Customer Reviews

SwissGear SA1908 ScanSmart Backpack (Black) Fits Most 17 Inch Laptops

5 star:		(80)
4 star:		(27)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I bought this to replace a SwissGear 'Melton' backpack I'd been using for 3+ years. My old backpack suffered a rip when I accidentally snagged it on a sharp edge (my fault) but had otherwise been the best laptop backpack I had ever owned (of 5).

On the other hand, this SA1908 is the worst I have ever owned and I have returned it. Within hours of transferring my junk to it one of the zippers burst, just as other Amazon reviewers have reported (I now read). On my backpack it was the zipper for the small compartment at the foot of the bag and all I had in there was a couple of USB flash drives and an iPod cable. Hardly over-stressing the zip. The zippers are obviously lower quality than the ones on my previous backpack.

I had to use the backpack for a trip with 6 flights involved since I had no other backpack available. Over the course of that trip I realized:

- The TSA/Equiv do not recognize the backpack as ScanSmart and every time I was told to remove my laptop despite my opening the backpack per SwissGear instructions. (PHX, PHL, LGW (UK), MAN (UK), JFK, ATL).

- There are too few small pockets. Every pocket extends to the bottom of the laptop so you need to rummage wrist-deep or elbow-deep to find anything. I'd prefer many more small pockets to organize things.

- The top handle is set too far back to be able to place the backpack on a rolling 22" cabin-baggage rollaboard case and hold both the backpack handle and the rollaboard handle in one hand. It is possible but very uncomfortable as your hand cannot grip properly.

- The top handle is only made of quilted fabric and does not have any interior steel strengthening as other SwissGear laptops have or had. I doubt this handle would stand the test of time.

- The side-pockets intended for water bottles are too baggy and any water bottle will fall out every few minutes.

- The zipper toggles are stylish but functionally wanting. Rather than a simple toggle you can just pull, these have polygonal loops which attach to the zipper closure and every time you need to open or close a zip the toggle has fallen to the wrong angle and jammed so that you have to spend seconds fiddling with the toggle.

- There is very little padding in the bottom of the laptop compartment. If you are not super careful setting down the backpack on a hard surface you can hear the crunch as the corner of your laptop hits the floor.

In the week I had to use it the stitching in one of the shoulder straps popped and the edging began to fray away. If I kept it longer the shoulder strap would have separated. (This with one light 4lb laptop, charger, a paperback book, a few light cables, and some Bose headphones).

Overall: I hope this laptop isn't representative of all SwissGear's present products because I do hope to buy another. I'll be inspecting backpacks in person though before I purchase another.

I chose this backpack to carry my new laptop and to replace a regular old backpack that I carry my things to work in every day. My decision was based primarily on it selling for 67% off and that it seemed like it would be big enough for my laptop. I've got a 17.3" Asus gaming laptop so it's really long and also pretty thick. This is a great bag, especially for the price and the only reason I gave only 4 stars is because it is a very tight fit for my laptop. Due to the side-access design, inserting/removing the computer is much harder than it might be if it just slid in from the top or opened up all the way. Once the computer is inside it is hard to zip up and I have to pull and stretch the edge as I bring the zipper around the corner of the laptop or the zipper pull will drag against it. Once zipped up the top corner of the laptop really pushes out hard against the zipper and I hope that after a lot of use it doesn't bust through and ruin the zipper in that spot. If I'm lucky the bag itself may stretch a little and give a little more slack. Don't get me wrong this is still a pretty large bag; if it was even just 1/2 inch taller it would be perfect.

Once the laptop is inside, the whole bag can open up like a clamshell and there is a "ScanSmart" plastic window that looks into the laptop compartment. This is supposed to be a feature that makes it easy for TSA screeners to screen your laptop at the airport. Since nothing else sits behind the laptop, by opening the bag like a clamshell it leaves the laptop side all alone without your other pockets full of stuff obscuring the x-ray image. However, as far as I knew the TSA requires all laptops to be completely removed anyway so your mileage may vary with this feature. There are several other pockets with a lot of good storage space for things like folders, pens, keys or other computer accessories. There is a dedicated MP3 player pocket inside with a little hole to push headphones through that I think will come in really handy. The TWO water bottle holders on the sides are stretchy elastic and my extra wide 32oz. bottle fits in easily. The back of the pack and the shoulder straps are both pretty cushy and there is a small elastic band on the back of the strap to hold your sunglasses if you want. The materials throughout all appear very sturdy and feel substantial. There's also a sturdy handle on the top of the bag to pick it up by or carry that way if you choose.

TL;DR version:
Should easily fit mainstream 17-inch laptops but is pretty tight for larger gaming type laptops. If you have an 18-inch don't even bother. This is probably the best laptop backpack on Amazon at this time especially for the low price. Tons of sweet storage options and well constructed; not cheaply made. Looks cool too.

This bag is perfect for 17.4" laptops. Actually it reduces weight on your shoulder due it's air-flow technology. This bag is big enough to put college books or business documens. I also keep cooling hub and external hard drive in it. This is perfect for great deal. Thanks amazon.

I own a 16.4" Sony VAIO FW Series and it fits snugly into the laptop section of the backpack. It should fit most 17" laptops as advertised, but I can't guarantee that because my VAIO has 16:9 aspect ratio display, which makes the laptop dimensions a little narrower and longer. Comes with a strap that holds the laptop in place. It's made of strong material on the outside; however, the material used to separate the different sections of the backpack could be stronger. The color is totally black, unlike the picture shown on Amazon's page which seems a little lighter. Zippers used are pretty strong, would be great if the front zippers were the same. Back portion has lots of padding. However, it would be nice if the shoulder straps had a little more cushion. The backpack is very light, which is a good thing as most laptops add a lot of weight to the backpack. Has an interesting window design that shows the laptop when the backpack's laid open. I would've taken one star away for the material used to partition the different section of the backpack, if not for the 5 year limited warranty it comes with. For the price I'm paying for ($39.99), it's a great buy. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a laptop backpack that supports larger laptops.

