Note: The bag I purchased had a flaw where the foam that separates the latop compartment and the main compartment was somehow crinkled and folded instead of being completely flat. However amazon support has been great in assisting me with a return. I am currently looking for another bag.
This is my first review and I don't usually write one, but since this product had none I felt that people should have more information.
I have a regular Targus Laptop bag from 2004 that is just now starting to fall apart so I have been searching for weeks for a replacement. However, since I am back in school and I now have a tablet, I needed something where I can have all my stuff in a central location without needing to carry multiple bags which is what I am currently doing.
This bag is about 90% perfect, so depending on your needs this would be a great bag to purchase. I am not going to go into too much detail because if you go to the Ogio website it has more information and a video describing the various components and size. My review below is with all the items below inside the bag at the same time.
Although not much, here is everything I fit in my bag at one time... Be sure to read the cons below though:
1. Late 2007 model Mac Book Pro 17 inch.
2. Five Star Flex Hybrid NoteBinder, Customizable Cover, 1-Inch, Black (72409) w/ Avery Big Tab Insertable Plastic Dividers, 8-Tab Set, 1 Set (11901)
3. Network+ Guide to Networks (Networking)
4. CompTIA Strata IT Fundamentals All-in-One Exam Guide (Exam FC0-U41)
5. 3x Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive WDBBEP0010BBK-NESN (Black) with 3 cords.
6. Some pencils and a hi-lighter.
Here are my personal pros and cons of the bag.
Pros:
1. Does not feel cheap. The outside material is rough and feels sturdy.
2. The overall bag is definitely not flimsy due to the material it is made from. If the bag is empty it maintains the same shape as in the picture. This is actually something I was looking for, cause I personally wouldn't feel protected if I can take the empty bag and crush it into a ball in my hands.
3. None of the zippers are plastic or rubber, they are made of some type of metal with some having a tough fabric pull strap attached to the metal.
4. The shoulder straps are also sturdy with a bit of padding on them. Not sure about other people, but for me it felt pretty comfortable while walking around to my classes with the bag being completely full.
5. The tablet pocket starts about an inch or two above the bottom of the bag, so the tablet should never touch the floor if you have the bag standing up.
6. There red felt lining the entire laptop compartment, the bottom front pocket, and the part of the tablet pocket facing towards the tablet.
7. The power cable pocket on the left, fit my macbook pro plug with the cord extender attached with the cable loose. It didn't look like it would fit if I rolled the cable up, so I just zipped up both side half way and shoved the plug in. It worked for me since I don't usually roll up my plug any way.
Cons:
1. The top and most important flaw I personally found was the lack of padding. Mainly because one of the major selling points is "iFom integrated foam panels." Which was supposed to be so amazing that they made it sound all fancy. Don't get me wrong, there is foam in various parts of the bag such as:
A. the straps
B. the part between the laptop compartment and your back
C. the part between the laptop compartment and the main compartment.
D. There is some foam on the part that covers the main compartment. It is also what helps the bag maintain the shape.
E. All the outside pockets also have a very thin layer of foam.
However:
A. The foam between the laptop and your back, although a bit thick it still sort of feels like your back might push into your laptop too much applying pressure to it without much absorption. A concern for me as I usually park far, and wouldn't feel safe running in the rain cause of the pressure my back might apply.
B. The the foam between the laptop compartment on the main compartment is sort of thin. It is thin enough that if you pinch the bag with one finger in the main compartment and one finger in the laptop compartment that you can feel your fingernails completely touch each other.
C. The bottom of the bag doesn't have much padding. When standing the bag on the floor there seems to be a bit of padding between the laptop and the floor but it is sort of weird as it seems to happen because the padding sort of folds under the bag when standing it up. I am not sure if that is by design though. In either case, it could definitively use a lot more padding on the bottom to better protect the laptop and provide some sort of shock absorption.
2. Tablet Compartment: I wouldn't recommend putting a tablet in there without a case.
A. There is no foam or padding between your tablet and all the other items in your main compartment. This disappointed me because the description said "Padded iPad/tablet/e-reader pocket" on their website.
B. The tablet, which in my case is the IPAD3, sticks out almost 2 inches from the compartment. If I didn't have a case, there is the possibility of my books or binders rubbing against the screen.
C. There is felt lining behind the tablet pocket in case you wanted to turn the tablet around so that the screen faces the foam padding between the laptop compartment and the main compartment.
3. Not really a good bag if you need to carry a lot of books and notebooks for school in addition to a laptop and tablet because it becomes a tight fit.
With a macbook pro, 1 Pad3, 2xBooks(listed above), the binder listed above that in my case is about 1 inch thick with my stuff, there really wasn't any room to fit anything else in the main compartment of the bag. The fit is so tight, that sometimes I need to take the books and binder out and place it in one at a time while making sure to slide it in a way that it will both fit and not mess up my paperback.
4. Paperback books, easily get the bottom of the books bent when not slowly placed in.(Not a major flaw and most bags probably have this, but I wanted to state it for reference).
Conclusion:
I was expecting them to have more protection and their "iFom" technology in places that mattered most. Especially since the main purpose of the bag is marketed to support a Laptop, Tablet, and books. If the official price was a little cheaper and the bag had a few more pockets/compartments, I would bump up the rating to 4 instantly. The bag however, in my opinion can never be a 5 until they better protect the areas that the backpack is marketed for which are both Laptops and Tablets.
Needs more protection and foam in places such as:
1. between your back and the laptop compartment
2. between the laptop compartment and main compartment
3. the Tablet pocket between the tablet and all the other stuff in the compartment
4. And Most importantly the bottom of the bag!
If they ever come out with a Metro III that has more padding/protection in the areas listed above, doesn't expose an inch of the tablet in the tablet pocket, has about 3 more useful pockets, and has padding on the bottom of the bag then I would instantly buy it and post a 5 star review!
Some of the issues I had above, appear to possibly not be an issue with their more expensive models.
Good Ogio quality (maybe not quite as good as my old original Metro) and the padding is a bit skimpy. I was hoping it would fit my new laptop, but note quite. If it fits your pc you will be happy with it.
Buy Ogio Metro II Laptop/Tablet Backpack Now
I have been looking for a backpack large enough for my 17" HP and it's not an easy task. Many bags SAY they fit 17" laptops but don't. However, this bag fits it beautifully and I can get my kindle in there too!. The zippers are on the heavy duty side and the fabric is strong. I like the colour & pattern; not just plain old black but not overly splashy either. Satisfied customer.
Read Best Reviews of Ogio Metro II Laptop/Tablet Backpack Here
Every pocket has a purpose and is very useful. Not just there to be there. It also fits well in the overhead in an airplane. I really like the soft interior for electronics.
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I carry a laptop, my ipad and some books and still has space fore more stuff. Different pockets make it simple to organize all your stuff
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I love this bag. Has a compartment for both my laptop and iPad while still maintaining a main compartment for all your other stuff. Great quality, complaint is that there is no side pocket for a water bottle. That's a little bit of a drag, but aside from the lack of a water bottle slot, it's a great bag.
