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I found that the trick to the 17" is finding the right back pack - I'm using the Axio Swift. The volume of the MBP17 isn't a whole lot (especially compared to my old dell 7000 Pentium II 15"), so if you've got a bag that is long/tall enough for it, it only takes up an inch of depth. That, and I bring an extra battery pack instead of a power supply - it's smaller and I don't have to worry about wires.

I've got a nokia 770, but I rarely travel with it because I always have my 17" with me. But that's just me - it's an individual's choice.

(p.s. mark me as wanting a 1600x1200 screen, too)

These bags all seem extremely "College Student Cool" in both form and function, none of them meet my personal needs and desires.

My needs for a laptop bag were simple when I went shopping; (a) Must be resilient, (b) must be weatherproof, (c) must provide reasonable storage for things other than my laptop (papers, pens, power supply, cordless mouse) and (d) be unobtrusive when worn.

Although my final choice of the http://www.axio-usa.com/Axio Tekno backpack was not cheap, it has met all of the above requirements and then some. Understand that through 9 months of the year I ride a motorcycle. That's the source of at least two of the requirements I specified. As such, the Axio does brilliantly; it puts most of the weight evenly distributed through the my torso so I don't feel any pressure points and I'm pretty evenly balanced. It also swallows a surprising amount of stuff as well as my laptop... and it's taken quite a beating. I even travelled through England with it last year on a motorcycle... over 1200 miles of riding in two weeks with that on my back, not to mention the significant amount of walking I did during the trip. That in itself told me the backpack was a good investment.

It's also outlasted my last laptop, ironically. My old Dell Latitude bit the dust a few weeks back (though when I was on my trip I had a slower but lighter Toshiba Portege that is my Linux laptop at home) and I've replaced it with a newer D610 that has the same dimensions but thankfully weighs less! The case is still almost pristine, except for scratches and nicks on the hard shell. It may not be "cool" in the sense this article is trying to push the idea... but it's cool for me because it meets my needs.

So how about it? A review of laptops bags from a few different perspectives? The college student, the businessman, the outdoor type, the motorcyclist... I'm sure others spring to mind easily and quickly and they all have different requirements.

at least one of the Axio bags...

http://www.axio-usa.com/

Without a doubt, a much more efficient, protective, lightweight, and versatile solution is the axio-mini (http://www.axio-usa.com/html/product.html) I got this after crashing on my bike with my laptop in a soft backpack and it looked very similar to the damage picture here.

And what is the deal with messenger bags? I know not everyone has a 3 pound tablet to carry around, but that's rediculous carrying a 6-8lb laptop around on ONE shoulder!

Axio and Boblbee are the two that come to mind. I have a Boblbee Metropolis and I *love* it, although it does get a lot of "what the hell is that thing?" comments. The Axio packs are rather less weird-looking, but still obviously aren't normal backpacks.

I got my Metropolis on closeout at an outdoor outfitter store (think local mom-n-pop version of REI) for about $120. Retail on that pack is somewhere around $200, I think, but IMO it's still worth it. My biggest complaint is that the pack is fairly small, so you can carry a laptop, your power adapter, an Ethernet cable, and a notebook or two, but not much else. I wouldn't want to have it as my *only* backpack, but it works fairly well as my only computer case.

p

It's defintely beyond your price, but I swear by the Axio pack from harodesign: it's a hard pack, and since I drive a motorcycle to work every day, it's the only thing I trust. I'm somewhat of a laptop bag snob (I've tried brenthavens, targus, etc) and this is the best one I've had yet. I actually carry two laptops in it! Of course, I warn you that people will call you boba fett if you wear it. ;) Axio by harodesign (btw, not a shill, just a satisfied customer!)