I was a little worried I'd have a hard time finding a practical bag that fit my somewhat unwieldy 17" MacBook Pro, but it fits perfectly in this wonderfully constructed backpack. I wanted a bag that could double as a travel and gym bag and decided on this one based on the great reviews and price ($59.99 a few weeks before Christmas). Even after reading so many good reviews, it has surpassed my expectations.

When I first got it, I thought it would only be good for carrying my laptop and a few accessories in the front pockets since the main part of the bag is the "Scan Smart" section, which is meant to be completely unzipped and laid out flat for airport scanners (which means you can't put much in that section aside from a few small accessories in the pouch. See the above pictures.) However, I was really impressed with the amount of stuff I could fit in the other three pockets! I can easily carry a pair of running shoes, gym clothes, travel toiletries (a quart-sized Ziploc bag full of 3oz travel toiletries fits perfectly in the smallest pocket), a bag of groceries and more without it looking like it's about to explode. The bag distributes the weight beautifully (the 17" MacBook Pro isn't light) and the cushions and "Airflow" section on the back give it a great feel. The iPod pouch in the third pocket with the headphone hole is a cool touch as well as the sunglasses hook on the left strap and side pockets--perfect for cords and phone chargers.

It's got a great look to it too. At 26, I began to feel a little self-conscious wearing the same Jansport backpack I had in high school so this is a welcome replacement. Highly recommended!

Even at full price, this backpack is worth the money. It's great for students, with a high textbook capacity, and the padded shoulder straps and back make it so comfortable to carry. Best backpack I've ever seen.

I bought this backpack from SwissGear and am delighted to own it. It easily accomodates my 15" Lenovo laptop, apart from a host of other stuff in the other 4 compartments, like adapter, mouse, USB, keys, mp3 player, check books, etc.

The USP of this product is its light weight and excellent packaging---looks real good in black with the red emblem at the top. I've carried lots of stuff in it during my local trips in NY and London, and am using it daily to work in India. It draws envious stares wherever I go.

The facility to scan a laptop without removing it from the bag is superb, but security guys in India are dimwits and insist on removing it fully.

I'd have given it 5 stars but for the absence of cushioning on the top handle; the back straps are adequately-cushioned though.

My pal wanted to buy one yesterday, but it looks like the price has risen steeply to $ 140---I had paid only $ 39.99 in March, 2010.

Hi, After checking shops and searching online for a while, at end I choose to buy this bagpack. As I have to walk with my laptop, I wanted a bag which will give me some comfort while carrying my heavy laptop weight, additionally it should have some space to carry stuff. This bag has good looks, has some space in it and built/material used looks strong.
But I feel its average bag considering I paid 77$ for this bag, its good but not worth of that much money. Firstly any claims that it gives any comfort to your shoulder from laptop weight is not true. The Air pack at the back of bag, gives some comfort to you back, but they do not reduce any weight, I feel it good on for fist few days, once I started to get used to Air pack, I started feeling the laptop weight again.
Second thing, I received this bag with one faulty zipper, I cannot even replace this just for one faultly zipper as I am going back to India in 2 weeks.

So summary =
Good things : Good Looks,material feels strong
Not good things : Price is high,dont have big space inside, not any comfort from your laptop weight.

I was looking for a new laptop bag to replace my old messenger laptop bag and I'm glad I invested in this one. I've been using this bag for 3 months now and I have nothing but good things to say about it:
1. Excellent for traveling. I don't have to remove my laptop out of my bag when it has to go through the scanner at the airport so less hassle going through the security line.
2. Plenty of room and compartments for laptop accessories, key fob, business cards, pens, wallets, books, folders, etc..
3. Has 2 water bottle holders, one on each side of the bag.
4. Made out of durable material and easy to clean.
5. Straps are adequately padded and super comfortable especially when my bag weights more than 25 lbs. at times.
6. It has a slot on the strap to place my sunglasses that is pretty convenient.
7. I love the design and looks cooler than most laptop backpacks out in the market.

I'm glad I bought this bag when it was $49 3 months ago. Now Amazon is selling it for $30 more! What's up with that?

SwissGear SA1908 ScanSmart Backpack in Black
Summary: This is an excellent and durable backpack (and I don't work for "them". I'm a real buyer that have found other user's reviews helpful)

I purchased four months ago, and use it daily since then. It still looks as new.

Pros:
1. Very durable. In some cases it was so packed it was hard to carry - no signs on the shoulder straps, handle or zippers
2. The ScanSmart feature works! was never asked to take my 16" desktop-weight laptop out of the bag when scanning it in airports
3. Great padding in the laptop compartment, and excellent location close to the back
4. Has some internal pockets for smaller gadgets, an audio player pocket and a key strap for fast attach while traveling
5. Most important - great padding on the back and shoulder straps
6. Nice black look

Cons:
1. It has 2 bottle holders - for me one is enough, and the other could have been an external zipped pocket - which I really miss
2. (not for me) The rising price - I was luckey to get it for $59, others here mentioned $39 and $49 and now it's over $79 - still a good value for a long lasting bag - but you may want to wait for a sale...

I highly recommend this product. For me it was a good purchase.