external pockets myself.
::: SUMMARY :::
Other than those few shortcomings, this is a fantastic backpack. It is perfect for the person who wants a special place for each item. Ten zipper pockets plus a dozen or more internal divisions make it an OCD organizer's dream pack. Plus it's an exceptional value for the money, Amazon's price was less than a third of the MSRP and very competitive with alternatives (in fact, quite a bit cheaper than most).
The backpack was everything I wanted. Looks business like, lots of useful pockets etc. However, a strap began to separate from the bag within a month of my using it and the bag was not over-stuffed. It is now useless.
Buy Kenneth Cole Reaction Luggage Pack In The Box Computer Case Now
This is a great backpack. It has lots of pockets for every imaginable purpose. Smooth zippers, with easy-to-grab tabs. It's rugged but also soft.
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This is a great bag couldn't have asked for anything better. Great for traveling through airports and site seeing with cameras, water bottles.
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It's very sad that the durability of this product is so poor, because I love the design and all the separate pockets. I've had it for all of 4 months now and it's pretty much unusable now. The shoulder straps started to go after about 2 months, then small tears started appearing above the top front section, then at the top of the pack. Now those tears are so big I can't put much more than my laptop in the bag. I would have expected much better quality from and expensive bag from Kenneth Cole. This should go on the TJMaxx Rack for $19.95 so one could buy 4 of them for the same price to last a full year.
Not really what I expected. First, the shape in the picture is NOT what you get. What you get is literally a large piece of inter tube rubber just rubber cemented together. I was under the impression that this was just a waterproof material. It was VERY flat when I got it. There are NO pockets on the inside, which sucks. The easiest way to describe this, is its just a big piece of rubber that sits on your shoulders awkwardly. I bought this because I take buses and trains to work in the city and always carrying my books and work laptop around. Theres no way to stop my laptop from flopping around. I would just get a North Face bag over this worthless piece of rubber.
