Customer Reviews

Maxxum Swiss Gear by Wenger Notebook Backpack - Blue

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I began buying backpacks in 1980 when I went off to college, and O how they've chagned. The Maxxum is, by far, the best, most well designed pack I've ever owned. I use my pack as a combination Laptop / Camera Gear / Writing Implements / Journal / Day pack / Grocery hauler, and this bag always seems to end up with room to spare. There are SO many pockets, compartments, pouches and nifty places to put things in this bag, I've actually forgotten where I put things, thinking I'd left something at home, only to find it was just in one of the pockets I'd forgotten about.

CONSTRUCTION - tough, comfortable, practical, easy to use

FIT / WEAR - comfortable for long periods of time, distributes weight well, makes carrying more stuff a lot easier.
>>>ADDED NOTE - Another reviewer complained of pilling on the back of their shirt from extended use of his pack. I can't speak to the fabric from which their clothing was made, but I can say that after over two years of every-day heavy use, including to and from work, hauling groceries up and down a hiking trail, and occasional day trips, etc., I've had no experience of pilling or any kind of damage or wear to any of my clothes.

WHERE TO KEEP YOUR STUFF

1) LAPTOP COMPARTMENT - 2 zippers - The compartment closest to your back houses both an internal "pouch" that secures your laptop (with click-lock strap) and an open sleeve with plenty of room for papers and notebooks. Being able to keep both my laptop and some paper notebooks in this one compartment is very handy for me. Some of my packs in the past had "laptop only" compartments that made this impossible. Good design here, for me, keeping the PC safe while keeping similar sized gear handy.

2) MAIN COMPARTMENT - 2 zippers - the compartment with the largest volume is in the middle of the bag. I can put a couple of small journals, some business envelopes, a pack of wet-naps (to clean up 5 year old), my 35mm sized camera, AC Adapter, mouse, MP3 player,and lunch in here and have room to spare. It's an awesome main storage area that's shaped in a way that gives you flexiblity not only in terms of how much stuff to carry but how you choose to orient it inside the compartment.

3) QUICK ACCESS TOP POUCH - 1 zipper - near the main grab handle on top is a small, red lined pouch that holds ... MP3 player, CD player, wallet, keys ... stuff you want quick access to near the top of the bag. FINALLY someone lined a quick-access pouch with something other than black, making fumbling for black bits of tech toy goodness a lot easier to do. And the velcro strapped inner pocket for MP3 player or cell phone is great for protecting same if keys are in the pouch.

4) QUICK ACCESS LARGE COMPARTMENT (Kangaroo Pouch) - no zipper - I've never before had a bag that featured an "open" compartment with no zippers that was this large. Between the main compartment in the middle and the organizer compartment on the front, there's an open topped compartment that I find AWESOME for tucking my camera into when I'm shooting and walking a lot. No need to unzip or re-zip between shooting, just tuck the camera into this open topped area and I'm good to go, and able to grab it again just as quickly when the need arizes. If I hit dirt, rain or long periods with no need to shoot, I can always put it back in the main zippered storage area. Really great idea. When not in photographer mode, this pouch is handy for anything you want quick access to (folded hat, apples, extra water bottles, you name it.

5) ORGANIZER COMPARTMENT - 1 zipper - The front pouch is a fairly typical organizer pouch with inner pockets for cell phones, pens, etc. Within the main compartment are a) smaller red-lined zippered area for loose bits (big enough to hold a fist full of pens and pencils), b) pouches for smaller items (cell, pens, etc.) and c) a larger main area tall and wide enough to hold business envelopes turned either direction, and about an inch to 2 inches deep, depending on how you decide to stuff it.

6) QUAD Water Pockets - the combination of 2 zippered side pockets for water AND 2 net pockets comes in quite handy. LOTS Of water or a combination of water and gear ... it works great. I keep spare PC batteries in one zipped size pocket and my address book and a small notebook in the other.

7) STRAPS and BACK - well padded, easy to adjust, comfortable to wear ... awesome. Chest strap and thumb pulls on shoulder straps are a plus, though one of the thumb pull rings cracked on me, but the tab is still useful for tightening.

On a particularly busy day, I recently had the following in this bag:

15+" laptop, 2 8.5x11" notebooks, 8.5x11" envelope with pile of receipts, 2 leather journal books, 2 wetnap envelopes (about business envelope sized), AC adapter for laptop (big, bulky thing, tucked in a zippered water pocket), warm wool hat, 35mm sized digital camera with biggish lens, 10+ pens/pencils/hi-liters, wallet, keys, MP3 player, voice recorder, USB cords (3) (I forgot to mention 2 inner zipper pockets for same in the Laptop and 1 other compartment), Zagat guide, thumb drive, bottle of water and cell phone ... and there was plenty of open space to spare. The bag was HEAVY with gear, but it felt light on my back, carried easily, felt good ... it was great.

TRIM - I've never seen a company trim their bags with so much style as Swissgear does. Sure, I know there will be folks who don't appreciate their style of trim, but I love it. Like great icing on great cake.

