Customer Reviews

Outdoor Products Powerpack Travel Laptop Backpack (Ozone)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This hard to find laptop backpack is probably one of the best constructed, well thought-out pieces of luggage I've seen in years. It easily accomodates laptops with widescreen displays up to 15.4"

An often overlooked benefit with purchasing this brand is that, unlike Targus backpacks, or other laptop luggage makers, this bag doesn't scream "HIGH VALUE LAPTOP WITHIN. STEAL ME!"

PROS:

The external power adapter pockets are great for charging up your laptop without removing your computer or the adapter during a layover or when you arrive home. Just unzip the pocket and plug the cord into an outlet.

The side mesh compartment is large enough to fit a 32oz. Nalgene bottle. This backpack is one of the few laptop backpacks that can accomodate such a large water bottle.

The individually labeled storage pockets are easily identifyable by black icons on an orange background for your PDA, USB cables, ethernet, additional adapters, CD player, cell phone, etc. The multitude of individual pockets help keep things organized and within easy reach for removal and storage.

The top mounted handle has a large, clear rubber grip which makes carrying your bag short distances from room to room convenient and comfortable.

The dual main compartments have a large capacity which allows you to carry your laptop and additional textbooks or files.

The compression straps help keep the form factor of the bag compact when you're not trasporting large loads, while they aid in keeping heavier loads balanced.


CONS:

The zipper pulls are either too small or only have pulls on the main compartment. Larger and brighter zipper pulls for all zippers would improve access.

There is not a side loading zipper for easy removal and storage of the laptop during airport security checks.

The height of the exterior front mesh comparment is too short. It is not very practical as you can't fit much in the existing compartment. If the mesh netting was a little taller it would be a great pocket to store airline tickets or boarding passes so they're within easy reach.

The interior color of the backpack should be white or a lighter shade of gray to aid in finding small accessories such as adapters,pens, and pencils that can be overlooked with the existing gray color scheme.

I bought this pack for my first year of graduate school. I was initially impressed with how light and comfortable it is, but was somewhat put off by the absurd number of compartments (however, if you like to have a seperate compartment for each thing you want to put in the pack, this is the one for you). Admittedly, I put this bag through a serious amount of use. At times I used it to carry my 15-inch Powerbook, adapter, iPod, numerous textbooks, folders, spare jacket, etc. I carried heavy loads in this pack on a regular basis. After two semesters of use I was disappointed to discover that one of the shoulder straps was ripping away from the top of the pack. This turns out to be unsurprising given how "light" the pack is overall. A close inspection reveals that little if any of the stitching is reinforced, and that the materials used are not of very high quality. However, if you don't carry heavy loads or abuse this pack very much, I imagine it will last longer than mine did.

Wow what a great bag. IT fits all kinds of stuff plus has great support with comfy padding and a chest strap! It's also great because it doesn't scream "laptop inside" for those who might be looking to take it off your hands. Highly recommended!

A little history here. Several years ago, I'm guessing around 2002-2003 or so, Ourdoor Products made a wonderful backpack called the "Power Pack." It was intelligently made of decent materials and could take a lot of abuse while at the same time it could carry a LOT. Yes, it came with a pointless CD case and a bunch of accessory pockets that nobody in their right mind would use, but overall it was an excellent backpack. You can recognize this backpack broadly because it was all black and had zippers with yellow/orange tab-type things.

Then, "something happened." I can only speculate that it involves a series of McKinsey MBA geniuses getting their tentacles into Outdoor Products and "earning" their fees with a series of recommendations that could only be described as moronic.

Initially, they released slightly downgraded versions of the original black power pack - basically the same laptop, but with cheaper bits and pieces such as zipper pulls (and maybe zippers) and the handle. Then, they decided to really be dumb and release a very watered down version of this backpack - at present, it is the one amazon has for sale and it is available in grey/black and some other color. This second generation is inferior to the original in virtually every way - I've seen it in person and it is basically junk with the added bonus of two-tone color schemes as unattractive and dowdy as the dorkiest EastPak bag.

Recently, they have introduced a PowerPack 2.0 bag, available in red/black and black/blck. While arguably a bit better than this retooled original powerpack, it's still a far cry from the original. Spend a few moments with that one, and you'll notice the poor choice of materials and styling.

To make matters worse, the company's customer service team does not answer emails.

Avoid Outdoor Products. they are a dying company who clearly doesn't care about their products or consumers any more.

Love this backpack, it's been with me to numerous cities and countries and survives the trips very well, while protecting the contents well, laptop included. The outside large pocket is larger than you think when you realize just how much stuff you can fit in there, and still fit under an airplane seat. Love the two water holders on the outside. Love the zippers are a loop so you can attach a carabiner, compass, or whatever. The support is great, you'll barely feel its there, and if you do, just use both straps, and then strap the front for great support. The pen storage area could be larger to accommodate larger pens, but thats quite minor.

My only con is that the outside two pockets have gotten stuck twice already. I am now on my third backpack(gotta LOVE REI's return policy). Hopefully this one will last as I have yet to find a better more complete backpack.
Update 1/30/2007 - Third backpack , third zipper to get caught, time to return, again. I wish I could change the scale down to 2 stars :(

It is as the description says. They don't skimp on the features. I recommend it for any computer geek who needs (or can't be away) from the computer :) Great gift, lots of storage, looks great, high quality... I'm very satisfied and recommend it highly.

This is the ultimate geek backpack. It was designed by a geek for a geek. If you're a student and constantly carry around 10lbs of keys and gadgets in your pockets, this is the backpack for you.

The laptop pouch is also sufficiently padded. I happily carry my Thinkpad and a number of books and a binder and don't feel like I have to nurse the bag at all. It feels very sturdy.

The construction is good. The zippers work well. The inside is deceptively spacious.

For those of you not sold by the millions of comparments for all the geek toys, or with any other "gadget" that this backpack might have, let me leave you with a final criteria I used when selecting this backpack: it looks good. I can walk around with this and no one would know that it's a laptop backpack - it's not square, it doesn't have 15 million straps, it doesn't ahve 40 pockets on the outside. In summary, it doesn't look like "Terminator" backpacks that I see people wearing. And, frankly, for the price, you can't beat it.

My thoughts on this bag have been pretty well covered by other reviewers. This is a great backpack with LOTS of storage space and the shoulder straps are much more comfortable than my L.L. Bean. I recommend this bag.

I've bought three of these laptop backpacks and this is the best. Well-made, well organized, and lots of space. Seems durable, but haven't used it enough to vouch for it. Will protect my laptop physically with its padded pouch, but also from theft. How? The backpack doesn't yell out "I contain an expensive laptop" - it looks like a cheapo student bookbag. And you can't beat the price. Highly recommended.

This bag has many pockets for anything and everything, but the build quality is not up to snuff, I've had 2 plastic pieces on the straps break and 2 zipper snaps within 2 weeks of heavy use.

If you don't use it every day with an insanely heavy load, you're probably okay. Just don't stress it, but it will not respond well.