Customer Reviews

Kensington Contour Pro 17" Notebook Carrying Case (62340)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've been using the my Contour Pro since mid June of 2004. I've mainly used it on my college campus, and I must say it's been great. I can easily fit my laptop, and books. In fact the pocket at the end of the bag (which is curved) is perfect for books! My only complaint would be for a longer strap so you could wield the bag across your chest (for 6' guys it feels awkward).

Great deal at ~60USD.

I have had this case for over 2 years, with light use (mostly when I travel). My 17" HP Pavilion zd7133 is a desktop replacement, thus, a heavy laptop.

Pros:

1) Lots of pockets and sleeves for cables, gadgets, and paperwork.
2) Nice shoulder strap
3) Case-within-a-case is nice. You can use the smaller case to go to a wifi cafe for web surfing. It has a handle and zipper.
4) Good as a carry-on bag on plane trips.

Cons:

1) The rubber zipper pulls break after light use. Now it is very hard to use the zippers that don't have pulls on them.
2) No good place to put the power brick. The brick makes the case very thick.
3) No wheels
4) The small padded sleeve won't work with a 17" laptop. Toss it or give it away.

I'm not sure there is a better 17" laptop bag. Some hotshot designer needs to invent one that can handle the power brick while mainting a somewhat slim profile.

For non-business users, a padded computer backpack might be a better choice.

When I first received my carrying case, I was impressed. It seemed quite durable (tough fabric and hard contour padded back) then proved otherwise...

I _DO NOT_ recommend using this case if you have a large and heavy notebook (as are all 17" notebooks).

After a few months the padded shoulder strap which I thought was comfortable ended up ripping at the ends (where the pressure is when worn on the shoulder). Then I contacted customer service to get the strap replaced. While I'm waiting for a new strap I started to carry it everyday to work by the handles...then, yup...it broke!

Customer service needs serious improvement. I've opened so many support tickets with them but because of the language barrier (India of course), it was not a pleasant experience. I eventually got them to give me a refund.

I would give this a 5 out of 5 if they only improved the design: make the bag REALLY able to support the weight of a 17" laptop, huge power brick and books...otherwise, look elsewhere.

Especially one that has a sturdy shoulder strap and handles!

UPDATE: I've had the bag for about 1 year. Two of the zippers have completely broken off. Completely unacceptable. I would change my rating to 1 star, if I could.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: I've had the bag for about a week. It is one of the more sturdy-feeling bags I've come across -- the computer is extremely well protected inside multiple nested padded compartments. We'll see how well it actually holds up over time. It has a nice bag-within-bag design, so the computer can be safely transported (around campus, say) using just the inner bag, without the weight of the full bag. Lots of other little storage pouches, etc, and enough room for some books or large files. But don't expect to carry your computer AND several large textbooks... I don't think they would all fit. Nevertheless, this is probably as large a bag as anyone would want to carry on a daily basis.

The downside: This bag is heavy and large. It puts a strain on the shoulder when carried loaded for more than a minute or two. Also, the inner computer sleeve is presumably designed to hold 15"-15.4" notebooks, but even with the elastic sides on the inner sleeve, it is an extremely tight fit for my 15.4" Inspiron 6000. Maybe it will loosen up over time. (I could dispense with the inner sleeve since it is detachable, but then the computer would slide around in the larger compartment, which I want to avoid. So I squeeze into the sleeve as best I can.)

This bag sounds better than it really is. The strap fell apart in a month and the zipper tabs cracked off within two.

Do not buy!!!

I attend a military college in Vermont and accordingly have an academic day full of marching, running, etc. This case held up far better than any leather one that my buddies had, while providing amazing comfort. Regardless of if using the shoulder strap of holding it by the handle (the two parts combine together very nicely) it is extremely comfortable. The shape of the case molds to your walking stance better than all of the boxy ones from the other companies.

