Mac Format

Laptop backpacks

There’s never been so much choice for keeping your Mac, and a lot more, on the move

- Dan Grabham

Bags are quite personal items; you often carry them around with you all day, after all. We’ve moved on from the time when people carried around an ugly black satchel – probably with some terrible rubberised elements – made by a laptop manufactur­er. The 1990s were heady days, when laptops weren’t really that portable and even Apple manufactur­ed its portables from odious grey and black plastic.

Fast forward 20 years and we’re in an era of portabilit­y. Since the MacBook Air reveal (itself an incredible nine years ago), we’ve seen a succession of thin, light innovation­s. And even colleagues with ageing MacBook Pros know that they won’t be lugging a brick around indefinite­ly – they’ll upgrade to a new generation MacBook Pro eventually. And with laptop innovation has come baggage innovation. Simply put, laptop bags are no longer dull. They’re daysacks and backpacks, and they’re altogether more stylish.

Here we’ve gathered together six rather disparate backpacks, but they have numerous similariti­es, of course – not least that they all aim to convey your laptop and all associated belongings all day, every day.

What you’ll notice is how they’re all able to take Macs up to the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The bags are also fairly lightweigh­t across the board. Indeed, if you’re looking for a laptop bag, you don’t want anything that’s going to add to the general heft, especially if it’s on your back all day. Macs, chargers and cables are all quite heavy enough themselves – and that’s before you add other extraneous items like cameras, books, food and anything else you take with you. And, of course, if you have a 12-inch MacBook, you may not need such a weighty bag – you’ll be able to carry it around in a much smaller backpack.

We’ve put six backpacks through their paces this month – so let’s take a look at them and find out which one is the right laptop backpack for you and your Mac.

With laptop innovation has come baggage innovation. Simply put, laptop bags are no longer dull… they’re altogether more stylish

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