Laptop bags come in all shapes and sizes… The fat and the thin. The big and the small. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The other day Slappa delivered me a Velocity MATRIX laptop backpack to try out and review and admittedly, I was pretty darn impressed. Some of the gadgets we’ve trialled haven’t been up to standard, others have blown me away. Whilst strictly speaking not a gadget in itself, the MATRIX definitely falls into the ‘extra-ordinary’ category… Let’s get cracking…

Features

In all fairness, I’ve never seen a bag with so many pockets.

Front pocket
Main pocket - enough room for a small MacBook, better suited to magazines/books.

Front compartment
Main pocket - Enough space for a change of clothes, perhaps a sandwich or two.
Device holder one - Space for a large Blackberry/iPhone/iPod.
Device holder two - Space for a ‘normal’ sized mobile phone.
Inner-pocket one - Ideal spot for a wallet.
Inner-pocket two - Same as above. Maybe money/plane tickets?
Front compartment clip - Attach your keys, smart-card, key-fob, etc.

Middle compartment
Main pocket - space for a 17″ laptop, accessories.
Side Net pocket - Paracetamol/other medicines. Very discrete.

Main compartment
Main pocket - The extra thick high-density padding tripples itself, providing a special 17″ laptop safe-keep spot sealed by HUGE wad of velcro.
Main pocket - Space for a few days worth of clothing, gadgets, laptop accessories, chargers, etc.

Back section
Main pocket - Totally sealed off from the main bag areas, feels ’super-waterproof’. Good for beach clothes/wet umbrella. Large enough for 5.
Back pocket - Also potentially doubles as a ‘temperature control’ compartment for keeping cold things cold and hot things hot. You get the picture.

Misc.
Clip-on device holder - Presumably intended for a mobile phone, I won’t be using the device holder. Whilst the rest of the bag looks totally innocent, clipped onto the shoulder strap, the would-be phone holder shouts ‘Mug me!’ in every aspect.

Durability & Value For Money

I’ve grouped the two sections together, primarily because in the case of the Velocity PRO MATRIX, it’s clear that a hefty chunk of the price you pay goes straight into the high-quality material used. The outer-shell of the bag is held in place by a specially molded rubber exoskeleton, whilst the enclosure’s outer layer itself is a special BuckBlast Suede, tearproof, punctureproof & rainproof skin. Diving straight within to the ‘Core’ protection, the extra-thick high-density padding keeps everything snug in place and out of harm’s way.

This is a bag that’s made to last (not like the cheapo £30/$50 bags you can grab from Asda/Walmart) - offering excellent value for money when stacked up against market competition (just take a look yourself!)

Design

Aside from all the super-fancy materials, you can tell that they’ve been put together well and that the design team really thought about what they were doing. Hard-plastic runners lining the bottom of the laptop comparments to protect against any shocks/unexpected falls. The zippers are an etched alloy with locking heads and caps to prevent tearing. The hydro-repelent BuckBlast Suede not only lasts long and performs well, but it also looks rather good.

In fact, the only downside I feel with the whole bag is its sheer weight. In the UK, hand luggage restrictions on planes cash in at 5KG, and the bag itself weighing 1.5KG doesn’t help matters. Based on how heavy your one (or two) laptops are, you should be able to get away with it and a decent amount of clothes, which is useful in the case of business travellers not wanting to hang around for a bag to whiz along a luggage belt, but just walk off the plane and into the office.

Value for money - 9/10 (Pricey, but worth it, especially when stacked up against competition)
Features - 10/10 (I’m still finding them! )
Durability - 10/10 (Excellent quality materials - clear winner)
Design - 8/10 (If not for the weight - would have been an easy 10)
Overall - 9/10

It’s a clearly well thought out, designed, planned and built (how often can I say that?) product, with the value for money conversion not turning out all too shabby either, cashing in at £70 or $110 based on which side of the pond you’re reading this from. At Slappa (in the UK at any rate) there’s a free shipping deal temporarily on, and using the coupon code ‘techzi’ at the checkout will save you an additional 10% on all items, except for the D2i CD-cases.

Verdict? (For once…) Highly Recommended!