Customer Reviews

Brenthaven 2095 ProStyle BP-XF for Notebooks up to 17.0 Inches (Black)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was a bit disappointed by the space management of this rather large backpack (20" x 15" x 7"). The non-Laptop compartment does not accommodate more than a 1" binder which seems like a huge waste of space. I am also not sure if this rather bulky and rigid backpack actually fits under airplane seat in front of you but I doubt it.

On the positive side it does have several compartments that help keep smaller stuff organised. The nicely padded and S-shaped straps make carrying comfortable, though I felt they squeezed my neck a little. The backpack looks very durable and the general butterfly system helps you to go through airport security quickly without having to unpack your laptop.

I eventually bought the Case Logic 16-Inch Security-Friendly Laptop Backpack (CLBS-116) (see my review there) which I felt was superior in terms of space management, functionality and wearing comfort.

Although it's quite possible that you'll find the aesthetic considerations of the Brenthaven 2095 ProStyle backpack to be less than worthy for accessorizing on the runways of couture fashion shows in Paris or Milan next Spring, it's absolutely great for traversing the runways of an airport right now.

My new bag is a replacement for its Brenthaven predecessor, which had logged hundreds of thousands of miles and countless trips as a durable, trustworthy companion; keeping order in at least one aspect of my life while protecting my 17" MacBook Pro from the rigors of travel and the all-too-familiar "limited overhead space" that comes with it.

Solid construction, ergonomic considerations to make the "one shoulder only" technique very comfortable, and enough compartments to keep the power bars and the power cords each conveniently tucked away for easy access.

The Brenthaven folks have figured out how to make bags that can take a beating... and the 2095 has a subtly sporty stripe added to the exterior pocket what was an all-black ballistic nylon design. Not exactly high fashion, but unassuming and highly functional. Just the way I like it.

This bag is excellent, as expected from Brenthaven's ProStyle line. Easily the best laptop backpack with a more business-like style and appearance. The bag isn't as large as the old Pro 15-17, which is the bag I would have purchased if it was still available anywhere. (Trust me, I searched and searched!) This bag is "TSA-friendly" which means I won't have to remove my laptop to run it through the X-Ray machine at the airport. This really isn't a big deal to me personally....I'd give up that feature for more capacity in a heartbeat. Here's hoping that Brenthaven brings back the Pro 15-17, which has a cult-like following. I'd buy it tomorrow if it were available, even though I just bought this one last week!

I have been happily carrying a Brenthaven backpack daily for 7 years, and it was time to replace it. I looked at what was available in the local Apple Store and a few other places, but nothing compared to what I had. So I went online to their website and then Amazon to see what Brenthaven had out now.

My choice was easy - the BF-XF Prostyle is a newer model with a few more pockets, compartments and zippers. It has a separate zippered opening to access only the 17" laptop, which was ideal for my needs. As usual with Amazon, ordering was easy and it was here in a couple of days. When it arrived, I could see the upgrades over my older one and how studier materials made up the composition of the bag. It was almost as if the features I wished in the older one suddenly came to be.

The only knock I have about it is the appearance is different than the photos pictured on Amazon and on the Brenthaven website. This has bright, silver zipper-sliders that really pop out against the black. It changes it from looking like what a professional carries to a regular kid's backpack. My goal is to keep it as incognito as possible, and that is lost with this purchase. Since I had already given my other one away, I needed to keep this and begin using it upon delivery.

Other than that detail, which may mean nothing to most people, it is a great buy, with excellent features and a solid construction.

I really like being able to go through the TSA checkpoints without having to pull stuff out. This is a huge timesaver. (Took nearly 6 minutes off my average trip through TSA so far).

However, this bag is much more limited on space than my previous Brenthaven bag which is kind of a bummer. The internal organization is quite nice and it does make very efficient use of the space that is avaialble.

The bag is extremely well made (typical Brenthaven engineering) and in general, I am quite pleased with it. It's expensive compared to other bags, but, the durability and exceedingly good overall design (ergo, space efficiency, organization) is well worth it in my opinion.

This backpack came highly recommended and reviewed. All was well deserved. I have had my Brenthaven for 2 years now and it has held up, to a lot of use and abuse, remarkably well. Also since buying this pack I have yet to have to take my computer out for TSA screening. Just unzip, unfold and through the X-ray. My next backpack purchase will be the same brand and same item. But the way things are going with this one that could be decades.

This bag's materials seem to be very high quality. The zippers are robust, padding is good (including the "floor padding" of the laptop compartment, which is nice), handle is thick, and nicely round-beveled. Note however, that the main (non-laptop) compartment is very limited, and cannot even hold a large water bottle. It is very wide, however(can even hold a vinyl record as one reviewer on the Brenthaven site noted). The size of the (almost perfectly rectangular) main compartment is: 17" height 13" width and (here is the problem) about 1.5" inch thickness. Of course it can stretch a bit in the center, so you can add a thicker object in there, but it's not ideal. What this seems to be designed for is a laptop plus 1.5 inches of paper stuff.

The laptop compartment (why don't all backpacks online have this info exactly?!?) measures 11"x16"x2". That is: 11" width (can hold up to a 12" width laptop, given that you may let the laptop squeeze the padding sideways a bit), 16" height (17" at its highest point but if you "round down to the nearest rectangle", it's only 16"), and about 2" depth (i.e. up to 2 inches laptop thickness).

Hi - I've owned this bag since 2009, after going through about 6 other bags from major manufacturers such as InCase and Belkin. Most of these bags couldn't hold up to the riggers of travel, with zippers breaking or tearing after 6 months. But not this bag.

I've successfully placed in this bag a 17" MacBook Pro, Ipad, medium Wacom Tablet, power adaptor, Jawbone Jambox, 1" binder, couple of folders, all the cords to connect these these devices together, and have been still able to fit a carry on sandwich into it.

The cross the chest buckle works to stabilize and secure your load when you're hiking across San Francisco to your hotel from the BART or running across the O'Hare terminal trying to catch your connection. It is balanced across my back, and you can barely feel the pack even when it's fully loaded.

Almost three years of use and this bag still looks new.

Well made attractive and best of all the sleeve that offers such great protection for my Macbook Pro... You cant go wrong with this bag.

While the bag is very nice, well made & very slick looking, it was just too large for my frame. I'm about 5'3" and 120lbs. I ended up having to return it. The straps didn't fit right around my chest. The bag was too tall for my back and sat uncomfortably on my rear end.