Wednesday 3 October 2012

Targus City Gear Messenger Laptop Bag Review


Today I've decided to review, as promised, a laptop bag. The one I’m reviewing is the “Targus city gear messenger bag”. The bag can accommodate laptops with screen from 16 inches to 17.3 inches and retails from, to name a few, John Lewis for £29.95, LambdaTek for £24.31 and from Amazon for£45.89.  A picture paints 1000 words so here's a picture.  



This laptop case actually won the What Laptop gold award in May 2005. It  only comes in black with a silver trimming i.e. the one above. The material is kind of "meshie", presumably to make it ripstop. The shoulder strap is fully adjustable and has a shoulder pad to prevent it rubbing against your shoulder. One of the sides has a "hidden pouch" that contains a net bag for carrying a water bottle. On the bottom of the bag there is only material, no rubber strip-like in some of the Tech Air laptop bags- that prevent wear and tear from the bag rubbing of the ground and, I dare say help prevent the laptop breaking in the event of a fall.  At the top of the "flap" is a zip so that small objects can be stored in it. The laptop pouch has soft padding in it, but I don't feel its substantial, unlike some of the tech air ones which have impact foam. This means if you drop the bag with the laptop in it, it’s going to offer minimal protection. Which isn’t ideal as one of the main ideas of laptop bags should be to protect the laptop during travel.
Moving on to the inside-

http://www.targus.com/uk/CategorySearch.asp?SearchedTerms=city+gear

 
As you can see, the front of the bag actually zips down to give easy access to the pockets at the front, there are loops to store pens in, zipped pouches for SD cards, business card and credit card holders, a key ring and pockets for wires and phone or whatever else you choose to put in there. Behind there is pocket the size of the bag which has the soft lining and can hold a tablet computer and behind there is the laptop pouch.

The laptop pouch contains an adjustable sleeve to secure the laptop firmly in place so it can’t rock-about and get scratched. Then on the outside at the back is yet another compartment that papers or other smaller objects can be put in.

The bag looks great and has a lot of storage space and pockets, however I don’t feel it protects a laptop that well. My philosophy has always been a laptop bag that offers a lot of protection may be more expensive that one that doesn't but it’s cheaper that replacing a laptop because you’ve dropped it. If like me you can be clumsy I’d sacrifice looks and features for a non broken laptop. However if you’re not going to do anything that destructive with it, this is a good bag at a very good price.

1 comment:

  1. I didn’t know where to put it in the post but it comes in similar designs for smaller laptops.

    http://www.targus.com/uk/CategorySearch.asp?SearchedTerms=city+gear

    ReplyDelete