POSSIBLE IMPROVEMENTS - the netting on the side water pockets is somewhat susceptible (though not overly so) to damage from sharp metal objects like certain types of keys. If you keep smoothe sided things in these pockets, you'll be fine. These netted pockets are NOT squirrel proof, however :) One one fine day in the park, a particularly plucky squirrel decided to nibble through the netting and steal a bit of cooky while we sat no more than 5 feet away. Clearly Wenger should post warnings. OK, maybe not. :)

Well made and roomier than I expected. I would highly recommend as a student laptop backpack - mainly because it can accomodate laptop with accesories and some books/notebooks, etc. And, very comfortable to wear for extended periods.

Pros:
- well made
- good zippers - that's important
- solid brand - I've owned many Wenger products and they last
- nice support/suspension for laptop protection
- same kind of support neoprene "hammock" inside for your mp3 player and also has a hole at the top to feed through your headset/remote - very nice
- very comfortable back padding and strap system
- good organization pockets
- water bottle side pockets - a must for mobile phone.

Cons:
- nothing significant
- the fabric is thick but I would have preferred a thicker bottom layer in case you have to put it down somewhere wet.
- as I mentioned, I think this is better suited for students or for a weekend laptop bag. In my opinion, I wouldn't go into the office with it - my first choice in that respect continues to be the Samsonite "Business Casual" Executive Backpack. All around great bag - you can't go wrong (with either of these).

Great backpack, computer is suspended in a pocket in the middle of the pack, not against your back. BUT it is too small for my 15.4" laptop. Be sure to try before you buy.

I replaced an old worn out backpack with this Maxxum Swiss Gear bag and now I'm the envy of the office.
The features are countless and well-thought-out.
1. Lots and lots of pockets for storage, and a nifty open pocket into which you can stuff a sweater or light jacket.
2. The laptop pocket is supported above the floor of the pack, so no worries about your precious cargo hitting the floor and cracking the case. Excellent design on that point. My Dell Latitude D610 (15.4") easily fits this pocket, so no worries there.
3. The backpack is light weight and easy to slip on. The chest strap is available if you suddenly have to run for your flight!
4. The padding against your back is brilliant! No more sweaty backs from lugging an overly clingy backpack through a hot humid airport.
5. Sturdy zippers and straps. This bad boy is very well made.
6. Style and color too. It doesn't look like a laptop backpack, so no "red flag" to thieves in airports that say "Hey, steal me!"
7. I love this feature--it has a floor support that enables the bag to stand up all by itself. No more leaning against the wall. Nice!

I am more than extremely pleased with this bag. I've contacted my local IT department and suggested it as the "defacto" standard when people ask for a laptop bag. At $53 it's a super bargain.

i bought this pack after looking casually for several months for a backpack to carry my laptop, and eventually lots of heavy law books. i was initially priced out of this bag at Staples, and couldnt find the color i wanted anyway, but found it on Amazon for about $20 less. it has an incredible amount of compartments, pockets, slots, etc. the 'book pocket' is really roomy, easily fits a 4" binder, a 3" stack of papers, and a harry potter book. incredible. the laptop pocket is nicely padded, my 15.4" laptop is pretty snug in there though. the straps and padding on the back are a big plus. also, you can stand the pack up on the floor without support. never considered how much i would enjoy that feature. i would definitely purchase this product again for myself, and for anyone who is considering a bag for transporting a laptop and lots of school or work documents/books.

I recently bought a 15.4" laptop and was then looking around for my first laptop bag. I went to a ton of stores that sold computer bags, and I soon found that the Swiss Gear bags by Wenger were the best looking to me and seemed to have the most functionality. The prices were probably mid level, there were always much simpler and cheaper bags at all the stores. This bag has the look of being well made and thoughtfully designed. I was nervous my laptop wouldn't fit since it was at the recommened maximum latop size, but my 15.4" fits in the bag just fine, though if it was any bigger I think I would have a problem.
I love this bag and all it's pockets and compartments in the bag. I get a lot of compliments as well. Also worth noting, the cushioning on the parts of the backpack that come into contact with your back are awesome.

The backpack holds my 15.4" widescreen HP laptop with plenty of room to spare. It has two huge compartments and several smaller ones. The straps are very comfortable. The only drawback is that it is really, really big, which could be a benefit if you need to pack a week's worth of clothes in addition to your books and laptop. Having been a teacher, I have seen the size of "academic" backpacks grow over the last 20 years - even kindergarten kids now need the kind with wheels! This one would fit in on any college campus.

This bag was my pick for the best combination of quality, capacity and cost. The swiss name is one that i trust as i have see other swiss laptop backpacks take a beating without a single thread fraying. The bag can hold my 15.4" laptop and its small add ons, books (university)or clothes or camping gear, nice pocket for cell phone or mp3 player and enough pockets for all those little things. All of this for $50 to $60 dollars is a steal of a deal. Note this bag to me does not suite the person who goes to the office on a daily basis with the computer but is ideal for the person needs to haul a laptop and bunch of other stuff while on the go. Very comfortable. Totally satisfied.

Good: Solid construction, plenty of pockets for accessories. Worked great as a carry on with room for a change of clothes.
Bad: Chest strap located too high for me. Not repositionable. Needs to be.

This backpack was exactly what I needed. It has a ton of space and really supports your back well. I'm using in school and can finally carry all my books and computer without killing my shoulders. It is really comfy and sturdy.