SYNERGY from SwissGear by Wenger Computer Backpack

Comment: Though I've only had the backpack for a few weeks, so far it seems like a great purchase. Love all the pockets, and it's not very heavy at all.

Comment: I purchased this bag for father's day. He actually already had the older version of the bag. He hasn't used it yet, so this review is a little useless right now. I'll try to update you with something better later.
Considering that my father has used the other bag for about two years it's not a bad bag. I have a similar version, the cobalt, that I have used for a few months and I have done some traveling with (eastern Europe, Europe, Iceland, around the US). Also, other coworker, I know have similar bags that work well for traveling. The material is pretty strong and is also pretty easy to clean. The amount of pockets, I believe, is excessive, but other people I work with love the amount of pockets this pack has. And the zippers are excellent, if there's one thing that breaks it zippers. I have a few other bags, like the High Sierra duffel bag which has awful zippers. So zippers are very sturdy on this bag, and the material is quite rugged as well. That's all for now.

Comment: Pros: lightweight, comfortable, many pockets, well laid out, durable.
Cons: Easy to misplace stuff with so many pockets!

This is hands down the best backpack I've ever owned. No gimmicks. solid construction, comfortable and plenty of room.

Durability: *****
This laptop has so many pockets I've lost things in it for months not realizing I put the thing in that pocket, which isn't a huge negative. No, if anything it tells you this bag holds a lot of stuff. The bag is very durable, with an actual steel wire handle on top wrapped in plastic and then padded cloth that's riveted onto the bag with plastic covering the rivets it appears. I've owned this bag for over 3 years, and it looks as good as the day I bought it. The bottom is some sort of durable plastic/nylon grid that stands up well to concrete upon use and sliding around on it.

Comfort: *****
The adjustable shoulder straps have good padding and are wide so they don't dig inot your shoulders, and there is think (2") padding with lumbar support padding for your back. It also has a strap that buckles easily across your chest for added back comfort and fit. Worn and adjusted properly, this backpack feel great. It's very comfortable -- about as comfortable as a backpack can get! I hardly feel 15-25 lbs. of stuff on the pack when worn.

Compartments: *****
( I call them compartments because the lasrger ones has pockets within them.) No one ever tell anyone how many compartments things have and what they're good for so here goes. Compartments (8 zippered, 2 mesh open pockets).:

Main laptop compartment:
This compartment is big enough for a 15" notebook. The compartment has a zipper and the laptop has its own pocket, so this compartment is divided up into 3 sections -- the second pocket being for magazines or papers. This compartment is closest to where your back is, with the document pocket being against your back. Also inside this compartment is a small zippered mesh carrying pocket good for pens or screen wipes.

Quick Access compartment:
This is a shallow pocket a few inches deep with plenty of room for a cell phone, MP3 player, small folding headphones, medicatoin bottle, etc. Inside it has an MP3 or cell phone pocket with a small velco latch. There is also a way to pass the headphone cable from inside the compartment out through a small hole. This where I keep my Portble Mouse (a Razer Orochi), my compact LED Flashlight, Sony folding behind the ear hadphones, medication, earplugs, iPod Charging/Syncing cable, cigarettes, a few AAA Batteries, etc. For its small size it holds a lot of little stuff. There are

Main Book Compartment:
This unzips almost all the way down the sides so you can slide in books and other large item in and out without having to go through a small opening. I've fit a first generation PS3 in here the pocket is so big! At other times I've fit large programming books and magazines or my DJ Gear: A pair of DJ headphones and an audio interface with plenty of roomn left over, etc. There is another mesh zippered pocket like in the laptop compartment for small items. In here I keep my FireWire800 Cable, mini-USB and Regular USB cables, large microfibre cloth and a few batteries.

Accessory Compartment:
This unzips only the compartment's width at the top. (About 9"x6"x1.5" It's great for my MacBook Pro's power supply, and a few small items like up to 3 or 4 PS3 controllers in addtion to the power supply.

Pen and CD compartment:
This zippered pocket is about 7"x5"x1" with a separate zippered pocket inside big enough to hold a few CDs, a few pen slots, and the main part of the pocket perfect for USB Mice, a security cable and other things.

Glove/chapstick/condom comparmtent:
This is a tiny zippered compartment in front of the Pen/CD compartment. Its opening is tiny: about 4" wide with unknown depth and flat . I store my fingerless gloves in here and some condoms. It's very small. but great for the smallest of items.

(2) Side zippered compartments:
These side pockets are long and narrow (about 5"x9"x1-1.5"). They are perfect for holding a toothbrush, and a small dual AA cell Maglite with room left over for other long narrow things.

(2) Mesh expanding open pockets:
These are big enough to hold 20 oz. sports drinks, etc. easily and securely.


Overall:
I highly recommend this backpack. I bought it for about 50% more than the going rate right now, and it was still well worth it. The Synergy is the perfect backpack for me.

Comment: As a conventional backpack for school or daily use, SYNERGY has lots of compartments to carry many items. From water bottles, stationary, a laptop up to 15.4", cellphone, keys, camera, iPod, CDs, notebooks, mini umbrella and more (including mesh net pouches inside larger compartments). Each compartment is set so the total weight is distributed away from the bottom of the backpack.

When it's crowded in public places, SYNERGY is easy to carry using the handle. There's a a thick, plastic coated wire attached to the backpack running through the handle, so it will never wear-out or break off. There's also a carry-on handle between the shoulder straps should you need to set the backpack in an airport trolley.

I've grown to appreciate everything the SYNERGY backpack offers, this is really one of the best packs I've owned in my lifetime.

Comment: I used this to store my 15" Macbook Pro. After a few weeks, laptop had very large dents. There are some hard sharp objects in the straps inside the laptop compartment that can cause damage. I informed SwissGear of the issue and was ignored.