Kensington did a very nice job in making sure the laptop is well protected as well. My 2400$ 17" notebook is safely nestled inside in a "sub bag" that is paded by which fits nicely into the rest of the carrying case. Very well made. The "Sub-case" is nice in that it can be used seperatly to carry just the laptop and even allows you to put the shoulder strap on it. The case is large enough to store my laptop, power supply, external mouse, several textbooks, notebooks, ti-89 calculator, pencils/pens, etc at the same time! And the constuction is so good that this ~30 lb entourage shows no signs of wear.

If you have a 17" laptop and value it, this is truly the best case out there!

I ordered this carrying case because a I have a heavy 17.4" widescreen laptop. I felt it was too heavy for my current case and that it wasn't being protected as much as it should. I got this case primarily for the contour back for easier carrying and the apparent heavy duty protection. The carrying case exceeded my expectations in several ways. First of all the, the contour design made carrying the laptop easier than I thought it would. The 17.4" laptop fits great and is well protected. The biggest surprise was the organization capability for extra hard drives, USB cables, flash drives, etc., etc. The front compartment has 6 open pockets and 3 zippered pockets plus the pen/pencil holders. The zippered compartment for passport, receipts, etc. is a real convenience. There is also a divided section for business papers. The back section has an open pocket and 3 zippered mess pockets. I decided to put my large power supply and cables there. Any other bag would result in a very uncomfortable carry with them up again my back. With the hard construction of the contour back, I don't even know they are there. The laptop even fits into its own case that can be removed separately. Oh yes, the back has a pad for fitting over the pull handle of your suitcase. More features than I ever imagined. I would get this case for any size laptop.

I've been using this case for the past month and have been very pleased with the quality and the comfort. My Dell 9300 desktop replacement is a big unit and after spending quite a bit of time researching cases, I settled on this case for several reasons. First, it has a case within a case. This adds to the protection and if you are just gong from home to work, the inner case with handles is perfect to maintain protection. Placing the inner case inside the case really provides good protection.
The inside pockets and quality of the zippers are great and I don't know how Kensington is able to build this for the price.
From an ergonomic standpoint, the case is concaved on one side which makes it easier to carry on your shoulder and the interlocking handle makes it comfortable to carry as a briefcase.
I would definately recommend this case to others that are trying to carry a big 17 inch laptop around.

This case was just what I needed. It's durable and protects the computer. The arrangement of pockets is flexible and organized--there is a place for the largest of laptops, another for books or files, another for office supplies likes pens, calculators, cell phones, and finally, a shallow but roomy pocket to throw keys and all the odds and ends that might be in your pockets that you need to temporarily dump in order to get through the air port security monitor. Because the pocket is shallow all that loose stuff is easy to retrieve. One last surprise benefit for me was how comfortably it carries. The strap yields a little, grips your shoulder, and the bag has a slight contour that holds the bag close to my body. The comfortable carry is unique to this design and a pleasure when your lugging ve or six pounds of laptop and some books and papers.

I bought this bag some time in Dec. of 2004. I use it to carry my Inspiron 9100 laptop. As those of you that also own that machine, you'll surely know the weight of the 9100.

This bag has many compartments. The laptop fits perfectly into the "sleeve" that fits into the bag (as seen on the 3rd picture when you click on "see more pictures"). However, there's another "sock" like padding cover that does not fit a 17'' laptop no matter how you try to fit it. I found no use for it. The padding inside the bag is still sufficient even though I couldn't fit the extra padding.

It seems that this bag runs into a poor design with its shoulder strap. Although the bag seems like it is made to carry a heavy laptop, the strap has very little reinforcement. It ripped at the center of the strap where it contacts the tip of your shoulders. That part of the strap is made of stretchable foam material. The material adds comfort and a little more support on your shoulders (hence they claim it feels 35% lighter). The only problem is, this type of material is not strong enough to with stand the weight a Inspiron 9100 + the power supply and not to mention anything else you would like to carry to work with you.

To sum it up, I wouldn't recommend buying this if you have a heavy laptop. Maybe the owners of the newer Inspiron 9200 can find good use of this bag. If you own something like the Inspiron 9100 or XPS, don't bother. If you continue to read the other reviews, you will notice that I'm not the only person who experienced this problem.